The Kombai are a
Papuan people Papuans may refer to:
* Indonesian Papuans – the Native Indonesians of Papua-origin
* Papua New Guineans – the nationals of Papua New Guinea
* Indigenous people of New Guinea
{{Disambiguation
Language and nationality disambiguation page ...
living in the
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n province of
South Papua
South Papua, officially the South Papua Province (), is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the southern portion of Western New Guinea, Papua, following the borders of the Papuan customary region of Anim Ha. Formally establ ...
, more specifically in
Mappi Regency. Their total population is about 5,650.
Way of life
The Kombai people live in
clans
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
, each clan having its own territory in the Papuan forest. Certain areas of the forest are not inhabited, as they are believed to be sacred lands meant for the spirits. Each clan has a large
treehouse
A tree house, tree fort or treeshed, is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a ha ...
where male tribesmen sleep, while women sleep in small huts on the ground. This sacred treehouse is thought to act as a defense from enemy attacks, and is closely guarded by men with bows and arrows.
Like many other Papuan ethnic tribes, the Kombai people are
hunter-gatherers
A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, especially w ...
. They hunt pigs and other forest animals, using small dogs to track down and kill their prey. In order to fish, the Kombai build small
dams
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
in the stream and pour a poison from a toxic root into the water. This forces the fish to come to the surface, making them easy to catch. Food is cooked using stones previously heated in a fire placed on top of meat wrapped in large leaves. As food is abundant in the forest, none is stored.
The Kombai also eat the
larvae
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...
of the
capricorn beetle, called
sago grub, which is considered a
delicacy
A delicacy is a rare food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture or region. A delicacy may have an unusual flavor or be expensive compared to everyday foods.
Delicacies va ...
. To harvest them, a
sago tree is cut down and left for a month, then wrapped in leaves and left to rot for three months, after which time the larvae are collected. This
traditional
A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
food is used in festivities with neighboring clans and tribes to strengthen social ties.
Documentaries
British adventurer and TV presenter
Bruce Parry lived with the Kombai in season 1, episode 3 of his documentary series,
''Tribe'' (2005).
A television series on
The Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It initi ...
entitled ''Living with the Kombai'' in the US, and on both the
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...
and The Discovery Channel, named ''World's Lost Tribes'' in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, was shown in January 2007. In the series, two men travelled to
Papua and spent several months living with an extended Kombai family. Their adventures included hunting for a large lizard and a wild pig, and fishing by constructing a rudimentary dam on a stream. They also helped chop down large trees with a stone axe, made sago from the
sago palm
Sago palm is a common name for several plants which are used to produce a starchy food known as sago. Sago palms may be "true palms" in the family Arecaceae
The Arecaceae () is a family (biology), family of perennial plant, perennial, flowerin ...
tree, and used its fibres to build a treehouse nearly 80 feet off the ground.
The Kombai were also featured in the 2007 season of the series ''
Mark & Olly: Living with the Tribes''.
The Kombai people also appeared in ''
Going to Extremes'' series 2: 'Surviving Extremes' (2003) in the Swamp episode. The host,
Nick Middleton
Nick Middleton (born 1963 Jun 4) is a British physical geographer and supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He specialises in desertification.
Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer, he has travelled to more than 70 ...
, stays with the tribe and climbs the treehouses.
Finnish TV show
''Madventures'' has done an episode involving Kombai and Korowai tribes in West-Papua in season 2 episode 6.
See also
*
Indigenous people of New Guinea
The indigenous peoples of Western New Guinea in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, commonly called Papuans, are Melanesians. There is genetic evidence for two major historical lineages in New Guinea and neighboring islands: a first wave from the Mal ...
References
External links
World's Lost Tribes websiteBBC: Kombai TribeKombai language research, VU University Amsterdam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kombai People
Ethnic groups in Indonesia
Indigenous ethnic groups in Western New Guinea
Headhunting in New Guinea