Wed, 19 Jan 11 07:07
On the 11th of November we departed Kaimana on a 26 hour trip south to Agats, the pick up point for our guests. The weather was good and and the sailing uneventful for several hours. There were 11 people in the group that boarded in Agats, including artifact collectors, dealers, and a museum curator. From Agats we headed south to visit villages on the coast.
The next day we proceeded to the mouth of a river and began seeking an entrance while the guests visited local villages. At the mouth of this river there are many sand bars that continuously shift position and therefore are not charted so we began probing the waters for a place that was deep enough to enter the river. After reaching a point 12 miles offshore we were still unable to enter so returned to our starting point and stayed for the night.
When the tide was high the next morning, we managed to work our way into the river, then continued up river to a village about 45 miles inland called Atjs, Michael's Rockfeller last destination before he was last seen after his boat wrecked 3 miles off shore. According to the locals, he was killed there then cut up and eaten*. We have a video in which a village chief tells in detail how Michael was speared then had his head, arms, and other body parts cut off before cooking and eating. Apparently a white foreigner (Dutch patrolman) had killed three people from a local tribe and according to Asmat beliefs had therefore taken the power of their souls with him. When they saw Michael they killed him in order to regain the powers their people had lost to a white foreigner. The Asmat formerly wore skulls of people they had killed on a necklace to enhance their power. Since the headhunting days are over they now wear a replica of a skull made from a coconut shell as a symbolic replacement.
From Atjs we turned and followed a different river back to the sea that came out near where the group had visited the first villages a couple days before. We then sailed back to Agats, anchored for the night, then proceeded up the river. Our next destination was Sawa lake about 40 miles inland. We stayed for 3 days to visit nearby villages.
A welcoming group with traditional clothing, skin paintings, and jewelry greeted our group in dug out canoes. It was an extremely interesting experience that rivaled what is seen in movies about primitive jungle tribes. There was an abundance of beautiful artifacts available for viewing and purchase at the various villages. We bought some of the better ones but did not have enough money to buy everything we wanted. One very special thing we got was an old canoe about 42 feet long with a typical Asmat carving on the front. We didn't have enough money to buy it but the guests saw Josephine really liked it so all chipped in and gave her the money to pay for it. That was done in appreciation for the excellent food she worked hard to serve for them.
Sawa village had a Catholic missionary and church. The church was stunningly beautiful with all timbers and wood structures covered with Asmat carvings. Various Asmat artifacts decorated the walls. It is an amazing place. Even a painting of an Asmat Mother Mary and Jesus was on display.
We returned to Agats and continued sailing to Pomako, the Timika area harbor, where we dropped off our guests. Shortly after we started the sail back to Sorong, to get ready for Mattias Klum's second documentary trip.
* Michael's body was never found and there are various theory to his disappearance, including that he may have been attacked by crocodiles as he attempted to reach the shore.
More pictures on our Facebook page