Like People You See in a Dream: First Contact in Six Papuan Societies

Front Cover
Stanford University Press, 1991 - History - 325 pages
This book is at once a detailed ethnographic and historical analysis of one of the final modern-day experiences of first-culture contact, a classic example of historical geography, and an extraordinary tale of exploration, imperialist arrogance, blood-shed, suffering, courage, and near disaster. By the 1930's, the interior of the island of New Guinea, protected from outside penetration over the centuries by its rugged mountains and unruly rivers, remained one of the few places outsiders had never seen. In early January of 1935, the Papuan colonial administration dispatched patrol officers including 40 Papuan carriers and police, to explore the vast unknown country between the Strickland and Purari rivers. The expedition moved inland along the river systems by steam launch and canoe until, in mid-February, they abandoned their boats and proceeded on foot through the tropical forest and into the mountains. Along the way, the party encountered hitherto unsuspected populations - peoples of six tribes, numbering in the tens of thousands - who had never before seen white men and who were still using Stone Age tools.
 

Contents

Colonial Papua and the Tradition of Exploration
13
MAPS
15
Starting Out
44
The Great Papuan Plateau
58
Etoro and Onabasulu people Caught in a dangerous situation Hides makes
83
Across the Limestone Barrier to the Tari Furoro Area April
90
To the Waga Furari April 29May 4
123
The Back Door to the Purari
125
Across the Nembi Plateau
168
Across the Nembi Plateau to the Erave River Valley May
170
Through Kewa Country
198
In the Land of the Kewa May 23June 4
200
Return to Kikori
225
Over Mt Murray and Through the lehi Gorge to Kikori
228
Major Exploratory Patrols of 193539
258
THE ORIGINS OF THE STORY OF WALALI
295

Traditional Highlands Trade Routes and Major Patrols
129
From the Waga Furari to the Wen
147
From the Upper Waga Valley to the Nembi Plateau May
155
A Sketch Map Showing Patrols and Events in the Erave Area
297
INDEX
315
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