John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series Torembi and the Sepik A Study of Village Life in New Guinea |
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Topic No. 10: Clothing |
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John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series Torembi and the Sepik A Study of Village Life in New Guinea |
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Topic No. 10: Clothing |
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| 159. In a climate where the temperature, even at night, rarely drops below 24 degrees Celsius, there is little need for clothing as a protection against cold. |
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| 160. Nor, traditionally, did they have need of raincoats or umbrellas. It is reasonably warm here even when it rains; and if you’re not wearing clothes you’ll dry out quickly in any case! |
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| 161. Custom required, however, that though men and women could both go topless, the lower part of their bodies should be covered. Men simply hung bunches of leaves from cords around their waists. |
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| 162. Women wore what are generally referred to as ‘grass skirts’ … though they are not made from grass, but from the shredded leaves of the sago palm. (Dancers at sing sing) |
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| 163. Little clothing, therefore, was really needed: but in every culture people also wear clothing for display … to emphasize their rank, their wealth, their beauty, or their skill in making clothes. |
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| 164. The need to show off is most obvious when people dress for special occasions. Just how people decorate themselves, though, depends on what is available and on what they can afford. |
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| 165. In Torembi, no one bought clothes till recently, they made them from materials available locally… leaves especially. |
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| 166. They also used the fur of the cuscus, or possum … though, traditionally, orange headbands like this were worn only by those who had killed a man in battle. |
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| 167. They also used shells, obtained from coastal tribes through trade; and produced vests from string they made themselves. |
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| 168. Men wore decorative breast plates made from plant fibres, shells, pigs’ tusks, animal fur and even human hair. Traditionally, too, the bodies of men who had been initiated were decorated with ritual scars. |
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| 169. Others -- both men and women, young and old -- simply marked the surface of their skins with tattoos and/or make-up. |
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| 170. Both men and women carried their few possessions in ‘bilums’ -- strings bags -- which were also home made. |
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| 171. To make one, women would twist plant fibres together for hours on end … usually at night, when they had finished their other work. These were rolled across the thigh using the palm of the hand. The string produced in this way was dyed and then knotted together, in accordance with traditional patterns. (Bilums made of this ‘bush rope’.) |
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| 172. A single bag could involve 2 or 3 months work, so many people today take the short cut, and buy their string from a trade store. (Bilum made of string from store. Also see video extract number16) |
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| 173. Times have changed, of course, for people in Torembi actually purchase most of their clothes today, and now wear grass skirts only on ceremonial occasions ... like the opening of a new Spirit House |
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| 174. When buying clothes for everyday use -- from the village store, or maybe even from Wewak -- women prefer brightly coloured materials … reminiscent of those they would have worn in the past on special occasions. |
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| 175. Umbrellas, too, are popular today … providing shade on a hot day, as well as protection from rain. |
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| 176. Many people now actually obtain their clothing cheaply through the Mission. The Christian Church, throughout the world, has tended to clothe native peoples in western dress – for one reason or another. Parcels of used clothing are posted to Torembi from time to time by congregations in wealthier countries. |
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| 177. This explains the use of sweaters and the wearing of ski caps at the Equator on a oppressively hot and humid day! |
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| 178. Yet people here still save household items other people would throw away, and use them as personal decorations … like the caps from beer bottles. |
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| 179. Also onion bags, used here as a hair net. Almost nothing is wasted. When you have little, you make the most of everything. |
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Cultures in Context Intro: Photos & Recordings
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by John Tyman
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Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum,
Oxford University, 2010.
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