New Guinea Highlanders Meet Europeans: Part 2

(Footage removed at source, again. Sorry!)

I wish the footage was in better shape, but in many ways it adds to the eeriness of this piece. The music is hair-raising.  The sense that something utterly new and alien has appeared in the New Guinea Highlands is palpable.  "We thought we were the only people in the world," one old gentleman says.  I say: This footage is creepier than the last scary movie you saw.

First Contact: New Guinea Highlanders Meet Europeans

Missionaries get credit and blame for colonization, but economic interests usually move the whole thing forward.  Check out this footage from the 1930's of Aussies brought to the highlands of New Guinea by the Gold Rush.  I found the Native's recounting their first sighting of white men -- as well as the memories of the white men on first encountering the Highlanders -- especially interesting.  

Of course, it wasn't only mineral resources the Europeans came for.  Since they'd arrived in the lowlands centuries ago, planters were king. If one was in possession of enough land, planted correctly, retaining enough cheap labor to bring it through the growing season to market, you stood to make a few coins. 

No Betel Nut Arrests? What Do We Pay the Cops For, Then?

The gentleman in the above photo is a long-time fan of Betel Nuts. You can tell by those crimson teeth & gums.  The nuts do the staining, while the quick lime the nuts are served with go about their business eroding the teeth, causing fissures in the cheeks and tongue....

On the plus side, pesky tapeworms and other intestinal parasites find Betel Nuts personally offensive.  I bet you thought only western medicine could provide that kind of devil's bargain...am I right?

For those of you who just can't get enough Betel Nut news, here are two related stories from Solomon Times.

Check out this:

http://www.solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=3620

and 

http://www.solomonstarnews.com/news/national/9872-no-betel-nut-arrests-over-the-weekend

Sample: "SO far no arrests have yet been made on betel-nut vendors along the streets of Honiara....

A spokesperson for the division told the Solomon Star that they were yet to arrest any street betel-nut vendors, however adding daily patrols were continuing with officers continuously cautioning the street vendors.

“There have been no arrests made over the weekend in relation to betel-nut sellers in town,” the spokesperson said.

“Cracking down on betel-nut is part of our day to day duties."

Note: The add on this blog had featured a beautiful pink cupcake with red frosting.  I was excited at the color synergy that was being set up with the Betel squish.  Then as soon as I posted, away went the cupcake.  Did the advertisers' theme engines trigger on "intestinal parasites," I wonder? 

Photo attribution: By Fcastello (Own work) [GFDL (<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html" class="external free" rel="nofollow">http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html</a>) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Happiest Place on Earth: Vanuatu

Montreal, my personal favorite place, came in #2.  How awesome must Vanuatu be to beat Montreal?  It's not a question of the awesomeness of the place, but of the people, I imagine.... Is Bougainville, after it's bloody civil war, anywhere near happy, despite its similar climate & culture? Doubt it.

Check out the article here:

http://vanuatu.travel/news/vanuatu-tourism-office/vanuatu-happiest-country-on-earth-again.html

Short Film: Crocodile Creation Myth from Melanesia

Creation myth fans -- check out how crocodile man and sago milk brought us into the world.  This is a beautiful short film.