The Huli clan call the Hela Province and Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea home. They regard themselves as one people descendant from a male ancestor called Huli. He is said to be the first man who gardened on Huli territory. Pigs are the Huli’s main exchange commodity and they are often used to pay for bride price, death indemnities as well as ritual payments. Ambua is the Huli word for yellow clay. This clay is sacred in their culture as is the red ochre clay and sets the Huli warriors apart from all others with their unique and colorful traditional body decoration.Unmarried Huli men prepare themselves for adulthood in a unique way. They enter a school for bachelors for a period of between roughly 18 months to 3 years where they receive instruction on the biological and ritual process of masculinization. The young males are separated from their mothers and all women for much of this period and when they aren’t, they are absolutely forbidden from physical contact with any female. Sexual contact in particular would contaminate their stores of male essence.
* Information on the traditional uses and properties of herbs/ animals/ yoga/ places are provided on this site is for educational use only, and is not intended as medical advice. all image credit goes to their Photographers.
