Photo Essay: Papua New Guinea
All photos: Taro Taylor
The Baining tribes get their name from the Baining mountains which they inhabit. Their language is also called Baining of which their are a few different dialects. It is thought that the Baining people may have inhabited this area for thousands of years.
The Baining are somewhat of an of an oddity amongst Melanesian cultures because they create art forms that have a very ephemeral existence. The mask you see in the picture above is laboriously made from bark cloth, bamboo and leaves and used just once for the firedance ceremony before being thrown away or destroyed.
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12 Comments... join the discussion!
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Amazing shots! I’d love to see captions on all the photos. What are the stories behind these gorgeous shots.
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The shots are phenomenal. I checked out Taro’s other photos on Flickr, amazing. It’s a really nice window into an obscure culture.
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Absolutely stunning photography. Thanks for the glimpse into Papua New Guinea
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Seriously nice photography right there. Thanks for sharing them with us!
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Spectacular pics.
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what superb photos!!!!!!
The Travel Expert(a) and an Expat with a Twist↵ -
The sparks in the first pick grabbed me and I couldn’t look away till the end. Well done.
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It’s been a while since I have been so blow away by pictures. A great, varied series.
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Beautiful photos and beautiful people!!
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Amazing!
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New Britain is actually a part of Papua New Guinea. It is located northeast, not west, of the island of New Guinea. The eastern half of New Guinea is part of the nation of Papua New Guinea. The western half is part of Indonesia.
It is not unusual at all for art works to be destroyed after use in Melanesia. The malanggan funerary sculptures of New Ireland are perhaps the best known example.
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