Tribe Profile: The Kalam of Papua New Guinea

On August 8th, 2023, I had the pleasure of traveling to Papua New Guinea. This adventure was undoubtedly different from my prior travels, as Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a place unlike any other. The culture, the tribes and the vibe are all unique. I spent just over three weeks in this country having some amazing experiences and learning as much as I possibly could about this largely ignored culture.

I documented my travels throughout the country in six separate posts, preceded by a post on the history of the nation. You can see Papua New Guinea through my eyes by perusing the posts in the carousel below.

Papua New Guinea inspired me to introduce a new section to my travel blog. Cultural Snapshots will be where I will delve a bit further into certain aspects of the cultures I have encountered during my travels. I hope to provide my readers with a deeper look and first-hand knowledge that you simply cannot get from search engines.

In this Cultural Snapshot, I will be introducing you to the Kalam tribe of Papua New Guinea.

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Kalam Tribe

The Kalam reside in Simbai, the heart of the Highlands of Madang province. The Simbai region lies within the Bismarck mountain range and borders the Western Highlands and Sepik provinces. If you have been keeping up with my Tribal Profiles, you may recall the Sepik is where the Crocodile Men reside. The Madang province lies on the northern coast of the mainland and contains many of the country’s highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages.

It is one of Papua New Guinea’s most secluded places. Accessible only by one-engine plane or a very challenging hike, Simbai has been largely insulated from the outside world. It is this same remoteness that has kept the culture strong and rich with little influence from the outside world.

The Madang people can be divided into four distinct groups: islanders, coastal people, Wagol River people and the highlanders or mountain people. Simbai, while situated high in the mountains, is considered a coastal territory, as it sits on the Wagol River. Most of the tribes of the region are not easily identifiable, except for the people from Simbai who are usually of short stature.

One of the outstanding tribes of this region is the Kalam, who are known for their uniquely embellished headdresses. More on this later…

Kalam is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘kula’, which means ‘society’ or ‘family’.

Villages

The Kalam people have very friendly and strong relationships within the tribe. They live as one big family and have a great respect for nature and the land. The character and behavior of the people are duly reflected in their tribal name. The Sumerian word Kalam, is derived from the Sanskrit word “kula”, which means ‘society’ or ‘family’.

They lead simple lives, living in wooden framed huts with walls made out of karuka leaves (the leaves of the pandanus tree) and other materials found in the rainforest. Mud is used as a makeshift cement and leaves are woven together to create roofing. The thatched roofs are great insulators, as well as weather resistant and waterproof. Huts are arranged in traditional village fashion scattered throughout the wilderness.

Patrilineal Society

Simbai is very much a patrilineal society with a clear division of labor and the sexes. Men are in charge and the women are to be subservient to their husbands. Male children are valued as they carry on the family name. Children are not given random names but are named after their great grandfathers/ancestors.

Division of Labor

Women take care of the home, children and gardens while the men are responsible for hunting, tilling the land, building houses and protecting the village.

Diet

The Kalam tribe eat a wide range of vegetables including sago, sweet potato , taro, taro leaf, cassava, cassava leaf, breadfruit, edible leafy greens and fruits. These foods are easily grown in the fertile soil and warm temperatures in the rainforests. They also hunt wild pigs in the rainforests.

Welcome to the Mumu

Here in Simbai, I experienced my first “mumu”. A mumu is a traditional method of cooking large quantities of food common to the Pacific islands. Mumus are only performed on special occasions, such as wedding parties, the birth of a child or to welcome guests. They may also be used as a symbol of peace or forgiveness following a tribal war. 

The concept is quite simple. An earthen oven is created by digging a large hole and filling it with stones that have been heated. Alternatively, a fire may be started in the pit and stones piled onto the fire to heat. Banana leaves are layered over the stones, and food items placed on the leaves. This layering process continues with the final layer consisting of banana leaves and other foliage topped with more heated stones. The heated stones and banana leaves, in essence, act almost like a pressure cooker and steam the food. While anything may be cooked in a mumu, a whole pig is commonly done in this manner.

Ceremonial Dress

As I mentioned earlier, the Kalam men are known for their unique and impressive headdresses. Typically measuring more than a meter in height, the crown is made from the heads of thousands of emerald green beetles.

The green beetles emerge during the fruit and mating seasons.

The torynorrhina flammea chicheryi or flower chafer beetles emerge in the millions each year. Measuring just over an inch in length, they feed on flowers, nectar, fruit and sap. Known simply as “mimor” by the Kalam, the insects have a beautiful rainbow shine or iridescence. The men scour the forest, collecting the beetles by the thousands, specifically for their headdresses. Cuscus fur, flowers, and feathers of the local birds – birds of paradise, parrots, cockatoos, and lorikeets are used for further decoration.

The men decorate themselves with special body ornaments known as “bilas”. Necklaces made of the threaded nodes of yellow orchid stalks, kina shells, cuscus fur and the beaks of the hornbill (locally known as kokomo) are all used to adorn their upper bodies.

Traditional loincloths, or a bunch of leaves attached to a belt to cover the rear (known as a tanket, or arsegras), and sugar cane armbands. Small round kina shells or the feathers of the bird of paradise is threaded through their pierced septums to complete their look. The fat of a pig is used to make coat the skin to make it shine, or alternatively, to provide some insulation against cooler temperatures.

Rite of Passage

Like other Highland tribes, such as the Crocodile Men of the Sepik region, Kalam males also undero a rite of passage. Between the ages of 10-17 years of age, young boys go into a special house for males. The house called “hausboi” is where they learn about their culture, and the responsibilities of manhood from the elders of the village.  They also get their septum pierced with a bamboo stick or cassowary bone in what is called a “sutim nus” ceremony. The male initiation requires the slaughtering of many pigs; if the requisite number of pigs has not been amassed, the initiation may be postponed until they are acquired.

Traditionally, a major initiation ceremony involving more than 100 pigs is held every three to six years (similar to the ceremony held by the Chimbu people every seven to ten years). It is a genuine cultural phenomenon when all the surrounding villagers flow into Simbai for the event.

Marriage

In the past, marriages were arranged, now the initiation ceremony is where young males select their mates. While the males get to choose their mates, most young women are not given that freedom and their parents arrange their marriage. If the young woman does not like the man her family has chosen, she will run away. The average age most young people get married is 25.

Socialization

In our interactions with the villagers, we quickly learned that in order to learn more about their daily life, we would have to meet with the women separately. As long as the men were present, the women remained silent, very much inhibited by the male presence. Since this was a cultural trip and we wanted to learn as much as we could about the Simbai people, we left the men behind and scheduled a “house call” with a few of the ladies.

Initially, the women were taken aback that guests wanted to meet with them. We later learned that this was the first time anyone had taken a sincere interest in them. Even in the absence of the men, the ladies were very shy and reluctant to share. However, once they realized we were genuinely interested in learning about them and their culture, they began to open up.

From our discussion with the women we learned how unmarried women are treated, how they dealt with their menstrual cycles and how they selected mates. In the absence of hospitals, we were curious about the birthing process and the infant morality rate. We were especially interested to know what happened if a mother dies during childbirth (not uncommon) and what happens to their child. Given that this was such a patrilinear society, we wondered how unmarried women or “spinsters” were treated. As you can see, we had questions and, thankfully, they had answers…

Young Girls

Unmarried women should be obedient to their fathers or male authority figures. Once they come of childbearing age and experience their menstrual flows they separate themselves from all men. In the absence of feminine hygiene products, they sleep near the river where they bathe frequently until their cycle ends.

Childbearing

Once a married woman becomes pregnant, her husband builds a separate house in which she will give birth. There are no hospitals up in the mountainous region of Simbai. Women give birth at home with the assistance of another woman who has had a child. There are no such thing as midwives. Leading up the birth, they take herbs gleaned from the rainforest and drink spring water to ensure an easy delivery.

There was also no such thing as birth control, until recently. Clinics came to the area and some women received birth control pills while others were injected (sterilized). This information caused me to pause but I understood I would not be able to delve further into this topic.

Childbirth

After the birth women must not touch food with their hands, associate with men, drink sugary things or consume meat. They are to eat just bananas and drink hot water or tea. They must bathe with boiled water for a month to help their body heal.

Under these conditions, as you can imagine, it is not uncommon for a woman to die in childbirth. If a mother dies, the village takes care of the child, living up to the meaning of their tribal name.

Unmarried Ladies

In the event a woman does not have a husband or her husband dies, she is taken care of by her nieces and nephews.

Death

When someone dies there is a “house cry”. Women have to sit with the family of the person who died. Everyone cries and covers their faces in dirt to show respect and solidarity with the family.

Justice

If you commit a crime against someone the person has the right to kill you or burn you alive. Okay, then…I’ll just go out on a limb and say they probably have no issues with crime here.

Next Post: The Baining People of East New Britain Island

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