The Huli or Haroli or Huli Wigmen is an indigenous tribe living in the Hela Province of Papua New Guinea. The total population of the Huli tribe ranges from 250,000 to around 300,000, making it the largest cultural group in the country. The Huli tribe speaks a local language called Huli. However, some of the tribesmen speak surrounding languages as well such as English, Tok Pisin etc. The Huli tribe follow some unique customs and traditions which we will explore in this article.
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Origin
The Huli as already discussed above is one of the numerous indigenous communities living in Papua New Guinea. Though there is no written account of the origin of the tribe yet the tribesmen trace their origin back to a person named Huli and Huli is believed to be living in the region for thousands of years. The Hulis were unknown to most of the world and especially until November 1934 when Christian missionary from Europe started to arrive in the region to convert locals to Christianity. The preachings had an impact on the minds of Huli people and currently, a large number of people follow Christian religion.
Religion
The Huli people believe in Animism i-e they are of the view that everything in this universe has a spirit and a soul and sacrifices must be offered to appease the spirits in favor of the tribe. According to them, the three main supernatural powers which are unattainable by the human beings are Dama, Dinini, and Tomia.
Dama
The Dama is considered to be the most powerful supernatural force according to their beliefs. According to the legends, this supernatural force exists in the sky, rivers, rivers, and bushes surrounding the Huli territory. The Dama has the power to dictate the fertility of soil and livestock and to bring about disasters and diseases on the tribe and even have the force to kill someone.
Dinini
The Dini is less-powerful than Dama force and the Huli legends say that this supernatural force comes from the dead souls. The male force is considered to be protective to the whole tribe whereas the female force is considered to be hostile to all the tribe members except their own offsprings.
Tomia
This is the least-powerful supernatural force. The force resides in most materials like rocks, trees etc and is also capable of causing diseases.
Though the traditional religion of the Huli Tribe was animism yet the continuous missionary work of the Christian priests has led to the conversion of the religion of the most of the tribe members. Now the majority of Huli people are followers of Christianity with a mix of their traditions.
Clothes
The Huli women wear long skirts which hang below the knees and is mostly dyed black. The young women also wear a European smock purchased in their market. The young women are forbidden to expose their breasts, however, the old women can do so. The women in the Huli tribe, unlike other tribes, do not wear body decorations like earrings, shafts and bands etc apart from the breastplate made from shells, neck beads, and flowers in the hair.
The Huli men wear a long woven apron which hangs down below the knees just like the women dress. Another woven apron is worn on top of it to cover private parts of the body. A third apron is also worn but only on special occasions which are usually made up of pigtails. The males in the tribes also wear wigs and feathers which give their hairs attracting styles.
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Food
Sweet Potato is the diet which is eaten by every member of the Huli tribe. Other diets include Yams and Manioc plants. Meat from the pigs which are raised in homes is eaten on special occasions. Tree Kangaroos and Cuscus are often hunted by the Huli people and eaten.
Code of conduct
- Tribe without Chief
The Huli Tribe is unique from the surrounding tribes in the area in the sense that it has no tribal or sub-tribal chiefs. The only time they appoint a leader is the occasion of their fight with the enemy tribe.
- Pig Currency
Instead of using hard currency or cryptocurrency, the Huli Tribe uses the pig as the ultimate form of currency. If the males want to marry a female, he has to give the bride and her family with pigs.
- Separate shelters for males and females
The gender roles in the Huli Tribe are very discriminatory. The men and women are asked to live in separate houses since women are considered a threat to the Huli men and menstrual cycle is believed to the source of many diseases. They believe that menstrual cycle can even lead to the death of the Huli man living with the women. The Huli couple is asked to have the sexual relationship in a tree garden where a specific oil tree is available. The purpose of this tradition is to get oil from one of the trees in the garden and pour it on the female genitalia to stay safe from the women impurities.
- Child Care
In the Huli Tribe, mothers take care of their children till they turn 5 years old. After this age, the father is considered responsible for bringing them up. When a child reaches the age of puberty, he is separated from his parents and made a part of the bachelor group. According to their belief during this period, the child gets rid himself of the impurities of his mother and gets the awarded wigmen badge. The child has to start searching how to get at least 30 pigs because no one can marry without acquiring 30 plus pigs.
- Polygamy
The Huli tribe practices polygamy for centuries i-e males can have multiple wives.
- Never been cannibals
Unlike the surrounding tribes, the Huli people have never been cannibals.
Tribal traits
- Wigs
The Huli people can easily be recognized from their woven wigs which are decorated with a bunch of feathers and give tribesmen interesting hairstyles.
- Body Paintings
The Huli people have to paint their bodies with many colors especially with yellow colors in normal life plus on the special occasions and events.
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Ceremonies
The Huli Tribe has some very unique ceremonies and rituals which I am going to mention below.
- Gamubia:
The Gamubia is a ritual to inflict harm on the enemy tribe through direct or indirect method. Through the direct method, they break a wooden stick and points it towards the direction of the enemies. They believe it really breaks the bones of their enemies. In the indirect method, they have to call upon the spirits and deities. In this ceremony, it is extremely to sacrifice a pig to appease the deities to harm their enemies.
- Agali Gamu
In this ritual, the sick people are cured of their diseases. The sick person has to bath in the blood of the sacrificed pig and has to eat pork afterward with the leaves of multiple trees of the region. The ceremony finishes with chants and curses on the diseases.
- Tadu Bia
This is a ceremony to locate the lost pigs or to inform the Huli people of what is coming in the future.
- Fertility ceremony
Many unique ceremonies are also carried to increase the fertility of both men and women. The people are asked to sacrifice their pigs, bury sacred stones and chant different spells to improve their fertility.
- Sing-sing ceremony
Sing-sing ceremony is a big gathering of different tribes in which all the tribes show their culture by playing music, by dancing and by showing mock-battles etc.
Music
Image Source:https://pixabay.com [Panpipe Musical instrument]
The Huli people have developed their own songs and dances on the tune of their local musical instruments. The five main musical instruments include Gawa, Hiruyala, Panpipe, Layano Tabag and wooden drum. Dances performed both by the men and women consist of jumpings on the tune of these musical instruments. On the occasion of dance, the Huli people must have to wear their traditional dress along with paintings their bodies with yellow, red and black colors.