Papua New Guinea | New Ireland Province

Inside Papua New Guinea: Land of 860 Languages

Papua New Guinea Landslide Buries Village

"They're doing rituals on you"

In the Huli tribe’s coming of age ritual the boys of the village enter “wig school” where they learn how to survive off the land and are forbidden from contact with any females - including their mother - for years! In the process of growing their wigs, the boys must wet their hair with holy water three times a day to keep it soft. Certain food can’t be eaten and they must sleep in a special position on a neck rest with a wooden bar that can be raised as the volume of the wig increases. As the ha