Experience life with a cannibalistic tribe.

Living with the Korowai indigenous people, Paul discovers many mysteries behind their barbaric practice of cannibalism.

The Korowai are one of the few tribes in the world that still practice cannibalism, located in Indonesia.In 2006, Australian journalist Paul Raffaele made an expedition to this tribe andHe was the first Westerner to cross the jungle to get here. Paul had many interesting discoveries and unforgettable experiences.

Men of the Korowai tribe with homemade bows and arrows.

Cannibalism Challenge

Paul's guide was Komelius, who had lived with the Korowai people for many years. According to Komelius's account, the tribe made him undergo a test to decide whether or not to let him stay. One night, they gave Komelius a bag of meat and said it was human flesh. If he ate it, he could stay with them. Otherwise, Komelius would have to leave. Komelius ate the meat and was allowed to stay with the tribe.

Their plan was to visit the Letin clan, who had never ventured outside the jungle before. Even Komelius himself hadn't traveled that far, fearing being slaughtered. They traveled along the Ndeiram Kabur River in a canoe made from a tree trunk. The natives, wearing loincloths, attacked the strangers with bows and arrows. The explorers and their guide had to jump into the river to escape.

Paul (on the left) is welcomed at the Letin clan.

Fortunately, Komelius could speak Korowai, and he responded to the natives on the other side of the river. They replied that the two men had defiled the sacred river and had to pay a fine. One of the warriors rowing past them still clutched his bow and arrows and collected the fine of about 30 USD. After that, they were allowed to continue on their way.

The mystery behind cannibalism

For the Korowai tribe, if someone falls from a tree or dies in battle, it's a death with a clear cause. But they don't understand bacteria and germs (abundant in the rainforest). Therefore, death by disease is a mystery to them. They believe it's caused by a khakhua, a sorcerer. Khakhuas possess the bodies of men (never women) and begin to eat the body from the inside. Therefore, after a person dies, they must eat the corpse to destroy the khakhua residing in the body.

One of the first two men Paul met in the tribe was Kili-Kili. When asked what human flesh tasted like, the natives said it tasted like guinea pig or ostrich meat. The Korowai eat every part of the human body except hair, fingernails, and genitals. Children under 13 are not allowed to eat human flesh because they believe it is very dangerous for children to eat khakhua.

The Korowai people do not consider cannibalism barbaric, because they believe they are not eating human flesh but merely eliminating the evil force of the khakhua. "We don't eat human flesh, we eat khakhua," a member of the tribe told Paul when asked why they practice cannibalism.

According to VNE