SMOKING HOT MUMMIESPapua New Guinea’s Fire-Roasted Corpses Are Pretty GrossBY STEVE TAUSCHKE PHOTOS BY DWAYNE TAUSCHKE In Papua New Guinea’s Morobe Highlands, the indigenous Anga tribe adheres to a centuries-old method of mummification for its dead: smoke curing. The process is careful, thorough, and loaded with ritualistic bearing—in addition to memorializing lost pals and family members, it is an equally restorative, if macabre, ceremony for those who remain. First, the knees, elbows, and feet of a corpse are slit, and the body fat is drained. It is similar to the way a hog is gutted and strung up in a slaughterhouse, except hollowed-out bamboo poles are then jabbed into the dead person’s guts, and the drippings are collected and smeared into the hair and skin of relatives. This is thought to transfer the strength of the deceased to the living. The Anga believe that dining on bits of the cadaver has a similar effect, so any leftover liquid is saved and used as cooking oil.
But it gets better—or more awful, depending on your constitution…
| Experienced embalmers sew a mummy’s mouth, eyes, and anus shut to reduce air intake and impede flesh rot. This meticulous process of orifice sealing is precisely why these guys are in such good shape 200 years later. |
See all articles by this contributor Anonymous, on Jun 15, 2009 wrote:
Where the Hell are you getting your facts STEVE TAUSCHKE ???..You do not do justice to an ancient tradition. Quite frankly this is a grossly inaccurate description of how this ceremony takes place. Are you looking for things to write about? Whats weird about your culture? Do you have one? Probably not... | | Anonymous, on Jun 15, 2009 wrote:
If the spirits of mummies ever do come back and retake their bodies we are going to have some really fucked up looking people walking the earth. I, for one, hope they remain dead and dusty. | |
| lazy eyez killa, on Jun 15, 2009 wrote:
i’d like to see a make up artist try to recreate this look. i’ve seen shrunken heads and mummies but this takes the cake. human bbq. | | Anonymous, on Jun 12, 2009 wrote:
Since when do the people over at Vice type abundantly obvious underlines? | | Anonymous, on Jun 12, 2009 wrote:
they look so crispy... like chips i see the appeal in eating it, apart from the scull and human features | | Anonymous, on Jun 11, 2009 wrote:
im guessing they make skin sandals out of the sliced soles. classic recycling | | Anonymous, on Jun 11, 2009 wrote:
the first picture the guy has got a serious gurn on the go. i wonder how you get into the old sewing up anus’s game. now that would be a brutal prank. | |
| foxface, on Jun 11, 2009 wrote:
this is incredible, the bodies look absolutely perfect. really creepy but the scariest thing is the ladies boobs for sure. | | Anonymous, on Jun 10, 2009 wrote:
boobs? her belly button is what did it for me. her umbilical cord must have been as wide as a downjacket sleeve. | | Anonymous, on Jun 10, 2009 wrote:
i have to keep reminding myself that these people are dead so they dont feel that insane amount of pain that this would cause.... they ARE dead right?? | | Anonymous, on Jun 10, 2009 wrote:
what the fuck is a spouse supposed to do with sliced off foot soles? keep that shit in a scrapbook? that is gross. | | Anonymous, on Jun 10, 2009 wrote:
oh my god! the woman on page five has perhaps the most deformed boobs i have ever seen. that will scar me forever | | Anonymous, on Jun 10, 2009 wrote:
oh wow - his cheeks peel back like corrugated cardboard. mummies are great because they make me feel tall. | | Anonymous, on Jun 10, 2009 wrote:
looks like someone put a camel out in his nose. | | | < Previous 30 comments | |
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