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. |
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| bum tickler, on Jul 6, 2009 wrote:
when are they gonna hook up some animatronics to these badboys? epcot wouldn’t have shit on this. | |
| donaghy, on Jul 2, 2009 wrote:
oh shit you can still see the fingernail on the second page. these guys know what they’re doing. | |
| skidmarx, on Jul 1, 2009 wrote:
this is pretty cool occupation. all but the anus sewing. | | Anonymous, on Jun 30, 2009 wrote:
Wow, so you have to get fat and juices smeared on you at the funeral? How awkward would that be if it were a person you secretly detested.
Could you just give a little head shake and say "I’m good, thanks"? | | Anonymous, on Jun 26, 2009 wrote:
When I die I wanna be mummified | |
| anonymouse, on Jun 26, 2009 wrote:
fire-roasted makes everything sound tasty. my dog would love these bones. | |
| rufiomania, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
ooooooooowieeeee. how do i get into this? i already requested a new orleans style funeral but now i want to get blazed at the end. no gas masks, sowwwwy. breath me in! | | Anonymous, on Jun 22, 2009 wrote:
why is there a cigarette sticking through his nose? | | Anonymous, on Jun 22, 2009 wrote:
thats not burnt, charred flesh thats flaking off the skull is it? gross. | | Anonymous, on Jun 18, 2009 wrote:
teeth really will last through almost anything won’t they. that’s amazing. | | Anonymous, on Jun 18, 2009 wrote:
That aint no mummy. That’s an old woman from Krygystan. | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
i wan2 peel his face. | |
| whitney, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
i like how they are placed on mummy bleachers. that would be quite the audience to perform for. | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
holy shit it’s a baby skeleton on page three! | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
hey anonymous way down the page- i can laugh at my dead grandmother so i can laugh at barbecued mummies too. i didn’t know there was such a thing as mummies in papua new guinea before this so consider me more educated on the topic that i was this morning. if you’re the local expert on papua new guinea mummies then by all means write your own article on them. send me the link. i’ll give it a chance. | |
| hi fructose, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
it would be incredible if they pass the ass-sewing down like how we learn to replace buttons in home economics. | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
Papua New Guinea get their independence and this is what they do? sheessh | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
"what does the spouse then do with their ex’s hacked off body parts...? please dont say they eat them..."
no clue but i find it odd that they give them the soles of the feet. which would be by far the most calloused and crusty part on the body from walking barefoot for life. | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
so is anus sewing something that is handed down through the generations or is it something that you can go to school for? | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
to the people who are hating on this article would they just chill out a bit?? ok so the facts might not be 100% accurate, I for one had never heard of this before and to see incredible pictures and get a small glimpse into a almost forgotten practice is pretty cool. so stop hating so much and enjoy the dead people. | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
This might be a nice alternative to cremation. | |
| mike d, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
these mummies look exactly how i feel today. its going to be a long day | |
| aahhhhB, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
what does the spouse then do with their ex’s hacked off body parts...? please dont say they eat them... | |
| joe bananas, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
so its kinda like human jerky then? | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
eww. they sew their anus shut. | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
this reminds me of the mummies in Pompei...I went there on a family vacation once in middle school. it was gruesome. really cool though. | |
| Chloro-Phil, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
So none of the organs are kept in jars like the Egyptians? It’s all made into human broth? | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
Well hats off to you vice, seriously... look at you all writing about a PNG past tribe tradition and what not. Judging by the comments left it looks like you have educated a majority of the kids well.
Seriously why would you want take a tribes sacred ritual, jumble up the facts a bit and then write about
them... all just to become a tool of small minded discussion.
Nice one Vice ;) | | Anonymous, on Jun 17, 2009 wrote:
What’s up with her belly button? | | |
| skidmarx, on Jun 16, 2009 wrote:
you mean he got the chargrilling recipe wrong? | | | Next 30 comments > |
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