Astonishing tribe which perfectly preserves their dead using SMOKE
STUNNINGLY eerie images have emerged of a tribe in Papua New Guinea which manages to almost perfectly preserve their dead for centuries after they have passed away.
Eli Mabel holding one of his ancestors
The Dani people in the remoteness of Papua New Guinea once mummified their most-respected elders by embalming them and preserving the bodies with animal oil and smoke.
Extraordinarily the deceased tribespeople – although pitch black and shrivelled – are almost perfectly preserved, with all of their features still easily distinguishable.
The man in the photos is current chief of the tribe Eli Mabel, holding one of his ancestors who came nine generations before him.
Agat Mamete Mabel is the mummified man who once ruled over the tribespeople some 250 years ago.
Eli Mabel and the mummified Agat Mamete Mabel
The mummified remains of Agat Mamete Mabel
Mummification was a technique reserved only to the highest ranking members of the tribespeople and Agat Mamete Mabel was the last person to have had it done.
Deceased elders were mummified in traditional pig tusks slung around the torso, with a feathered head piece and the customary penis gourd.
Agat Mamete Mabel was mummified using animal oil and smoke
The Dani tribe are still going in Papua New Guinea
Christian missionaries and Muslim preachers urged the Dani people to bury their dead – a tradition that the natives have since adopted, according to Eli Mabel.
However, there are certain traditions that they must continue with so that they do no lose their identity in the modern world.
The tribe is still largely cut off from the modern world
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He told AFP: "We must protect our culture, including the ceremonies for the mummy, the way we treat it, and maintain and fire for it.”
While Eli Mabel is currently responsible for ensuring that his ancestors mummified remains are protected, he says that this responsibility will one day fall on his four children.