The Sepik River is still one of the world's wild and wonderful places. Visit a living culture, with traditional villages, unbelievable carved Haus Tamborans, and carved crocodile canoes, which are still used to travel between villages.

The lifestyle is unique, where traditional customs exist side by side with Christianity and a vibrant democracy. People in the Sepik live a life, which is governed by the environment they live in. The tattooed man in the photograph has beautiful tattoos over his back made up of a pattern of welts that mirror the patterns found on the crocodile, which inhabits the river. The tattoo is created during a ceremony where as a boy the man moved manhood.

The is renowned for their Haus Tamboranns (Men Houses) where men meet and relax away from the women. The Haus Tamberin is still the focus of Sepik Society, where decisions we made and ceremonies carried out it is an integral part of village life. You can still find spectacular haus tambarins although the artistic masterpiece at Kanganam is being rebuilt and as yet is nothing like the incredible building which existed up to the 1980's. You can still see the original carved pillars on the ground near the new building and get some idea of the old grandeur

Other more complete traditional haus tamborans can be seen at other villages with their woven walls and intricate decoration. They occupy their own architectural space within the village where long colonnades of living coconut trees lead you towards the building enhancing its importance in the same way as the colonnades at the Vatican provides a vista leading towards St Peters. The haus tamborans of the Sepik are a monument to a communal vision carried out over time with a similar conceptual framework, which produced the cathedrals of Medieval Europe.

The same cultural forces have produced wonderful carvings using the traditional craft skills required to create the haus tamborans and the dugout canoes with their crocodile prows. The artistic sensibility of the craftsman can be seen in the painting and carving of the mask in the photograph.

For information on visiting the Sepik contact Melanesian Discoverer.