Who Are the Korowai?
The **Korowai** are a Papuan people inhabiting the lowland rainforests of southeastern Papua (Indonesian New Guinea), in the swampy jungle between the Eilanden and Becking rivers. Numbering approximately **3,000-4,000 people**, they are famous for their remarkable **treehouses** built up to 35 meters above the forest floor—among the most dramatic domestic architecture in the world. The Korowai remained virtually unknown to the outside world until the 1970s; some clans had no contact with outsiders until the 1990s. They live as hunter-gatherers supplementing wild foods with small sago palm gardens, maintaining a lifestyle little changed over millennia until recent decades brought missionaries, tourists, and Indonesian administration into their forest homeland.
Treehouse Architecture
Korowai treehouses are engineering marvels built without metal tools, using only stone axes, bone knives, and forest materials. Houses are constructed in the crowns of banyan or other large trees, supported by the living tree and additional poles. Heights of 8-12 meters are common; some ceremonial houses reach 35 meters or more. Construction involves felling smaller trees to lean against the main tree, creating a platform framework, then building the house proper with bark walls and sago-leaf roofing. Access is via notched pole ladders that can be pulled up at night. The houses serve practical purposes: elevation provides protection from floods (the region is extremely swampy), mosquitoes, and—traditionally—enemy raids. They also provide defensible positions in a society where violence between clans was common. Today, many Korowai have moved to ground-level settlements, but treehouse construction continues.
Sago and Forest Subsistence
The Korowai subsist primarily on **sago palm** (Metroxylon sagu)—the starchy pith processed into a staple food. Women fell palms and extract the pith, washing and straining it to produce sago flour. This labor-intensive process yields the caloric foundation of the diet. Protein comes from hunting (wild pigs, cassowaries, smaller game), fishing, and collecting insects—particularly sago grubs, which are considered a delicacy. The rainforest provides fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Men hunt with bows and arrows; dogs assist in tracking game. Small gardens supplement wild foods with bananas and other cultigens. This subsistence pattern represents sophisticated adaptation to lowland rainforest conditions—sustainable over generations in an environment that resists intensive agriculture.
Spiritual Beliefs and Social Organization
Traditional Korowai religion centers on beliefs about **khakhua**—witches or malevolent spirits that cause death and misfortune. Deaths were traditionally attributed to khakhua, who might be identified through divination and killed in retaliation. Early reports sensationalized these practices as "cannibalism," though the reality involved complex spiritual beliefs about disease causation and justice rather than dietary preference. Missionaries have worked among the Korowai since the 1970s-80s, and many have converted to Christianity, though traditional beliefs persist, especially in remote areas. Society is organized through patrilineal clans that control territories; marriage involves bride-price payments; and disputes were traditionally settled through compensation or violence. The small, dispersed population—families living separately in their treehouses—created a society without chiefs or centralized authority.
Tourism and Change
The Korowai have become a tourist attraction, with adventure companies offering treks to visit "authentic treehouse tribes." This tourism raises ethical concerns: are houses being built (or maintained) primarily for tourist photography rather than habitation? Does payment for visits distort traditional practices? Some Korowai have become skilled at performing tradition for paying visitors while living otherwise modern lives. Meanwhile, Indonesian development policies encourage settlement in villages accessible to services; logging threatens forest territories; and younger generations increasingly seek education and opportunities outside the forest. The Korowai experience rapid change from near-total isolation to integration with global tourism and national administration—a transition that took other peoples centuries compressed into decades. Whether treehouse culture survives as living practice or becomes tourist theater remains to be seen.
References
- Stasch, R. (2009). Society of Others: Kinship and Mourning in a West Papuan Place. University of California Press.
- Stasch, R. (2011). "Korowai Treehouses and the Everyday Representation of Time, Belonging, and Death." Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 12(4), 327-347.
- Van Enk, G., & de Vries, L. (1997). The Korowai of Irian Jaya: Their Language in Its Cultural Context. Oxford University Press.
- Raffaele, P. (2006). "Sleeping with Cannibals." Smithsonian Magazine, September 2006.