Sky Above and Mud Beneath

In September 1959 six Europeans set out. They start from Cook’s Bay on the southern coast of New Guinea. The territory was then under Dutch rule and is now known as West Papua. Their aim is to walk to the far northern side of the island. As the crow flies it is four hundred and fifty miles. The journey across unmapped country takes seven months. Three Muyu porters die along the way. Near the coasts villagers take them in and invite them to observe rituals. In the interior they are kept at a distance, and supplies come by air from Hollandia. They climb above ten thousand feet and build fourteen bridges. Leeches and malaria are constant. The narration describes the peoples of the region in the colonial language of its time, language that is not acceptable today. Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau’s French documentary of 1961 runs ninety two minutes.