An amateur's* account of visiting primitive humans living in the tropical jungle of Western New Guinea is published in the April 18, 2005 The New Yorker Magazine, beginning on page 124. Be careful, don't be too over-excitedly gushing, as I might, after reading this astonishing essay. It is cautiously claimed that some of the humans sighted had never met a White person before, and had no knowledge of the outside world.
There is one undoubtedly truthful piece of information provided about the Kombai forest dwellers: For safety they live in trees, in tree houses. That is, the men live in the trees, and the women live and sleep on the ground. I take that as a sign that gender equality, when it arrives, will be a product of civilization, not something inherent in nature.
Barry
*"Lawrence Osborne ('Strangers in the Forest' page 124) is the author of The Accidental Connoisseur, An Irreverent Journey Through The Wine World." - The NYer.
No comments:
Post a Comment