Where Masks Still Dance: New Guinea

New Guinea is home to more than a 1000 Stone Age tribes, each with its own language, customs and folklore which have changed little in 40,000 years. In eight trips over ten years, photographer Chris Rainier has travelled to the island to document the lives and rituals of the indigenous peoples. The result is this photographic record, showing the cultural distinctions of each tribe. Short essays accompany the photographs throughout, describing the adventures behind them. Traditions and celebrations captured include crocodile cults, ritualized costuming and tattooing, homosexual rites, sing-sing celebrations, spirit houses, rites of passage and shark calling.