The Head Hunters

During my time in New Guinea I flew in these two seater planes .with my wonderful pilot Colin,really he was a good pilot even if he did scare me half to death ,I hated flying and refused to sit up the front with him again .As a result I sat in with the cargo, so i couldn’t see where he was going, Colin kept saying that I was boring ,but i couldn’t care less I wanted to have my sanity when I arrived at the station I was going to.

One clinic I had to go to was right up into the Sepic river district,this meant flying over a lot of the jungle,this worried me as it was the first time I had been this far into the jungle.Looking out the side window I could see it was very dense and green I thought to myself
“We go down here no one will even be able to get in to find us,”
The other frightening thing about going to this place was it had been one of the last places to give up the practise of head hunting ,now I have become quite used to having a head,it served me well this one ,for a long time and I wanted to keep it as long as was possible.

The flight was a couple of hours duration, one of the Priest came with me as we were setting up the clinic for the first time,also I was the first white woman to go into this village.
There were a lot of firsts associated with this clinic so I was feeling worried and apprehensive.

We arrived at the station with no upsets and Colin set the plane down on the strip.
“Well that looks alright nothing different to any other place I have been to “ I thought .All the villagers crowed around the plane as we opened the door ,Father started chatting in his usual happy way Colin opened the door for the cargo and me,I got out and all the people moved over to me ,now i am talking of about fifty people.
You ever felt like an insect, that is what I felt like ,they picked up my hair looked at it,at this time I had long hair tied up in a pony tail.Felt my face rubbed my arms I was getting really worried they may take it into their head to check out my sex.They were really fascinated with my hair which was worrying me.Colin could see this and started to tease me .
‘You know Kathy I can see that that one is sizing you up ,can just see your head on his doorpost”.With that in his usual way he started to turn the plane around,laughing as he went.
People all moved off the strip, and Colin said that he would be back to get us about four this afternoon .

The head boy started taking us up to where I was going to start the clinic,now I started to notice the flies they were terrible,people say Australia is bad for flies,nothing compared to here ,kept my mouth firmly shut as I was sure I would be eating flies,and anyway I couldn’t have opened it as they were still feeling me all over ,glad I washed behind my ears.

I set up the clinic and worked for the most part of the morning weighing and immunising the children .We had a break for lunch and had another village come in the afternoon.I took no notice of the weather as I was too busy trying to get finished by the time Colin was to come.
Father came in and said that the weather had closed in and Colin would come tomorrow .
“Tomorrow Father I can’t stay here all night,I can’t move unless the whole village moves with me”.He laughed and said “I noticed that Kathy” yes you noticed it and you think it is a joke.
“You did bring a change of undies didn’t you.”
“I am not that dumb to go hours into the jungle and not bring a change of clothes,”
“Well you don’t have anything to worry about then do you?”
“No Father except I am going to want a shower and how am I going to manage that”.
He laughed in his evil laugh and we went to find somewhere to sleep,and the whole village followed.We found a house and went in,I thought well now that I am here they will all go do their own things!.Oh how wrong I was,they looked in the window ,sat under the house,if I moved I could see eyes looking up at me from every direction.I decided to go get the shower over and done with if I am going to have an audience I was dam well going to enjoy a long shower,how wrong was I?

“So Father where do we get a shower”.mmmmm “I was waiting for that”he replied.
“Well then “I asked him.
“Kathy you see that river we flew over on the way here”
“Yes what has that got to do with me having a shower” I asked well
“A lot you see that is your shower”
“The river I am not washing in the river I will drown it is huge.”
“Well nowhere else here to wash ,you can wait till tomorrow”he replied.
“You know I can;t I am hot,sticky and dam dirty.I replied in a not too polite way.
“Well we best get on with it then hadn’t we”.
“What do you mean we”.
“Well if you are going to have the whole village there while you are washing, I had better come to keep an eye on you”.
Oh great not only am I bathing in front of the village ,but now the Priest is having a look as well.
“Oh come on then lets get it over with then,but I am not taking my under ware off!
“I should hope you aren’t going to!” replied Father.With that I marched off down to the river mumbling to myself,with all my villages following.

I threw my towel and things on the ground and started to take off my dress.with a hundred eyes all looking at me.
“Well come on get your clothes off too “I said to Father
“Oh I am not going in there, there could be crocodiles in the water,
“What the hell are you saying,you tell me to wash in it but you won’t”
“You are the one winging about being dirty I am not!”
So what are you saying not to go in the water then “
“No I am not saying that I am tormenting you”with that he took off his shorts and waded in .
I waded in and had a wash as best I could with about one hundred eyes watching every move.Have you ever washed in a river with your under ware on and in a fish bowl you should try it sometime.

We went back to the house it was getting dark, so father lit a fire outside in the fireplace, we sat around it ,people brought us something to eat,not one bit into eating native food I had a few biscuits and some water I ate that.I tried to settle down to get some sleep but the mosquitoes were viscus,I had a net on with a blanket on as well ,I could feel them biting through both.This was the worst night I ever had at any place no sleep at all and my villagers looking on all night,Father thought it was a joke and chattered to them about me all the time I was ready to hit him by time morning arrived.I am not even going to describe my attempts to go to the toilet ,but to say I had my audience still.

I can tell you I have never been so glad to see Colin’s plane circle overhead,I climbed into that plane ever so quick ,nothing was going to keep me there another day.I will tell you I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to go back, but Father always arranged for us to go every three months,he enjoyed the spectacle of me and the villages ,they followed me around all the time it did’t get any better.