Papua New Guinea is a country rich in diversity, with over 800 languages spoken and thousands of cultural groups living in various regions. One of these regions is the East Sepik Province, where the Sepik River flows through a vast area of swamps, canals, and lakes. Among these lakes is Chambri Lake, a seasonal lake that is home to the Chambri people, an ethnic group with a distinctive culture and art. In this article, we will explore the history, culture, nature, and tourism of Chambri Lake and its people, and discover why it is a unique and valuable place to visit.
The Chambri People
The Chambri people are an ethnic group that live on an island mountain in Chambri Lake in the middle Sepik region. They speak the Chambri language, which belongs to the Nor Pondo family of non-Austronesian languages1. The Chambri population is estimated to be around 1,500 people, with about half of them living in three contiguous villages: Kilimbit, Indingai, and Wombun2.
The Chambri people have a long history of interaction with their neighboring societies, especially the Iatmul people who live along the Sepik River. The Chambri and the Iatmul have engaged in trade, warfare, headhunting, and cultural exchange for centuries. The Chambri traded their fish for sago (a starch extracted from palm trees) and shell valuables for tools and products. They also participated in ceremonial complexes that involved exchange of pigs, shells, feathers, and other items3.
The Chambri people are renowned for their artistry, especially their wood carving and pottery. The Chambri carve masks, figures, drums, canoes, paddles, shields, stools, bowls, and other objects that display intricate patterns and motifs. They also make pottery that is decorated with geometric designs and animal forms. The Chambri art reflects their cosmology, social organization, rituals, myths, and values4.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Chambri culture is their gender roles. The Chambri were studied by Margaret Mead, a famous cultural anthropologist, in 1933. Mead observed that the Chambri had a reversed gender system compared to Western norms. She claimed that the Chambri women were dominant, assertive, practical, and responsible for fishing and trading. The men were passive, emotional, artistic, and responsible for housework and childcare5. Mead’s findings were controversial and influential in the field of anthropology and the women’s liberation movement.
However, later anthropologists have challenged Mead’s interpretation and argued that she exaggerated the differences between the genders. They pointed out that the Chambri society was more complex and dynamic than Mead portrayed. They also noted that the Chambri culture had changed over time due to colonialism, Christianity, migration, education, and development6. Nevertheless, the Chambri still maintain some aspects of their traditional gender roles that are distinct from other societies.
The Chambri Lakes
The Chambri Lakes are a series of swamps and shallow water canals that are seasonally filled by the flooding of the Sepik and Ramu rivers in a vast area of 216 km2 (83 sq mi). The lakes form in the middle Sepik region between the village of Pagwi and the junction of the Yuat River with the Sepik River7.
The lakes have a rich biodiversity that includes various plants and animals. The lakes are surrounded by rainforest trees such as pandanus palms (Pandanus spp.), sago palms (Metroxylon sagu), raffia palms (Raphia spp.), mangroves (Rhizophora spp.), nipa palms (Nypa fruticans), coconut palms (Cocos nucifera), banana plants (Musa spp.), taro plants (Colocasia esculenta), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), and bamboo (Bambusa spp.). The lakes also have aquatic plants such as water lilies (Nymphaea spp.), water hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes), and water ferns (Azolla spp.).
The lakes are home to many fish species, such as barramundi (Lates calcarifer), catfish (Clarias spp.), tilapia (Oreochromis spp.), carp (Cyprinus carpio), eels (Anguilla spp.), and rainbowfish (Melanotaenia spp.). The lakes also host other aquatic animals, such as crocodiles (Crocodylus novaeguineae), turtles (Chelodina spp.), frogs (Rana spp.), snakes (Acrochordus arafurae), and snails (Pomacea canaliculata). The lakes attract many birds, such as herons (Ardea spp.), egrets (Egretta spp.), storks (Ciconia spp.), ibises (Threskiornis spp.), ducks (Anas spp.), geese (Anseranas semipalmata), cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.), kingfishers (Alcedo spp.), hornbills (Buceros spp.), parrots (Psittacidae), and cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius).
The lakes change according to the seasons. During the northwest monsoon season, from September to March, the rainfall increases and the Sepik and Ramu rivers overflow. The water level rises and floods the surrounding land, creating a vast lake. The Chambri people use canoes to travel and fish in the lake. During the southeast monsoon season, from April to August, the rainfall decreases and the rivers recede. The water level drops and exposes the land, creating a network of canals. The Chambri people use footpaths to travel and cultivate crops in the land.
Tourism and Development
The Chambri Lake region offers a unique opportunity for tourism and development. The region has a natural beauty, a cultural diversity, and a historical significance that can attract visitors from around the world. The region also has a potential for economic empowerment, social improvement, and environmental conservation for the local people.
However, tourism and development also pose some challenges and risks for the region. The region faces issues such as poverty, illiteracy, health problems, infrastructure gaps, land disputes, cultural erosion, environmental degradation, and climate change. These issues require careful planning, management, and collaboration among various stakeholders, such as the government, the private sector, the civil society, and the local communities.
Some of the possible strategies and actions for tourism and development in the region are:
- Promoting ecotourism that respects and protects the natural and cultural heritage of the region. Ecotourism can provide income, employment, education, and awareness for the local people while minimizing the negative impacts on the environment and the culture.
- Supporting community-based tourism that empowers and benefits the local people. Community-based tourism can involve the participation and ownership of the local people in planning, operating, and managing tourism activities and facilities. It can also involve the sharing of knowledge, skills, values, and traditions between the visitors and the hosts.
- Developing infrastructure and services that improve the accessibility, safety, comfort, and quality of tourism in the region. Infrastructure and services can include roads, bridges, airports, boats, hotels, restaurants, shops, health centers, schools, and communication networks.
- Enhancing cooperation and coordination among different actors and sectors that are involved or interested in tourism and development in the region. Cooperation and coordination can include dialogue, consultation, partnership, and collaboration among government agencies, private businesses, non-governmental organizations, and local communities.
- Strengthening governance and regulation that ensure the sustainability, accountability, and transparency of tourism and development in the region. Governance and regulation can include policies, laws, standards, incentives, monitoring, evaluation, and enforcement of tourism and development activities and impacts.
Conclusion
Chambri Lake is a cultural and natural treasure of Papua New Guinea. It is a place where nature and culture coexist and interact in harmony. It is a place where history and tradition are preserved and celebrated. It is a place where tourism and development can offer opportunities and challenges for the future. It is a place worth visiting and appreciating.
References
1: https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tbc
2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chambri_people
3: https://www.jstor.org/stable/645203
4: https://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/sepikriv/chambril.htm
5: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-M