Under the Mountain Wall

Posted on 21 May 2018 by Peter Matthiessen

A remarkable firsthand view of a lost culture in all its simplicity and violence by renowned writer Peter Matthiessen 1927 to 2014 , author of the National Book Award winning The Snow Leopard and the novel In Paradise.In the Baliem Valley in central New Guinea live the Kurelu, a Stone Age tribe that survived into the twentieth century Peter Matthiessen visited the Kurelu with the Harvard Peabody Expedition in 1961 and wrote Under the Mountain Wall as an account not of the expedition, but of the great warrior Weaklekek, the swineherd Tukum, U mue and his family, and the boy Weake, killed in a surprise raid Matthiessen observes these people in their timeless rhythm of work and play and war, of gardening and wood gathering, feasts and funerals, pig stealing and ambushes Drawing on his great skills as a naturalist and novelist, Matthiessen offers an exceptional account of an ancient culture on the brink of incalculable change. Read Under the Mountain Wall – kino-fada.fr Published in 1962, Matthiessen s sixth book and third work of non fiction, Under the Mountain Wall provided its readers an inside look at one of the last existing stone age cultures, the Kurelu people of the remote mountain valleys of New Guinea fear stops me from investigating how many seasons of Survivor may have been set there since but at that time the larger world had barely noticed, let alone intruded on the Kurelu Matthiessen s bold venture is to present what he witnessed and studied as Published in 1962, Matthiessen s sixth book and third work of non fiction, Under the Mountain Wall provided its readers an inside look at one of the last existing stone age cultures, the Kurelu people of the remote mountain valleys of New Guinea fear stops me from investigating how many seasons of Survivor may have been set there since but at that time the larger world had barely noticed, let alone intruded on the Kurelu Matthiessen s bold venture is to present what he witnessed and studied as if he and his colleagues are not present He tries not to distract from the way of life he is capturing as an undiscussed eyewitness to tribal warfare, funeral ceremonies that include maiming young girls a...Written after spending two seasons in 1961 with the Kuerlu people in the Baliem Valley in Papua which is now part of Indonesia In 1961 JFK became President of the USA, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, America s involvement in the Vietnam War started and Barbie got a boyfriend called Ken.Meanwhile the Stone Age people of Papua carry on their ancient practices War or the risk of death from a raiding party is a daily occurrence but is not fought for land as there is enough for everyone Written after spending two seasons in 1961 with the Kuerlu people in the Baliem Valley in Papua which is now part of Indonesia In 1961 JFK became President of the USA, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, America s involvement in the Vietnam War started and Barbie got a boyfriend called Ken.Meanwhile the Stone Age people of Papua carry on their ancient practices War or the risk of death from a raiding party is a daily occurrence but is not fought for land as there is enough for everyone War is fought to prove a man s bravery and to take revenge on a previous death, rape or kidnapping Young girls loss part of a finger as part of the grieving process when a relative dies Men weave, work in the gardens and hunt Women have many rights to chose who they marry or where they live But they still have a tougher existence than the men...an interesting read that was tinged, for me, with unease as I knew that these people are probably dead now and their way of life irrevocably altered by now The war descriptions were , for me, too detailed but considering what an important activity war is to the Kurelu, it s unde...This is a fascinating account of the Kurelu tribe of western New Guinea just prior to western contact in 1961 Matthiessen was a part of an expedition to observe the Kurelu rituals, inter tribal conflicts and daily ways of life The Kurelu appear to be totally untouched by European ways Violence was constant between neighbouring tribes and among personalities it is amazing how much...On April 5, 2014, I received this news alert in my inbox Peter Matthiessen, Author and Naturalist, Dies at 86 Hmmm, I thought, Never heard of him Wonder if we have anything by him I turned from the computer and faced the travel bookshelves There, at eye level, between Time off to Dig, Archaeology and Adventure in Remote Afghanistan by Sylvia Matheson and A Reed Shaken by the Wind A journey through the unexplored marshlands of Iraq by Gavin Maxwell, was Peter Matthiessen s Under the On April 5, 2014, I received this news alert in my inbox Peter Matthiessen, Author and Naturalist, Dies at 86 Hmmm, I thought, Never heard of him Wonder if we have anything by him I turned from the computer and faced the travel bookshelves There, at eye level, between Time off to...A book like this will never be written again The writing is capable and honest, but this is not fine literature What is unique is the characters, real characters that lived in a radically different culture from the modern day There simply are no longer tribal societies this large left to find on earth and since shortly after this was written the Baliem valley changed radically Take a Google Earth satellite view and find the sprawl of Wamena and the network of roads ceaselessly branching off A book like this will never be written again The writing is capable and honest, but this is not fine ...An intimate look at the daily lives of the traditional peoples of highland Papua New Guinea Peter Matthiessen paints brilliantly both a portrait of the Kurelu and the land in which they live, so much so you feel as though you re there If his mission was to connect two people so vastly distant in all ways imaginable, he s accomplished that triumphantly After reading this poetic book you ll never think about primitive people the same way again The differences between our societies are vast, An intimate look at the daily lives of the traditional peoples of highland Papua New Guinea Peter Matthiessen paints brilliantly both a ...This book is good anthropology writing, faithfully done But it is not good pleasure reading I stopped halfway through which I rarely do with a book Matthiessen goes with a group of anthropologists to a pacific island to live with and study a tribe that had previously had no outside contacts with white man This tribe is living in a remote...This is a story,a chronology, of what Stone Age people s lives are like Their most modern tools, including weapons, are made of stone As to their everyday lives, Stone Age or not, the people of this time, the people of this area, seek the same things any of us do in any time, in any culture, anywhere in the world They want to be survive, they want to be happy, and they do all and anything, all and everything to make those things manifest in their lives Their lives outwardly may be vast This is a story,a chronology, of what Stone Age people s lives are like Their most modern tools, including weapons, are made of stone As to their everyday lives, Stone Age or not, the people of this time, the people of this area, seek the same things any of us do in any time, in any culture, anywhere in the world They want to be survive, they want to be happy, and they do all and anything, all and everything to make those things manifest in t...The world culture should thank the 1961 Harvard Peabody expedition to Western Papua New Guinea and Peter Matthiessen for this incredible account of the people and how they lived so untouched by any but their own evolution Perhaps all the books on history and civilization are nothingthan rationalizations and excuses for our behavior whereas this book shows unflinchingly the world before books, before written literacy and...

English
21 May 2018

Peter Matthiessen