"By Aeroplane to Pygmyland" Accounts of the 1926 Smithsonian-Dutch Expedition to New Guinea

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Journal of Stanley Hedberg
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October 20, 1926 : Explorators Camp/Tombe Village


Wednesday
October 20
1926

The transport was off to an early morning start and brought with it a tin of potatoes for Hamer as well as a reply to his note. We are going to be busy most of the day taking movies. Had a busy morning of it and got some good stuff. We induced Igoone to take out the side of his house for about six Cowries but he didn’t work any too fast doing it so we helped him. Then with the aid of two flares we shot a couple hundred feet of the interior, but I don’t know how it will turn out. If it is good it will be a knockout. Should we happen to strike it right it will be the first time an interior is shown. The women folks are not so eager to see the house town [sic, = torn] apart so it took a good deal of discussion on our part before it was accomplished. Then it was hard to get them to act natural. The flares scared them some at first but eventually it all went well. Igoone was fearful for his house and after the first attempt he indicated to us that he was afraid we were going to burn it down. As a result of the {F4.47} burning of the flares last night almost the entire village of Damunaro was present today. They brought potatoes and presents and had a large quantity of material to trade which kept Matt busy [in] the afternoon. Igoone and his wife and the small child furnished some good movie stuff. The prize of the outfit was a man from another village who got the ideas we were trying to put over to two others and without a word he jumped forward and executed them before we could think of what was happening. He did his stuff well so we used him thereafter and paid him well for his work. He did some real demonstrations of bow and arrow work and put on an arrow dance for us of his own free will and accord. Also got a small love making scene of Igoone’s daughter and a small youngster on a log. Eight hundred feet in all were shot this morning. It is hard to get them to act with the exception of the one man I spoke of. Otherwise it is best to get them just as they happen to be doing things coming or going and to wait for it to develop. After[wards] the whole tribe of them came over to trade and they all got a big kick out of the typewriter and a glance at our wives as illustrated in artists and models. Igoone’s [sic] had never seen the typewriter operated before and he was as intensely interested as the others had been. The women too were not at all sure of what it was all about and fanned their breasts frantically. The men tapped their penis cases. The typewriter always arouses their interest. It rained during the later afternoon and evening.




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