In 2015, the dry season came earlier on the Middle Sepik. The drought shrank the wide, dark water lakes to small ponds, and narrowed the channels that connect the inland villages with the Sepik River.
One day, I saw women gathering with enthusiasm at the almost dry creek with their fishnet baskets. I took my camera and join the party. After a bath in muddy water, many left home with their baskets empty. But it seemed that nothing could change their good mood.
Catching fish is, usually, a collective activity. It’s not so much about sharing the catch, but about sharing the fish from the water body which belongs to the community. And at the Kwoma people, catching fish with the basket (called umben) or with the fishnet (a modern acquisition) is a women job. Men spear the fish.
Photos from Tongujamb, 2015.
