The New Guinea Mud Men

Come to Town

These are New Guinea “Mud Men”. They cover their bodies in clay and wear masks of mud, baked hard in the sun—grotesque affairs with artificial teeth. The Mud Man in the front of the picture is also decorated with three lemons.

The Mud Men are from the New Guinea Highlands and they put on this weird garb to represent spirits in village ceremonies.

It is not often they give a public demonstration, and when this group turned up at the Goroka Show, in the NG Highlands, older residents said they had never before seen the mud dress in Goroka township. “PlM’s” New Guinea correspondent, Miss Pat Robertson, was on hand to take this photograph.