1. PAPUA1 1x33 counts
1. PAPUA1 1x33 counts New church greeted with tribal party Against the backdrop of mist-shrouded mountains and a new brick church, tribesmen in Indonesia's restive Papua province grabbed their bows and began firing arrows into more than 100 pigs tied to stakes.
The dying pigs howled and thrashed madly. A few bloodied beasts broke free, sending women and children scattering until groups of men from the warlike Dani tribe brought them down.
One huge pig made it to the nearby Baliem river. Three youths jumped in and kept its head under the water until it drowned.
All this time, 2,000 villagers danced to mark the opening of a new Catholic church -- celebrated with a traditional pig feast -- keeping alive the customs of the central highland's Baliem valley, a lush region hidden from the world until an American explorer discovered it in 1938.
Tradition still thrives in Papua, the Indonesian western half of New Guinea island where some tribes only emerged from the Stone Age decades ago.
But those traditions, especially in places such as the Baliem valley, have had to fight the forces of Christian missionaries, tourism and a government in Jakarta bent on modernization.
Once, cannibalism was rife. So was tribal warfare. And despite the cold, Dani men wore nothing but penis gourds, a dried vegetable sheath held in place by a string around the waist.
The warring among Dani clans and the taking of heads has largely disappeared, although media recently reported two tribes in this region battled for days over a land dispute, killing three. Fewer men wear the penis gourds.
2. PAPUA2 1x35 counts Indonesia's troubled Papua fears for future
It was a typical Sunday in a village not far from the highland town of Wamena in Indonesia's restive Papua province. Word spread that police from the feared elite mobile brigade were on their way.
Villagers, wearing their best clothes at a Mass in a church, dropped their prayer books and fled, said one village elder. Many ran for the mountains that ring this mainly Christian region of the world's most populous Muslim nation.
The police never came that Sunday a few months ago, but the incident demonstrates the fear of the security forces across the giant province.
Following the military's fresh offensive in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra island, in which more than 800 people have been killed since May 19, independence and religious leaders worry the country's other separatist hot spot will be next.
What happens in Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, will say much about how far Indonesia is prepared to go to keep the archipelago together. Foreign investors, eyeing the province's vast natural resources, will be watching in particular.
Already, Jakarta's plan to split Papua into three provinces has sparked discontent, and in recent weeks at least four people have been killed in clashes. That could start a fresh cycle of violence.
"This just showed how scared people are. Villagers are still traumatized by past military operations," said the elder, who asked that neither his name nor that of the village be used.
Larger in area than Japan, Papua has had an unhappy history since Indonesia wrested control from former colonial ruler the Netherlands in 1963. The United Nations later sanctioned a vote by hand-picked local representatives that has been called unfair.
Jakarta says it has brought development to Papua, introducing modernity to people who only recently have emerged from the Stone Age. The army denies charges of rights abuses.
But a 10-day trip through this untamed region on the western side of New Guinea island, where some tribesmen wear nothing but penis sheaths, shows many Papuans want independence, having lost faith in the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri, especially since she signed the plan to split Papua in January.
Intimidation of Jakarta's opponents had grown, some said.