Meet the tribe that still mummifies its dead and here's how they do it

We all know that the ancient Egyptians used to mummify their dead. Although the practice is no longer common in Egypt, it isn't entirely lost. Thousands of kilometers away, in the remote Aseki District of Papua New Guinea, there is a tribal community that still keeps the tradition alive.

The Anga tribe practices the mummification of their deceased ancestors as a way to stay connected with them. The Anga people, who number around 45,000, use a distinct method of mummification that involves smoking the body for three months. Unlike the ancient Egyptian technique, the body remains seated and is positioned over a fire.

During the process, the mummifiers carefully drain the body’s fluids by poking it and use a wooden stick to widen the anus, allowing the organs to exit. The procedure is highly meticulous, with every detail attended to in order to avoid any mistakes that might bring ill omens. The dead body is then coated with red clay for preservation and placed in jungle shrines.


The tribe believes that preserving the face is crucial, as they think the souls of their ancestors roam during the day and return to their bodies at night. According to their belief system, 'Without their faces, they would not be able to recognize their bodies and would end up roaming the Earth eternally.'

In the final stage, the mummified body is carried to a rock cliff overlooking the village and placed alongside other mummified bodies to join the ancestors and protect the tribe. While this practice is unique to the Anga, similar customs were once widespread in Papua New Guinea and other South Pacific islands during the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, colonization led to the banning or stigmatization of such practices due to concerns about hygiene and human dignity.