HULI People

The Huli are an indigenous Melanesian ethnic group who reside in Hela Province of Papua New Guinea. They speak mainly Huli and Tok Pisin; many also speak some of the surrounding languages, and some also speak English. They are one of the largest cultural groups in Papua New Guinea.

The Huli live in the Tagari River basin and on the slopes of the surrounding mountain ranges at an altitude of about 1,600 meters above sea level. The Huli live in a tropical climate.The Huli landscape consists of patches of primary forests, reed-covered marshes, kunai grasslands, scrub brush, and mounded gardens traversed by rivers, small streams and man-made ditches which serve as drainage canals, boundary markers, walking paths, and defensive fortifications.

The tribe is also famously referred to as “The Huli Wigmen.” Once boys turn fourteen years old, they go to Wig School where they learn one of the most important rituals of the Huli culture – growing their hair for eighteen months and creating a unique wig out of it. After making their wigs for years, they enter manhood and can marry a woman.

Extended info about Huli People