Kanganamun

Home to the most famous haus tambaran on the Sepik

Kanganamun's spirit house — Wolimbi — is for many visitors the single most extraordinary man-made object on the Sepik. The structure soars to fifteen metres at the gable, with the front face entirely covered in painted sago-bark panels of ancestor faces, the eyes inlaid with cowrie shells. Inside, the roof beams disappear into darkness and the floor is lined with carved figures and garamut log drums big enough to crawl into.

Photography of the interior is restricted and may require a small fee paid to the village elders; ask, do not assume. The men's house is still in active ceremonial use — the wooden trays around the central post hold offerings, and the air smells of clay paint and old smoke. Visiting Kanganamun is one of the standard stops on a Middle Sepik trip and is usually combined with Korogu, Palambei, and Yentchen in a single day.

things to do sight village
A story
Margaret Mead worked here in the early 1930s while writing Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies; her notebooks describe a haus tambaran already considered the finest in the region. The current building has been rebuilt three times since her visit, each time on the same plan as the one before.