JOURNEY! THE LAST PRIMITIVES

This episode of the television series Journey!, hosted by Jack Douglas, is titled "The Last Primitives", featuring guest Charles Noah. It focuses on an expedition to New Guinea.

0:00 Main titles. Host Jack Douglas welcomes traveler Charles Noah to discuss primitive tribes and remote environments in New Guinea.

0:53 Noah describes New Guinea's geographic scale, noting it spans 1500 miles as the second largest island globally.

1:34 The narrative details Port Moresby before transitioning to air travel toward the Sepik River region.

2:32 Noah and Captain Heathcoat board a houseboat to navigate 200 miles along the Sepik River from Ambunti.

3:13 At Okapuku village, four masked men perform a rare spirit house flute dance rarely seen by outsiders.

4:08 Noah examines a recently taken human head preserved by villagers before traveling toward the April River.

4:33 Villagers harvest, shred, and wash sago palm logs to remove harmful acids and prepare staple food.

5:15 Local woodcarvers craft traditional spirit masks, which Captain Heathcoat buys and exports for international collectors.

5:51 Houseboat travel illustrates daily life along the Sepik River, including local missionary work and armed travel precautions.

6:35 A local boatbuilder crafts a large canoe from a single log, adding crocodile carvings to ward off spirits.

7:29 Returning to Ambunti, the group visits a newly constructed House Tambaran decorated with traditional protective totems.

8:12 Aircraft transport the travelers to Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands, home to over 300,000 tribal residents.

8:30 Highland residents gather at Mount Hagen displaying unique headgear decorated with animal fur and bird of paradise plumes.

9:18 The crew travels remote pioneer trails into interior villages where fire is lit without matches due to local superstitions.

9:50 Villagers gather around communal roasting pits to cook and eat staple sweet potatoes and yams.

10:06 Unmarried villagers perform a leg crossing courtship ritual, bobbing their heads and chanting to imitate birds of paradise.

11:08 Villagers hold a death ceremony, reflecting their belief that all deaths stem from sorcery or violence requiring payback revenge.

12:21 Traveling along rough roads, the expedition reaches Goroka, the administrative hub for the eastern highlands.

13:42 An Australian health patrol conducts first-time medical examinations and tonsil checks on village children in remote highlands.

14:42 The trip moves to the Asaro River valley to visit the Asaro Mudmen, who cover themselves in clay to intimidate rival tribes.

15:46 The crew returns to Mount Hagen to witness the biennial Sing Sing, a massive gathering organized to curb intertribal warfare.

16:48 Over 80,000 natives attend, though fierce pygmy tribes like the Kukukuku are excluded due to safety concerns.

17:57 Over 700 distinct dialects complicate communication, while performance groups play drums covered in python or human skin.

19:09 Male attendees enjoy modern fair attractions like a merry-go-round before departing on multi-day journeys back to interior valleys.

20:22 Noah explains that selling carved masks is believed to permanently expel an evil spirit from the island.

21:11 Studio audio plays the traditional courtship chant recorded during the Highland visit.

21:54 Douglas and Noah inspect authentic warrior spears and carved spirit masks brought into the studio.

22:44 Noah recounts an Australian patrol discovering a remote valley tribe that believed they were the only humans on earth.