Warriors who once waged tribal battles wielding axes, spears and bows have armed themselves with M-16 rifles
A thousand tribal warriors, their bodies glistening with pig fat and their faces daubed with black and red ochre, swarmed onto a muddy arena in magnificent head dresses and grass kilts.
They were armed with lethal-looking axes and spears, and tucked into their belts were daggers made from the bones of the cassowary, a giant tropical bird related to the emu.
Beating drums and chanting war songs, the warriors, some with pig tusks through their noses, were the highlight of the Mount Hagen Show, one of several tribal gatherings held annually in the rugged highlands of Papua New Guinea.
The show, which took place at the weekend, is one of the most exotic anthropological displays on the planet and the warriors' mock battles thrilled the small band of tourists watching from the sidelines.
It was not until the 1930s that the highlands were first discovered by white explorers. The small group of Australian gold prospectors who stumbled on this lush, densely populated area, were greeted as the spirits of long departed ancestors.