Asaro Mudmen

The "Mudmen" of Papua New Guinea's Asaro tribe, also known as the Holosa, are those who wear a traditional costume centered around masks made of mud.

[1] There are various oral histories regarding the origins of the Asaro Mudmen, with anthropologist Todd Otto observing that "there are as many versions of [the creation legend] as there are sources."

Believing they had encountered a supernatural force, the enemy tribesmen fled back to their village and performed a special ceremony to ward off the spirits.

According to research conducted in September 1996 by Danish anthropologist Ton Otto from Aarhus University, the Mudmen tradition is unquestionably an invention of the Asaro people.

The current elaborate form of the Mudmen tradition, which evolved from a 1957 cultural fair, is likely to have been influenced by external factors such as tour operators, writers, and government agencies.