The Kiwai: Dugong hunters of Daru
(1983)
The Dugong is a rare and endangered sea animal. Neither a seal nor a whale it is something like the marine equivalent of a cow and it is central to the lives of the Kiwai, a group of seafarers and fishermen living on the Papua New Guinea coast of Torres strait. This film follows the way of life of these people and the way their customs and magic practises intertwine with their beliefs about the animal that is their most important food as well as the source of their spirtual ancestory.