The Murung

The Murung are a vibrantly colorful people and their numerous idiosyncratic forms of attire make them easy to identify. Men usually grow their hair very long, to wrap into a large bun above their forehead, often covered with a tightly woven white turban. Both men and women commonly wear pink flowers through the large piercings in their ears, accentuated by a typical adornment of beaded necklaces and armlets. Women continue to weave their traditional black cotton skirts, usually their only item of dress, while amongst the men it is not uncommon to see some still wearing the old loincloths. Artistically, the Murung are unique in that they have designed a fascinating musical instrument they call a plung, a multi-pieced mouth organ of sorts ranging in size and tone. Made from dried gourd and bamboo, the plung is regularly played not only for ritual but for common entertainment as well, often to the accompaniment of their simple two-stringed guitar/violin.

Their belief system is a form of animism, with a significant importance placed on the cow. Many of their ceremonies and festivals, particularly those preceding the crop-growing season, require this animals sacrifice. Priests often resort to trance to facilitate direct communication with the spirits, believed to inhabit much of their physical world. Reminders of this omnipresence, in the form of altars and offerings, are commonplace within the villages and on the trails that connect them.

The inevitable process of migration to urban centers is only now beginning with the Murung, as their impressively strong culture and pride keeps them firmly entrenched to their traditional ways.

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