Quick Facts – The Dama Dagenda of the Huli people (Papua New Guinea)

Written by and copyrighted by Týra Alrune Sahsnotasvriunt, 2014

The Huli people of Papua New Guinea knew a terrifying creature named Dama Dagenda. They fiercely strike back against mankind inhabiting and conquering their jungle territories. Their hatred towards manking is mainly founded in the fact that they view humans as utterly destructive and a virus to the Earth. There is no bargaining with these spirits who mainly reside in or on trees and they will lash out at child, woman and man setting only one toe into their “realm”, punishing them with great pain, loss or even death. They speak all the languages of the tribes in the region and the only way to avoid their persecution is to seek out a medicine man/shaman and learn an ancient or new dialect from him; when transversing the jungle the Huli sang or loudly spoke this unknown dialect in order not to be harmed. Some Huli adopted the practice of singing or shouting complete nonsense, so that the Dama Dagenda wouldn’t recognize them as humans and hence leave them be.