Kristina Steiner

Papua New Guinea is one of the most inaccessible places in the world and it's is one of the the world‘s least explored countries, culturally and geographically. Living an indigenous life with it's own social order, and divided from modern society by

Leah was accused of being a Sanguma when she still went to school. She felt her classmates watching and talking about her. She was so ashamed that she decided to end her life. She jumped from a bridge and survived. Her family stopped paying the scho

Around eight million people are living in Papua New Guinea, which is one of the most diverse countries in the world according to culture and language. The country has one of the largest rural populations. The people live in small villages that rely

Gerel remembers the day when he was tortured.

J. just came out of hospital. He is so ashamed of the accusation that he does not want to show his face. Many times he says that it is very important to write that he is innocent - that it was a false accusation. He wants it to be clear that he is n

The evil Sanguma spirit can be put into food by a witch. The person who will eat that bewitched food will die.

Urka and her sister took care of an old man who had no relatives and no one to cook for him. They would cook him food every day. Then he suddenly died after stomach pain. The two sisters and their husbands were suspected of causing his death through

Mungai is a glass man. Whenever there is an incident in a family and clarification is needed, Mungai will be called for help. He can tell if sanguma is involved or if the sickness is caused by natural problems. If sorcery is involved he can see who

If someone dies or gets sick that‘s enough evidence to search for a witch. Villagers will sit together and decide who is guilty. It could be a member of the family. Women accused of practicing black magic are tortured or killed the most violent way

Three weeks before the picture was taken a young man had died in the village of Isametoka. The villagers found five people guilty of being responsible for his death because of black magic. They tortured the suspects. Burnt and cut them with hot bush

At night the children are told the ghost stories. That is when they start believing in that thing.

A witch or a sorcerer might use a dog as a medium for the evil spirit. The ancient belief in socery is deeply held into Papuan New Guineas society. Whatever unwanted or unexpected events that occurred in a village and which people could not understa

SANGUMA

I haven’t seen the real thing with my naked eye. The belief in black magic revives from ancient times with an incredible outbreak of violence in Papua New Guinea. Ancient beliefs in sorcery or Sanguma are being catapulted into the modern age, driving incredible outbreaks of violence against women in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. If something unwanted or inexplicable occurs in a village individuals, mostly commonly women, are accused of committing black magic or of being a witch. They will be outcast from their homes, attacked and often killed. These are not secret crimes. An outraged mob will torture the accused women with archaic tools to death in public while no one is willing to help and the perpetrators will mostly not be sentenced. Visiting the most remote areas Kristina talked to victims, survivors, offenders, police men, surviving dependents, researchers, human right defenders and people trying to help bring a resolution to this cyclical violence. She visited the torturing sites, the graves, the funeral piles and the burnt down property. She took pictures and short interviews.

Kristina Steiner

Kristina Steiner is a freelance photographer, photo journalist and visual storyteller who is based in the North of Germany. Born by the northern German coastline Kristina left the north right after finishing school. She lived and worked in various ways in Africa and Latin America. She received an apprenticeship diploma in portrait photography in Munich, Germany. After studying photography design and communications in Berlin and Mexico City, Kristina graduated from university in photography design. For her graduation project which was founded by the academic association of Germany she photographed a reportage within the Zapatista rebells community in the mountains in the South of Mexico. She assisted some well known portrait photographers for a couple of years before studying photojournalism in Aarhus, Denmark. Kristina’s work centers around portrait, reportage and corporate. She is very interested in women‘s topics, people, their identity and their resistance. As she grew up by the Baltic Sea and lives there again now, the ocean became a life accompanying topic for her.