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Barbara Banfi & Kim

@barbara__kim

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Brisbane-Australia-Author of
The Moluccas-Indonesian Spice Islands-The Land of the Alifuru People

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.......… This photo is dedicated to the Moluccan community in the Netherlands and the Alifuru People of the Maluku Islands. “We should be proud of our culture and heritage, and all learn to sustain ourselves by holding onto the integrity of who we are. We will then become stronger when we all understand our cultural roots”. ……… An Alifuru Maneo from Seram Island, Indonesia. This is the photo cover of my book. ..... “The Moluccan Indonesian Spice Islands - The Land of the Alifuru People”.... It was taken in 2003, with and old Kodak film camera………………… ……………………… #kodak #kodakmoments #madewithkodak #people_in_bl #people_infinity #ig_photo_life #ig_respect #big_world_photo #worldface #mybest_portrait #ig_captures_people #ig_photo_life #life_and_live_people #pocket_indonesia #globe_people #ok_people #loves_people #igworldclub_life #everydayasia #ICU_Indonesia #Loves_Cultures #wanderlustfilms #malukuislands #maluku #phototag_it #iamindonesia #alifuru #vq_people #ig_respect #snap_people by @barbara__kim

......--HAPPY NEW YEAR -- We are wishing all of you the best for a Fantastic 2018 and a big thank you for your wonderful comments and support in 2017!!!!!! ………………………………… This Video journey is from the amazing island of Seram, the largest island in southern Maluku Province in Indonesia, and according to local beliefs it is the "Nusa Ina" or Mother Island where all the people of Central Maluku, once came from. ……………… Enjoy! ……………
………………………………………………… FILMING: Barbara Banfi
………………………………………………… EDITING: Barbara Banfi and Kim Doutch
………………………………………………… Video Camera Sony HXR-NX70P
………… #EarthCapture #mtma #videographer #videostar #worlderlust #bd_
#worldnomads #EarthOnLocation #destination_wild #WildlifePage #BBCEarth⠀#creative_motion #indotravelvidgram #indovidiotravel #exploreseramisland #videooftheday #bns_nature #igvideo #travellingthroughtheworld #fantastic_captures
#pocket_indonesia #wanderlustfilms #natgeoindonesia #bns_indonesia #sonyaustralia by @barbara__kim

.......… The Alifuru are the Indigenous inhabitants of the Moluccan archipelago in Indonesia. They are a semi-nomadic Melanesian tribal people who traditionally live by hunting, fishing and gathering wild plants for foods. In this video showing the Huaulu village in North Seram, the people follow their Animist religion and system of taboos, wearing the customary red turbans that immediately identify them as Indigenous to the interior of Seram Island. The Moluccan Islands with their Indigenous population are threatened by the onset of commercial logging, mining, migratory land settlement and illegal collecting of plants and animals. The increasing population of Indonesia is leading to exponential increases in demands for natural resources. The Tribal people of Indonesia and the rest of the world have already lost their forests and ancestral lands to make way for, villages, agricultural, mining and logging concessions. We have to remember that the Indigenous peoples of the world often play a vital role in preserving biodiversity, something that is often forgotten. It’s No Coincidence that 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity is found on the lands of tribal peoples and that the vast majority of the 200 most biodiverse places on Earth are tribal peoples’ territories. ………
………………………………………………… Video Camera (Sony HXR-NX70P): Barbara Banfi
………………………………………………… Editing: Barbara Banfi and Kim Doutch
……………………………………………………………
………… #EarthCapture #mtma #videographer #videostar #worlderlust #bd_
#worldnomads #EarthOnLocation #destination_wild #WildlifePage #BBCEarth⠀#creative_motion #indotravelvidgram #indovidiotravel #exploreseramisland #videooftheday #bns_nature #igvideo #travellingthroughtheworld #fantastic_captures
#pocket_indonesia #wanderlustfilms #natgeoindonesia #bns_indonesia #sonyaustralia #ig_respect #alifuru #malukuislands #people_and_world by @barbara__kim

The Mentawai people of Siberut Island live in complete harmony with their ancient rainforest home. Following an animist philosophy known as Arat Sabulungan, they believe every tree, stream, and animal possesses a soul (simagere). This deep connection is beautifully illustrated by their hand-tapped tattoos, which mimic jungle vines and act as a spiritual shield. The traditional death rituals of the Mentawai people deeply reflect their animist worldview (Arat Sabulungan), specifically their ancient practice of tree-canopy platform burials. In their belief system, death is not a sudden end but a transition where the soul (simagere) is released back into the jungle. In earlier generations, the Mentawai did not bury their dead in the earth. Instead, they placed the deceased inside a hollowed-out dugout canoe (abak) elevated onto raised wooden platforms high within the branches of towering rainforest trees. This allowed the physical form to decompose naturally back into the canopy, physically and spiritually returning the individual to the forest that sustained them. During this time, families would ritually alter their daily canoes—such as cutting the front or back of the boat—to physically mark the shape of their grief. Simultaneously, shamans (sikerei) performed intense cleansing ceremonies inside the communal longhouse (Uma) to guide the wandering simagere safely into the jungle sky. However, their entire way of life is under severe threat. Caught between state-sponsored transmigration programs and aggressive commercial logging, the Mentawai are locked in a fierce battle for survival—fighting not just to protect their trees but to save an ancient culture from being wiped out. As corporate logging forces a shift from canopy platforms to modern earth burials, the fight to protect their territory is a literal struggle to keep their ancestors' resting places—and their future—intact.

Mentawai indigenous people living inside the boundaries of Siberut National Park, West Siberut Island, Mentawai Archipelago, Sumatra, Indonesia
#ig_respect #Mentawai #Siberut #IndigenousPeople #IndonesianCulture by @barbara__kim

Cloaked in the velvet darkness of the night sky above and carrying the sacred embers of the campfire on its belly below, the red-bellied black snake glides through the waterways—a silent, ancient guardian of the bush. Across many First Nations cultures, snakes are deeply revered as powerful ancestral beings tied to creation, life-giving waters, and Customary Law. The red-bellied black snake stands as a reclusive yet potent protector of these freshwater ecosystems; wearing the literal colours of earth and fire, it remains a timeless, living symbol of resilience and connection to Country.

The Red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae, Toonumbar National Park, New South Wales, Australia

#redbelliedblacksnake
#australianwildlife
#QldParks
#wildlifephotography
#australiansnakes by @barbara__kim

Rising like an emerald crown from the floor of the Banda Sea, Gunung Api stands as a silent sentinel—a monument to the untamed, majestic spirit of Maluku. Born of fire and carved by time, its peaks reach for the heavens while its roots plunge deep into the mysteries of the ocean. Directly across the narrow, glass-like channel lies Banda Neira, a quiet colonial town wrapped in the faded opulence of a turbulent past. Here, the ancient whispers of history meet the restless energy of the earth. Beneath the shadow of the volcano, crumbling Dutch mansions, the imposing stone walls of Fort Belgica, and old nutmeg plantations tell stories of a time when these tiny islands were the center of global empires—once so fiercely coveted for their precious spices that a global war traded away Manhattan just to secure their shores. It is a place where the haunting echoes of the spice wars bleed seamlessly into the timeless beauty of the tropics. Standing on the shores of Banda Neira, looking out at the smoking peaks of Gunung Api, one is reminded that true majesty is born from the wildest, most passionate, and deeply complicated forces of human history and nature.

The Banda Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Banda) are a remote volcanic archipelago of 11 islands in the Banda Sea, located within the Maluku province of Indonesia

#Maluku #BandaIslands #SpiceIslands
#HiddenParadise #ColonialArchitecture by @barbara__kim

“Where the jagged, icy spires of Khangchendzonga touch the sky, a profound spiritual presence awakens. The mountains do not stand in silence; they sing through countless prayer flags fluttering in the crisp Himalayan wind, casting ancient blessings of harmony across the earth.”

Sikkim, Northeast India
#sikkim #Great_Captures_Sun #rebel_sky #sky_sultans #Sky_Mania__ by @barbara__kim

With a crown of midnight velvet and a heart that beats to its own rhythm, the Palm Cockatoo stands as a brilliant master musician of the ancient canopy. It is famously celebrated as the only non-human animal known to craft and play its own musical instruments for courtship—a creative soul that meticulously whittles down live branches to drum a soulful rhythm against hollow trees, calling out for love. Yet, as the shadows of a changing world lengthen, this clever and majestic bird continues to play its unique symphony, drumming a poignant song of survival into the quiet, vanishing depths of a rainforest it has long called home.

The Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), Batanta Island, West Papua, Indonesia

#batanta #kings_birds #great_captures_nature #wildlifephotography #wildlife by @barbara__kim

"As the sun descends, it ignites the heavens in a breathless symphony of gold and crimson, weaving threads of shadow and light across the earth. This radiant twilight is not an ending but a grand veil lifting to unveil a secret kingdom. In this transitional hour, the bustling day gently surrenders to a world reborn in deep shadow and liquid gold—a realm where the quiet wonders of the night awaken, and every creature finds its place beneath a canopy of eternal stars."

Eurimbula National Park, Queensland, Australia
#queenslandnationalparks #queensland
#Great_Captures_Sun #world_bestsky #sunsetsniper by @barbara__kim

Rooted in the high peaks of the eastern Himalayas, the Bhutia people hold the ancient spirit of Tibet in their hearts and the vibrant colors of Sikkim in their traditions, weaving a heritage as enduring as the mountains they call home.
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Buthia girl, Sikkim, Northeast India

#sikkim #ig_respect #great_capture_people #mybest_portrait #loves_cultures by @barbara__kim

We return to the shore because our cells remember the sea. It is where emerald canopy meets turquoise waters and where the human heart, listening to the eternal rhythm of the waves, finally finds its way home.
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Torres Islands, Torba Province,Vanuatu

#VanuatuMoments #vanuatu #ig_skyline #answerthecallofvanuatu #vanuatuislands by @barbara__kim

A baby orangutan’s survival is a masterclass in quiet tenacity. It is measured not in size... but in the iron strength of its fingers. Born into a world fifty feet above the forest floor, the infant does not walk its first steps. It swings from a living lifeline. Every blink of its wide, amber eyes takes in a paradise under siege. Yet its tiny instincts—clinging, tasting, reaching for the next green leaf—are ancient promises of continuity. It is a fragile spark of orange in a darkening emerald cathedral... holding fast to the belief that the trees will always be there. But when the forest vanishes, it takes with it the only world a baby orangutan has ever known. They are left as echoes in a canopy that no longer exists... holding onto nothing... but a memory of trees.

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Gunung Leuser National Park, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Deforestation in Sumatra has destroyed over four million hectares of natural rainforest since 2001, driving critically endangered wildlife toward extinction and triggering devastating flash floods across the island.

#sumatra #wildlife #nature #orangutan #wildlifephotography by @barbara__kim