strangling fig with many roots planted tightly together. The archway cave entrance leads to two or three large chambers with bulging stalactites hanging from the ceiling and thick stalagmites covered with greenish mosses and a collection of pillars. Some rounded openings in the roof allow for beams of light to filter through. It is quite atmospheric indeed! No doubt prehistoric men would have lived in this natural cathedral-like dwelling. Archaeologists had come to research this cave in the 1970s. Back then, an underground passage had connected the cave to a sinkhole 4km away along the road, but this passage is now blocked by mud and debris. “That doline (sinkhole) pit, 25m deep, is full of bones from people who had been murdered in the cannibals’ time,” Joel tells me cheerfully. “Rounded openings in the roof allow for beams of light to filter through. It is quite atmospheric indeed! No doubt prehistoric men would have lived in this natural cathedral-like dwelling”
Above and below: Mumuni Cave with its cathedral-like open roof and bulky stalagmites
Below: Guide Joel Korus next to a big stalagmite in Mumuni Cave
Stalactites in Mumuni Cave
guide me into Mumuni Cave. I have to submit myself to the ‘kastom’ (custom) and water is sprinkled over my ankles. It is only a short way down below a giant ficus tree, a
This one is in the cliff, but when we stop to ask permission, the owner is not around. Not a problem, the car will take me back the
following morning after arrangements have been made for my visit. The next day the owners are waiting for me. Joel Korus will
VOLUME 39 2024
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