Sanguma - Black Magic In The Highlands of Papua New Guinea

• Photographer
  Kristina Steiner

Ancient beliefs in sorcery or Sanguma are being catapulted into the modern age, driving incredible outbreaks of violence mostly 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.

I am a freelance photographer, photo journalist and visual storyteller who is based in the North of Germany. I lived and worked in various ways in Africa and Latin America. I received an apprenticeship diploma in portrait photography in Munich. After studying photography design and communications in Berlin and Mexico-City, I graduated from university in photography design. Having assisted some well known photographers for a couple of years before studying photojournalism in Aarhus, Denmark. My work centers around portrait and reportage.