Asaro mud men in Eastern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea Probably the most famous of all New Guinea indigenous people, the mud men are also called bush demons. The whitish-grey body clay represents the colour of death and spirits. Their ancestors, near defeat in battle, were able to scare off the enemy by emerging from the Asaro river so disguised. Lying on my back, I was surrounded by these eerie mask-clad men. I exposed for the mud masks and blew out the sky to give a lightness to the image