The Angu, also called Kukukuku (pronounced "cookah-cookah") by neighbouring tribes, is a small and previously violent tribe living mainly in the high, mountainous region of south-western Morobe, a province of Papua New Guinea. Even though they are a short people, often less than 5 foot, they were once feared for their violent raids on more peaceful villages living in lower valleys.[1]
Despite the high altitude and cold climate of their homeland, the Angu only wore limited clothing, including grass skirts, with a piece similar to a sporran, and cloaks made from beaten bark, called mals.[1]
They are also known to Westerners for practicing a sexual ritual involving pre-adolescent boys acting as courtesans for male tribal elders.[2][3]
An account of some of the first contact between the Angu and westerners is describe vividly by J. K. McCarthy in his book Patrol into Yesterday: My New Guinea Years.