Portrait of Asaro Mudmen with the typical clay masks (Papua New Guinea). The "Mudmen" of Papua New Guinea's Asaro tribe, also known as the Holosa, are those who wear a traditional costume centered around masks made of mud. They live nearby the village of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. There are several oral history versions regarding the creation of the Asaro Mudmen but the most credible one seems to be based on the fear of spirits for the most tribes in Papua New Guinea. For sure, the tradition is undeniably an Asaro invention but the current elaborate form of the Mudmen tradition is likely to have been influenced by outside elements. The masks have unusual designs, such as long or very short ears either going down to the chin or sticking up at the top, long joined eyebrows attached to the top of the ears, horns and sideways mouths.