In April 2019, another research expedition to the Maclay Coast (Rai Coast), North-East of the New Guinea Island, took place. The expedition members made a deeper study of the various aspects of culture of the local residents – Papuans. What prompted the head of the Foundation, the great-grandnephew, to go again in this not a simple expedition with a team of scientists and documentary filmmakers? We asked Nickolay Nikolaevich about it. “First of all, the locals themselves. Their first reception will always be in my heart. Our trip was not easy and it took six days to arrive instead of two. It is told about in the book “Journey to the Maclay Coast” and in the film “The Man from the Moon”. The trip was not easy, it is no accident that no one over the past 40 years has not organized a comprehensive scientific expedition. The latter one was organized by the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1977 in the period of USSR. The locals learned that Maclay’s descendant from far Russia was going to arrive and they gathered to meet me on the coast, where the scientist’s hut once located. More than 3,000 local residents gathered on the coast, filling all the surroundings. We were lucky to arrive on September 16, the day of Papua New Guinea’s Independence celebration. The participants sang their National Anthem and erected the Russian flag together with the flag of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG), so that the Russians learned how they kept the memory of the Russian pioneer. This was symbolic, because it was there 146 years ago when the great traveler erected the Russian flag, going to people who did not know by that time what iron was. We did not take the flag, all that was the merit of local residents who remembered Russia and passed the legends from mouth to mouth about Miklouho-Maclay. Our expedition encouraged them to create a society named after N.N. Miklouho-Maclay, and Maclay Jr. – to do everything possible to let Russians know how they keep the memory of the Russian pioneer. Who knows, maybe this sincere and respectful attitude towards Russia, which Miklouho-Maclay instilled, will become the basis for good relations at all levels between our countries in the business, scientific, humanitarian and cultural spheres.
