When Stone Aged Men Surround You
Consider the possibility of being guarded by hundreds of Stone Age tribesmen all smeared up in pig grease and soot brandishing their arrows, spears, and axes in your direction while they howl their war chants. You would not like it one bit. This is the annual Highlands Show of Papua New Guinea and you are being entertained.
For Papua New Guinea, it is located in between and the equator, it is made up of small islands from the Bismarck Archipelago plus the eastern half of the large island that it shares with Indonesia. Achieving independence and nationhood in 1975 was this country but long before this occurred, managed the territories of Papua and New Guinea under various United Nations trust arrangements. Unknown is the western way of life in a number of places in this country. If you’re looking to learn about rabaul new guinea, visit their site for more details.
It was during the 1930s when white men traveling on foot were able to explore these rugged Highlands. You can say that the white man continues to be a novelty today because a camera toting tourist is as popular at the Highlands Show as the performing painted warrior. Usually, this two day show is held alternately in the towns of Goroka and Mount Hagen and this is where 60,000 people, mostly Papua New Guineans, go to watch. Usually, people will walk for days or weeks to join in the festivities and they come from far distances including Telefomin, Wapenamanda, and Ukarumpa.
In this case, shown are the usual agricultural and crafts exhibits plus local skills which include fire making and house building. In this show, light entertainment is scattered. It has every event from chasing after the greased pig to bicycle races to climbing up a greased pole with dangling cigarettes and beer and barefoot competitors participate complete with weaponry. In terms of the climax of the weekend, the tribes display to tourists and locals their treasured ceremonial attire during the sing sing competition.
To the deep hollow beat of the kundu drum, people dance and chant even under the heat of the sun as the pace changes to simulate a battle or stage a legend from tribal history. It is the kaleidoscope of color and costume which makes the Highlands sing rather amazing. Embellished are the dancers in this case. Covering their bodies in the darkest soot, their faces also come luminescent in red and blue ochre and they use beads, feathers, leaves, and store bought crepe paper as trimmings. Earrings are made from safety pins and for their pierced septums what they use are ball point pens and even a piece of an automobile engine rather than the usual pig’s tusk or other bone. Learn about new guinea tours.
Here, unwrapped and displayed are the village heirlooms. Children wear their headpieces made from the fur of the spotted cuscus, a small marsupial, with pride. Because seashells were once a form of currency, people still give them much value. The tall swaying plumes of the cassowary and of the national symbol which is the peacock like Raggiana Bird of Paradise can be seen at times.
Eventually the eerie Asaro mudmen drift into view. These fellows are coated in white mud and wear grotesque heads constructed of sun baked clay and straw. Slapping leaves off their thighs, they dance their swaying dance. It is according to a legend that one tribe retreated into the Asaro River after their enemies pursued them.
When they emerged covered with the white clay, the attackers took them to be pallid ghouls, and fled. This victory is commemorated by the Asaro mudmen up to no by covering themselves in the same river mud. Those who gave the best presentations and were best in their costumes were awarded with prizes in cash and cattle as well after all the sing sings. As the day ends, locals and tourists start their journey back home.
