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CULTURE & CUSTOMS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Physically remote and still very isolated, Papua New Guinea is one of the least explored countries in the world, both culturally and geographically. This means its cultural life and customs have been allowed to flourish untainted by outside influence for centuries. And, due to the huge number of tribes living here – an estimated 750 – it has more than just well preserved culture; it has a glorious abundance of it, with hundreds of diverse tribal traditions and ceremonies that are very local and utterly unique.

Although much of PNG remains unexplored and unexplained, it is possible to meet and learn about some of the tribes both on New Guinea itself and the surrounding islands. The Highland regions are a great place for tribal encounters, and home to some of the most resilient culture anywhere in PNG. You might join a traditional mumu feast, for which food is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked under hot stones, and witness a sing sing, a performance devised as a way for neighbouring villages to peacefully share traditions.

Asaro ‘Mudmen’

The term ‘Mudmen’ applies to the men of the Asaro tribe, after their practice of coating their skin in mud and wearing ghoulish clay masks adorned with pigs’ teeth and shells. There are various origin myths around this tradition, but they all centre on the mud and mask combination making the men look like spirits or ghosts, which terrified their enemies and gave the Asaro a fearsome advantage. The mud mask tradition originates with the Asaro people, but many tribes in the Eastern Highlands have now plagiarised it for commercial gain.

Baining Fire Dance

The Fire Dance is a rite of passage performed by adolescent male members of the Baining tribe of New Britain. They compete wearing massive headdresses, shaped like animals’ heads, and run through and kick the fire, sending up showers of sparks, accompanied by chanting and singing from village elders.

Goroka Show

This is the longest running tribal gathering and cultural festival in Papua New Guinea hosted in Goroka, capital of the Eastern Highlands Province, in September. It’s an annual event conceived in the 1950s by Australian patrol officers and designed to provide an opportunity for isolated and historically warring tribes to interact in a peaceful environment. More than 100 tribes participate now, performing displays of sing sings – traditional songs, dances and ritual performances – and wearing extraordinary and colourful tribal dress.

Madang

Madang is a thriving community renowned for its traditional artists (it has a good local market) and it also has an interesting museum, where you can see a number of ceremonial headdresses, as well as a range of local jewellery, weapons and musical instruments.

Religions Practiced

The law of the land allows the citizens of PNG to have the freedom to choose their religions without any fear of repercussion. As of 2011, a census conducted in the country showed that the majority of the population (about 95.6%) is Christian while non-Christians make up only 1.4%. Another portion of the population, about 3.1% of the population, chose not to respond. Despite the domination of Christianity, the traditional beliefs and practices of the people have been mixed with modern religions.

Protestants, who constitute a whopping 70% of the population in the country, dominate the majority of the population. These Protestants go to varying churches including the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, the United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Other churches include the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea, a diverse range of Pentecostal denominations, the Evangelical Alliance Papua New Guinea, and a few others. In addition, the Roman Catholic Church is present although it has a minority following of only 25% of PNG’s population.

The Muslim population in the country is minor. Estimates place the Muslim population in the country at around 2,000 people only. Of these 2,000 Muslims, most belong to the Sunni sect while the remaining belong to the Ahmadi group. The traditional beliefs are mostly centered on animism, that is, they involve the worship of objects or other worldly things like animals. Aside from animism, other traditions have certain aspects that involve praising the dead. These traditional systems are also known for their beliefs in evil spirits known as masalai, which “poison” people in order to kill them. Another common belief among the traditional systems is the practice of sorcery or puripuri.

Festivals

Most of the festival calendar in the country is dominated by cultural celebrations. The major reason for this cultural domination is the diversity in the ethnic groups living in the country and the deep-rooted traditionalism in the way of life. One such event is the Mt Hagen Show, which is held annually at the Kagamuga Show Grounds in order to display the splendid culture of PNG. Thousands of performers and spectators usually show up for this event. Other festivals include the Crocodile Festival to celebrate crocodiles, the Enga Cultural Show, which is held every August and frequented by tourists, and the Hiri Moale Festival to remember trading routes in the past. Other celebrations include the Morobe Province Agricultural Show and the Papua New Guinea Arts and Cultural Festival.

. Cuisine

The staple food of the country includes starchy vegetables, which include yams, wild sago, sweet potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, and breadfruit. These starchy foods are served together with things like fruit (such as coconuts and bananas) or wild greens. In addition to vegetation, the people eat meat from domesticated livestock as well as hunting of game like pork, marsupials, cassowaries, and birds. People living in the coast or areas with significant water bodies also eat fish, such as shellfish.

Meals are prepared twice a day from an oven dug on the ground. The food can be roasted or boiled. A common drink that is consumed throughout the day is tea while things like coconut milk, sugarcane, and leftovers are eaten during work. During ceremonial occasions, a large amount of meat is eaten.

Music And Dance

Traditional music is characterized by vibrant and colorful attired dancers who dance to their kind of music, which is known as sing-sing. The early stages of the 20^th century saw the emergence of pop music, which also came with new instruments such as the guitar and the ukulele. Aside from pop music, the country has reggae music as well as hip-hop artists such as O-shen and Naka Blood. Some of the notable musicians include Ali Baba, Justin Wellington, and many more.

Literature

Most of the literature in the country is oral since the majority of the population cannot read or write. Most historians and academicians started taking an active interest in the country in the period following 1960. Orally, the people pass on things like clan genealogies, magic and sorcery, mortuary chants, initiation, and other things. Consequently, radio is a crucial form of communication, especially for people living in isolated regions. Television services are mostly available in urban areas. Aside from this, there are ongoing publications such as the Wantok, The PNG Writer, and others. Publishing is still young although the early 2000s saw a new wave of writers and academics for both religious and non-religious content.

Papua Traditional Clothing

Physically, papua’s traditional clothing is skirt-type looking made of dried palm leaves or coconut fiber. There are birds feather used as accessories for the bracelet and necklace. They usually used paradise bird feathers as accessories for their clothing.

Uniquely, Papua’s traditional clothing is not made of cloth. These clothing are usually used for everyday use, even though only the old tribes still used this kind of clothing. Even more, Papua still believe this clothing as their traditional clothing that’s usually used for traditional events or wedding.

Papuan don’t use make up, they use face painting all over their faces and body usually using white color to decorate their looks. They too use pig tusk to bring the white color. Even though they have dark skin color, they like to use white color accessory such as pig tusk to decorate their clothing.

Indonesian government used Papua’s clothing for as the cultural marketing. They were introduced through prestigious events of international scale. They enliven the events by providing Papuan traditional dance performance using indigenous costumes.



It is known that, Papuan traditional clothing is the simplest amongst other traditional clothing in Indonesia. Also it is very easy made, just need to focus on details such as white color accessory and Paradise bird feather.

Religious Beliefs In Papua New Guinea

Religious Beliefs In Papua New Guinea

Community members attending mass at a church in Papua New Guinea. Editorial credit: Michal Knitl / Shutterstock.com

Papua New Guinea (known formally as the Independent State of Papua New Guinea) is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean just north of the island continent of Australia. The Oceanic nation comprises the eastern half of the much larger island of New Guinea while the western portion is home to Papua and West Papua which are provinces under the jurisdiction of the nation of Indonesia.

Social Beliefs And Etiquettes

Etiquette in the country mostly revolves around reciprocating good deeds and hospitability. However, reciprocation is not always a requirement due to different levels of income. What a well-off person can do, for a less fortunate person it may be to too big to reciprocate. Unlike other cultures, the young and the elderly mingle freely with little restriction. During ceremonies, the young and the old will be seen clasping hands or dancing together. However, chiefly societies require that the people show respect to chieftains.