Papua New Guinea Map

 

 

      Map of the Pacific

latest picture: August 15, 2010

• click a picture to see details

01  One of the most stunning sights:

The face painting and headdress of a

“Huli Wigman” from Tari in the

Southern Highlands. The tribe of the

Hulis numbers about 150’000 people

02  Banner welcoming visitors to the

Mount Hagen Cultural Show 2010,

which takes place near the airport

03  Chanting man from Pimaga

that lies in the Southern Highlands

province, moves forward

04  Participants from Mt. Hagen in

the Western Highlands and from the

Enga and Chimbu Provinces. Each

tribe shows a specific type of dance

05  The Kagamuga Show Ground

near the airport of Mt. Hagen is filling up

– the huge “singsing” is in full swing

06  Women from the Mt. Hagen

region are dressing up in

the outer show grounds

 

Pre- or mini-show – one day: Entry fee Kina 150 p.p. (= US$ 56)

It is Friday, August 13th, 2010. The sky is cloudy, dense fog hides away everything, rain pours down. Therefore we are more than surprised when at 7am a bus of the ‘Trans Niugini Tours’ arrives to take us to the pre- or mini-show of the famous ‘Mount Hagen Cultural Show’, which takes place at the traditional ceremonial ground of the small Paiyagona Village, 12 miles West of Mt. Hagen. Before leaving, Emil grabs his new Blackberry phone we bought only recently on our way to Papua New Guinea at the Duty Free Shop in Singapore – a luxury we allowed us only after a lot of consideration in order to have better internet access in PNG over the mobile net for sending and retrieving emails, where otherwise the possibilities are very limited. Following the advice of the ‘Trans Niugini Team’, we leave all the other valuables behind, as besides Port Moresby and Lae, Mt. Hagen belongs to the most unsafe places too.

07  How do I look?

A “Huli Wigman” dancer is

starting to put on his makeup

08  A Mt. Hagen man is applying

carefully his war-paints on his face

09  A last touch! The beautiful

makeup of the “Huli Wigman”

is almost finished

10  Women from the Mt. Hagen

region are sitting in the grass

finishing their dress-up

11  Not yet finished:

Mt. Hagen woman fixing

leaves around her waist

12  A Mt. Hagen woman is heating

stones for a “Mumu” – a traditional

underground earth oven

13  A group of Mt. Hagen women

in their stunning appearance enter

the showground dancing,

singing and drumming

14  The Mt. Hagen tribes were great

warriors. Their body decorations still

reflect the former glorification of the war

15  Stamping and beating their drums:

The “Pimaga” men from

Southern Highlands

 

What we want to avoid is that the same incident is happening to us as it did to Azusa and Kazuto, a Japanese traveler couple, who ignored the warning and whose bag containing their personal documents and credit cards was snatched only two days ago, while walking through a sparsely populated area to town. However, it doesn’t really surprise us that they turned up again and could be retrieved for US$ 300. It remembers us very much of Georgetown in Guyana, where we experienced the same thing with one of our LandCruiser’s side mirrors with the only difference that it was already sold when we wanted to buy it back.

16  A Chimbu man poses

proudly for a picture

17  A “Huli Wigman” from the

Southern Highlands does not

yet wear his full traditional attire

18  Everything looks outstanding:

The headdress, the face painting

and the heavy shell collar

decorating the Mt. Hagen woman

19  The Chimbu man with its

beautiful headdress consisting

of different bird of paradise

feathers is an eye-catching sight

20  A man from Mt. Hagen wearing

his war paint and a young woman

from the Enga Province

are standing side-by-side

21  The Pimaga man from the

Southern Highlands, painted in

black, looks rather “wild” with

his unusual headdress sidewards

 

Rain still continues to drizzle when after a 20 minutes drive we reach the village of Paiyaguanda and walk through a muddy path to the show ground. It is only when we arrive and both, guide and driver, have already left for the airport to fetch new customers that Emil notices that his Blackberry is missing. It must have fallen out of his trouser’s pocket onto the bus seat. To make the story short: Nobody wants to have seen it. What a shame; we could enjoy it only for a couple of days!

22  The huge black wig is the main characteristic of the “Sili Muli”

men from Enga. This province

lies West of (Mt. Hagen)

in the Western Highlands

23  A “Sili Muli” men (Enga)

performance in full action. In an

amazing precision, their long aprons

flip out rhythmically in the front

24  A close up of an "Sili Muli”

man from the Enga province

25  A warrior from Mt. Hagen

holding his spear

26  The woman from Pimaga

in the Southern Highlands stands

out with her “modest” outfit

27  “Huli Wigmen” in full

traditional dress-up; but

their faces are not painted yet

28  Chimbu “Skeleton Dancers” –

painted half black and half white –

advance with very slow movements

and awkwardly bent positions. The

dance is a re-enactment of a myth,

recounted by a small boy who

had the apparition of those men

29  Black painted Chimbu dancers

perform in a snake line. In the back,

“Sili Muli” women and men

from Enga province form a line

30  Are the “Jimmi” dancers from

Ambullua not looking like

a conspiracy plot?

 

The mist finally rises slowly and reveals the green rolling hills that surround the festive grounds. It is an atmosphere of mystical beauty. Different ethnic groups appear and the performers start with their traditional dress-up and decorative paintings. Occasionally, they apply their makeup themselves with a tiny mirror, but mostly they help each other doing so. We cannot stop admiring the stunning work of ornamental art of the designs they produce, using mostly bright colors: Red, yellow, black and white, made from natural materials: Fruits, leaves, coal and coral powder.

31  Dance of a Mt. Hagen

group is in full action

32  The ”Asaro Mudmen” are smeared

with grey clay all over their body and wear

a fearful looking mask. It revives the

legend of the small clan which defeated

its enemy in this ghostly appearance

33  Chimbu women wear their mourning

34  The most decorative part

of the Mt. Hagen woman is the

huge bundle of shell collars

that covers her whole chest

35  A beautiful example of

perfection: A fully dressed-up

and face-painted Mt. Hagen man

36  A “Huli Wigman” boy is wearing the

traditional headdress of his clan made of

bird of paradise feathers. These head-

dresses are very valuable and passed

on from generation to generation

 

Many costumes, especially the head dresses, are adorned with feathers of paradise and other birds. When we express some concern about the birds killed for their feathers, we learn that the plumages are passed down from generation to generation and carefully preserved – a sudden rain would be disastrous for both, the feathers and the paintings. Also cowry shells, bead-strings, animal bones, leather and leaves add to the “wild-looking” appearance. Alone to be able to be part of these exotic preparations is a unique experience, all the more that the performers are extremely friendly and always ready to pose for a picture.

37  A performer from the Madang

province in his full traditional regalia

38  A group of the yellow-faced “Huli

Wigmen” tribe people gazing around

39  Chimbu woman getting dressed

40  Pimaga men from the Southern

Highlands, dancing, singing and

beating the ”Kundu” drums

41  A group of women from the coastal

region of Bogia in the Madang province

are closing in while singing and dancing

42  ”Sili Muli” women from the Enga

province holding each one a ”kundu”

drum, dance on the spot. They move their

legs constantly up and down and bow

at the same time forward and backward

43  Mt. Hagen women and children

always attract plenty of photographers

with their gorgeous appearance

44  Mt. Hagen women are

displaying their backs, decorated

with shells and leaves

45  Men and boys of the

”Huli Wigmen” group

are taking a rest

 

When at noon the eleven participating groups finally file into the show ground singing, drumming, stamping and dancing, the air is loaded with excitement. The rhythms of the drums are thundering, feathers are swaying and the dancing bodies are glistening with paints, oils, pig grease and sweat – a spectacle like out of another world.

46  A youngster from Mt. Hagen

in his full “singsing” attire

47  The beautifully elaborated huge

headdress of this Jiwaka man

(formerly part of the Chimbu province)

makes him look like a king

48  A Mt. Hagen man

creates furor with his peculiar

nose ornament from a feather

of a bird of paradise

49  Mt. Hagen mother and

daughter in the same

traditional face decor

50  The Mt. Hagen woman

with her face covered with

leaves is set up for a drama

51  The color of the headdress of

this Chimbu man is sticking out from

all the others. Interesting is his helmet

 

Main show – two days: Entry fee Kina 300 p.p. (= US$ 113)

Next day is the official opening. The first “Sing-Sing” – a Sing-Sing is a group of tribesmen who dress in traditional clothing and display their local dance styles, passed down from generation to generation – was founded 1961 by a colonial administrator who came up with the idea to bring warring tribes together for reconciliation during a mega-cultural-show. In the meantime, it gained iconic status and attracts around 100’000 visitors a year, but only about 500 are foreign tourists.

52  Chimbu women with boar tooth

collars hanging down to their bare

breasts in a relaxing moment

53  Chimbu men are dancing in a circle

54  Chimbu women show the same hair-

dress and face painting as Chimbu men,

wear however no helmets (> photo 51)

55  Chimbu group performing

a skillful ”stick jumping” game

56  Male dancers from the Mt. Hagen

tribe form in a single line and perform

a dance with rhythmic movements,

beating their drums

57  The plumes of the headdresses

of the Chimbu women from Kuka

are flying backward and forward at

their dance movements, but also the

wind is helping at the same time

58  Old man from Chimbu lightening

a cigarette – please note his jacket

59  Portrait of a “Chimbu Skeleton

Dancer” in his awkward movements

60  Liliana is posing with elaborately

decorated Mt. Hagen women

outside of the showground

 

We are already at the show ground at 8am under a blue sky with scattered white towering clouds. Souvenir vendors are just starting to display their arts and crafts – masks, bows and arrows, canvas with highland motifs, shell and bead jewelry and brightly colored traditional string bags, called “Bilum”. The preparation of the stunningly beautiful and interesting self-decoration is already in full swing outside of the showground, which we enjoy once more.

61  Small boy from Mt. Hagen

with his lovely feather headdress

62  Local people are following

and enjoying the Mt. Hagen show

with the same enthusiasm as we do

63  The feathers of the bird of paradise

on the headdress of this Mt. Hagen

man are especially beautifully

arranged. The bamboo rods on his

chest represent wealth, each one

standing for ten pigs “given away”

64  The old woman from Mt. Hagen

is holding a sweet potato in each hand,

which will be cooked in the “Mumu”,

the traditional underground earth oven

65  An old spectator from Mt. Hagen

is enjoying a cigarette during the show

66  I need to have a cigarette too!

– a Mt. Hagen participant in

the stage of dressing up

 

The show itself starts only at 11am, but when it starts – what a show it is! The cameras go wild when the performers are marching in, displaying their magnificent headdresses and body decorations: Warriors with bow-and-arrow, groups beating drums, the ‘Asaro Mudmen’ with their ghostly masks, the snake dancers, and tribe people covered with leaves and moss – each of the 80 performing groups is unique in its appearance.

67  Dancers from the Morobe

Province form a circle

68  A “Huli Wigman” displaying

his beautiful headdress

69  Leaves, fur and shells are the main

components of the outfit of the Mt. Hagen

women when performing a drama

70  A group of Chimbu women

make their appearance

71  A Chimbu woman in her

glorious ceremonial outfit

72  Richly decorated Mt. Hagen

women have a walk around,

each one holding a “Kundu” drum

73  A small group of show

spectators settled down at

the edge of the show ground

74  Arts and crafts sellers are

displaying their works

at the show ground

75  The elderly participant from Mt. Hagen

joins us at the tourist grandstand. He asks

us to buy him a coke, which we do to

make him happy. It was – except of the

entry fee – the only expense while we

could shoot freely more than 800 pictures

 

After one hour, the whole arena is in motion and the atmosphere vibrates of liveliness. The sight is so spectacular, so wild, exotic and emotional, that at the end of the “Sing-Sing”, we shot 800 pictures. It is very hard to make a selection for our website! Nowhere else in the world is the diversity of the cultures and traditions – even the languages – more unique than in PNG. We are very happy that we could include this highlight in our journey around the world!

More websites from Papua New Guinea:

 

• Pictures from the first part of our Papua New Guinea trip from Milne Bay – (Port Moresby) – Mount Hagen – Lae
• Pictures from the third part of our Papua New Guinea trip from Lae – Madang – Goroka
• Pictures from the fourth part of our Papua New Guinea trip of the Goroka Cultural Show September 17th, to 19th, 2010
• Pictures from the fifth part of our Papua New Guinea trip from Goroka – Mt. Hagen – Kumul Pass – Mt. Hagen – Goroka – Lae

Articles in newspapers about us in Papua New Guinea:

Article: "26-year journey around the world", Daily Newspaper "The National" - August 20, 2010

Article: "Travelling the world none-stop for 26 years", Daily Newspaper "The National" - October 21, 2010