This past September, I was able to witness the Goroka Sing Sing in Papua New Guinea. It is quite a spectacle; ethnic groups from across the Highland provinces come together at Goroka to preform traditional dances and dress in traditional costumes. After spending several days in and around Goroka, I traveled to an isolated region of the East Sepik Province on the Karawari River. The only way to get there, reasonably quickly, is by a chartered flight that lands on a grass covered landing strip carved out of the jungle. The people of this region have an incredibly interesting culture. It wasn’t too long ago that the coming of age rituals required boys to participate in head-hunting raids and drink the brain soup made out of their victims. I finished my stay in Papua New Guinea in the Southern Highlands province, near Tari. This is the home of the Huli Wigmen. The Huli are known for their wigs, yellow face paint, fierce tempers, and the bird of paradise feathers they wear on ceremonial occasions. How many people can say they have visited a wig making school run by a Huli shaman? Although Papua New Guinea has a reputation of being a dangerous place, it is really only the cities and the villages that are near to the mining and liquified natural gas projects that have serious issues. Once you get away from these area,s the people are friendly and very interesting.
On my way home I stopped in Sydney for a couple of days. It was nice but not nearly as interesting as Papua New Guinea.
Goroka
East Sepik Province (Karawari River)
Southern Highlands Province
Sydney
