Milwaukee Public Museum

by George Ulrich

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is reprinted without illustrations from LORE magazine, a benefit of museum membership. ©1996 Milwaukee Public Museum, Inc.

In Pidgin English, the unofficial national language of Papua New Guinea, the word "singsing" means to dance and sing, to take part in a ceremony, or simply to "party." For two days and nights in August, more than 20,000 plumed and painted men and women descend upon the otherwise quiet little town of Goroka for the Eastern Highlands Show. Many of these men and women are but a generation or two removed from a life which included warfare, headhunting, and cannibalism. Today these sons and daughters of warriors come to Goroka for music, dancing, and fun, not for revenge or homicide.

New Guinea is located seventy-five miles north of Queenland, Australia, in a region of the South Pacific known as Melanesia. It is the second largest island in the world, and has a population of just over four million people. It is divided politically into two nations. Irian Jaya, or West Irian, comprises the western half of the island and is part of the nation of Indonesia. Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the island, gained independence from Australia in 1975. New Guinea is a rugged land. High mountains form a central division between north and south. Rapid rivers rush from these highlands, cutting deep valleys and gorges, then slow their swift descent to create the vast swamps of the hot, humid lowlands. Dense rainforest covers much of the island.

These natural barriers to migration have created the most culturally diverse nation in the world. More than 700 distinct ethnic groups live in Papua. Each group has its own language, social system, customs, rituals, and distinctive style of dress. In 1986, more than 100 ethnic groups, popularly termed "tribes," were represented at the Goroka Show. They arrived from every direction in lorries, cars, buses, airplanes and on foot. They came not only from the great island of New Guinea, but from New Britain, the Trobriand Islands, the Solomans, and numerous smaller islands which form the nation of Papua New Guinea. Most arrived wearing cotton shorts and T-shirts, or print shifts purchased from the "Steamships" trading store. But once in Goroka, these modern clothes are discarded, and farmers, clerks, and students begin to transform their bodies into living works of art.

The Australian government instituted "tribal fairs" in the 1950s to reduce warfare. At first these fairs were localized events attracting only a few thousand people. Australian officials, aided by ethnologists, utilized traditional feasts as an outlet for tensions which have otherwise ended in violence. Over time these fairs grew in popularity not only with the Papuans, but with tourists from around the world. The Mt. Hagen/Goroka Show is the most famous tribal fair. Locals call it the "Highlands Show," or simply the Singsing. It is held in alternate years at Mt. Hagen in the Western Highlands, or at Goroka in the Eastern Highlands. The precise day and time are set by an intertribal council and are determined by traditional considerations such as the yam harvest. It is always held during the southern winter, which is the dry season and a traditional time for revenge and bloodshed.

The drums begin before dawn on Saturday in the hills around Goroka. One by one each singsing group makes its way to the Sports Complex grounds. Trucks filled with singing, drumming warriors jam the streets. The cool mountain air is electric with excitement, as thousands of people settle into their designated areas of a large rugby field. Saturday is a dress rehearsal for Sunday. It is a day to sharpen dancing and coordinate drumming. It is also a time to size up the competition.

Sunday is the big day of the show. After a spectacular grand entrance, the groups are judged and the best singsing is selected. The prize for first place is more than $12,000, but the prestige of winning counts as much as the cash. Competition frequently becomes so intense, especially between former enemy tribes, that violence breaks out. During performances the men carry spears, bows and arrows, and axes. In the confusion, an arrow sometimes "accidentally" escapes in the general direction of "enemy" dancers. Security at the Goroka Show is very tight.

Tourists and professional photographers are drawn to the Highland Show for the costuming. Self-decoration is elevated to a high art among these people, especially among the men. Each tribe has its own distinct combination of decorative elements; within each tribe there are clans with distinctive variations in dress. Finally, individuals, especially wealthy and powerful men, are free to express themselves in unique ways. A "bigman's" attire proclaims his rank and power for all to see. The entire system of self-decoration is highly symbolic and very complex.

The major elements of costume can be broken down into sets. A set is comprised of a wig or headdress, a specific combination of face and body pain designs, and a particular combination of shells and other ornaments. Wigs are made from human hair or netted plant fibers. They are embellished with flowers, leaves and especially with feathers. The most valued plumes are taken from the many species of Birds-of-Paradise native to New Guinea. Pearl shells, and other sea shells, are also important symbols of wealth and power. Important social and political messages are transmitted through ornaments and wigs, and the stronger the message, the more elaborate the costume. The color and pattern of face paint is also an indicator of tribe, social rank and prestige. For example, yellow, red, and blue face paint, and an upturned wig of human hair accented with the feathers of the Lorikeet and the Superb Bird-of-Paradise, identify a Huli man from the Southern Highlands who is dressed for "Haroli," the bachelor dance. Different individuals have different stories to tell with the decorations on their bodies. It is necessary to learn the "language" of tribal dress, the unique ways in which material elements are put together to give the meaning.

The Eastern Highlands Show is a juxtaposition of the traditional, modern and post-modern. Young men and women with painted faces, their bodies glistening with tree oil, rock and sway to the beat of sangguma, a modern music whose sound recalls the Reggae of Jamaica. Away from the dust and din of the dancing ground, there are stalls which sell t-shirts, soda, hot dogs, souvenirs, Goroka coffee, and bibles. Tribesmen in full costume line up to have their pictures taken, while in another part of the fairgrounds, men test their skill in archery at the "Pop-a- Shot" range using traditional palmwood bows and cane shaft arrows. Goroka is part county fair and part "pow-pow".

There are a number of ways to view people with different customs, especially customs which seem "savage" to us. But if we study the history of our own civilization, we learn that all of us--Asian, African or European--have ancestors who once dressed in plumes, painted their faces, and fought constant wars with their neighbors. Some even took enemy heads as trophies of victory, or as sources of supernatural power. Perhaps it is this connection with the past which trigger a sense of recognition; a perception of something strange and foreign, yet oddly familiar. What truly separates us from them? Perhaps no more than time and space. There are any number of reasons for going to Papua New Guinea, but regardless of what one's reasons might be, one does.