Friday, May 29, 2009

Peak into Tolai Culture

A few months back my parents attended the Kiniwai (mortuary process a.k.a. basically the passing on of the traditional estate of a deceased elder) of Mele Paivu on Matupit Island (East New Britain Province). They captured footage of the event which can been seen in the video below. The National (A PNG newspaper) also posted an article about it on their website here - its worth a read for the background into the process and tradition.

The video below shows a stark contrast of the greens and reds against a beautiful backdrop of a landscape devasted by the nearby active volcanoe Matupit a.k.a. Tavurvur. The beat of the traditional kundu drums also add to the eeriness and spectacle.