Each year Papua New Guinea hosts a series of colourful festivals, and whilst the country’s remote highland provinces are often most associated with spectacular sights and mesmerising performances, the coastal regions are also host to a number of not-to-be missed cultural encounters.
Here’s a round up of some of Papua New Guinea’s most captivating coastal festivals to provide a little inspiration of what awaits the cultural traveller when restrictions lift and we are free to explore the world once again:
The National Mask & Warwagira Festival
When: Annually in July
Where: Kokopo/Rabaul
The National Mask & Warwagira Festival promotes the unique mask cultures of East New Britain Province. The Festival is an extravaganza of cultural dancing, ritual performance, story-telling and exchange. The first day of the festival includes the ‘Kinavai’ – the arrival of the Tolai ‘Tubuans’ and ‘Duk-Duks’ at dawn. Witness the traditional Tolai shell money exchanges that mark the opening of the festival. At night, the Baining people who live in the mountains invite visitors to watch as men perform brave dances through blazing fires. The 2020 National Mask & Warwagira Festival will mark the 26th anniversary of the event and takes place from July 8th to 12th, in Kokopo at the Ralum showground.
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