| Description |
Culture being incorporated in christian songs during Easter Sunday worship service at Guma Catholic Church. "Putim culture insait long christianity. Ol singsing blong usim long haus lotu em bihainim culture insait long Easter Sandei.
SIDE A:
This file comprised “Solomon” singing and dancing songs. Solomon singing and dancing is a men and boys only dance. The solomon dance was performed during the inauguration and establishment of the ENB provincial government and east Pomio LLG ceremony and or celebrations in 1978, three years after PNG gained independence from Australia in September 1975.
The Solomon singing and dancing was performed in Kilalum village, east Pomio LLG, Pomio district. It was a new and exciting era to celebrate and therefore a lot of the Solomon dancing songs were composed around PNG achieving independence and the expectations independence bring and the new development happenings people perceive and or believe will happen etc. The Solomon singing and dancing celebrations was to mark the ENBP achieving Provincial Government status, and East Pomio achieving local level government (LLG) status as well in 1978.
The Solomon singing and dancing audio recording was done in 1978 in Kilalum village by Martin Taningmal Tevlone, during the celebrations to mark the ENBP achieving Provincial Government status, and East Pomio achieving local level government (LLG) status as well in 1978.
The celebrations, due to the significance of PNG gaining Independence, ENBP provincial government and East Pomio gaining new and respective provincial and local level government status, the composing of Solomon songs, were mainly based around these events, even to the extent that even the simple filling up of kerosene at a plantation or flying in a plane for the first time, etc. attracted Solomon songs to be composed about them.
The Solomon songs were composed in Sulka, Mengen, Pidgin and New Ireland languages. So all of these languages will be heard in this recorded audio file.
The main objective is preservation of the songs on one hand but also to remember and share with future generations the history of these very significance events and occasions, namely, PNG gaining independence, ENBP gaining provincial government status and East Pomio gaining LLG status.
It is a very colorful men’s dance to perform which depicts painted tattoos all over the body, face, chest, back, hands and feet with very colorful head dress comprising figures of all types like, birds, snakes, lizards, fish, etc. Solomon singing and dancing is not local and native to the Sulka tribe. The Sulka tribe adopted the Solomon songs tune and its singing and dancing style from New Ireland, more specifically Anir Islands. The Anir Islanders actually adopted the Solomon style of dancing from North Solomon who adopted it from south Solomon, hence the songs and dancing brand name “Solomon”.
SIDE B:
The Klampun village people singing translated religious songs in Sulka language during Easter Sunday celebration mass of the resurrection of Christ Jesus. The Easter Sunday mass was celebrated at the Guma Catholic Mission Church in 1978.
The singing and dancing to the translated religious songs was performed inside the church itself at the Guma Catholic Mission Station church, in east Pomio LLG, as part of the actual Easter Sunday mass/service celebration.
The Easter Sunday Mass Celebration which featured and or includes the translated religious songs being performed by the Klampun village people during the Sunday Easter mass itself was in April 1978.
The audio file contains singing and dancing to translated religious songs by the Klampun village people leading the Easter Sunday celebration mass. The songs are performed based on the whole mass or church service standard procession from start to finish. It was a very colorful and significant occasion in church, as this was the first time its ever done, creating history for the Catholic church, Guma Parish and the Sulka tribe.
All of the religious songs were translated and sung in the Sulka language. The songs were composed based on the Easter songs normally performed in church choirs during Easter celebrations year in year out by the catholic church.
The main objective is preservation of these songs on one hand but also to remember and share with future generations the history of this very significance event and occasion, namely, the religious songs being translated and composed in the Sulka tribe, and the singing and dancing to the songs in church for the first time as part of Easter Sunday mass celebrations.
The tune of the singing and dancing was based on the mgaieng and tumbuan songs, and the traditional instruments used comprise and include, apart from kundu drums, tomtoms or “vrain” normally used by tumbuans called “Susu” to perform their dance to the public. It is a very significant step taken by the catholic church to include traditional dancing style to religious songs in church, and in doing so creating history. The songs are very catchy in tune and the choreography is very uniquely Sulka tradition in every sense.
(Paul Tevlone, May 2021) |
| Cite as |
Steven Gagau (collector), Steven Gagau (data_inputter, depositor, researcher), Paul Tevlone (consultant, translator), 1978. Sulka Culture Music in Christianity . MPEG/VND.WAV/JPEG/TIFF. SG1-006 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.26278/bsbm-cm27 |
