| Description |
A Kinavai ceremony photos at Raluana.
From the cultural knowledge and accounts of Tolai, Gunantuna historian, Gideon Kakabin. Extracts of an article from PNGAA Library.
The 'Kinavai' ceremony is one of the significant cultural activities that the 'Gunantuna', who live on the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain Island, perform in order to honour and thank their dead ancestors for having colonised and secured land on New Britain in the distant past.
The 'Kinavai' introduces the 'Tubuan' and 'Dukduk' who are conical masked full bodied spiritual figures. The imagery of the Kinavai is self-evident and it is a re-enactment of the clan’s arrival from across the sea. The canoe delivers the Tubuan to the beach, at the 'matanoi', which is where the clan would have beached upon their arrival on the Gazelle Peninsula.
The 'Kinavai' is a show of strength where men and evil spirits will test you for weakness leaving you exposed and vulnerable. The men need the 'babat' for protection against malice or evil intent so having a white or red powder smeared across their forehead.
These dancing 'Tubuans' in a canoe in the early rising sun are slowly paddled to the beach by singing men then float ashore. They then dance out of the canoe onto the water on the beachfront building excitement as they are animated to the drum beat and the singers drawing the crowd closer.
The beachfront atmosphere is electric, you can see it, you can feel it, you can hear it and you can smell it. Pure adrenaline. The drums and the singing get louder as the canoe beaches. The 'Tubuans' jump off, red, white, brown powder fills the air. The beach a smelly, eclectic mix of spirits and throbbing, thunderous, pulsating humanity. Long feather covered spears are thrust into the sand. Tabu, shell money, waving in the air, leaping in the air, a flash of red, a flash of black, swishing of 'Tubuan' leaves, the singing, deafening.
After the 'Kinavai', the 'Tubuans' rest then a later main activity is the 'Tubuans' dance in the final 'Matamatam' ceremony where they are paid shell money 'tabu'. The details of this shell money payment is the business of the clans male members.
Sources: Gideon Kakabin "A Kinavai" article at PNGAA Library.
https://www.pngaa.net/Library/Kinavai.htm
(Steven Gagau, April 2025) |
