Item details
Item ID
WM2-001e
Title A Bit Na Ta - A Kinavai Ceremony, Raluana
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)
Origination date
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/WM2/001e
URL https://www.pngaa.net/Library/Kinavai.htm
Collector
David Bridie
Countries To view related information on a country, click its name
Language as given
Subject language(s) To view related information on a language, click its name
Content language(s) To view related information on a language, click its name
Dialect
Region / village Raluana, Gazelle Peninsula, East New Britain Province
Originating university University of Sydney
Operator Jodie Kell
Data Categories song
Data Types MovingImage
Discourse type singing
Roles Steven Gagau : consultant
DOI 10.26278/h2sf-r272
Cite as David Bridie (collector), Steven Gagau (consultant). A Bit Na Ta - A Kinavai Ceremony, Raluana . JPEG/TIFF. WM2-001e at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.26278/h2sf-r272
Content Files (214)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
WM2-001e-038.tif image/tiff 24.9 MB
WM2-001e-039.jpg image/jpeg 1.86 MB
WM2-001e-039.tif image/tiff 14.3 MB
WM2-001e-040.jpg image/jpeg 2.84 MB
WM2-001e-040.tif image/tiff 25 MB
WM2-001e-041.jpg image/jpeg 3.57 MB
WM2-001e-041.tif image/tiff 29.3 MB
WM2-001e-042.jpg image/jpeg 3.93 MB
WM2-001e-042.tif image/tiff 34.2 MB
WM2-001e-043.jpg image/jpeg 3.48 MB
WM2-001e-043.tif image/tiff 30.5 MB
WM2-001e-044.jpg image/jpeg 2.26 MB
WM2-001e-044.tif image/tiff 17.4 MB
WM2-001e-045.jpg image/jpeg 1.91 MB
WM2-001e-045.tif image/tiff 15.6 MB
WM2-001e-046.jpg image/jpeg 2.45 MB
WM2-001e-046.tif image/tiff 20.8 MB
WM2-001e-047.jpg image/jpeg 2.63 MB
WM2-001e-047.tif image/tiff 20.6 MB
WM2-001e-048.jpg image/jpeg 2.51 MB
WM2-001e-048.tif image/tiff 21 MB
WM2-001e-049.jpg image/jpeg 2.66 MB
WM2-001e-049.tif image/tiff 23 MB
WM2-001e-050.jpg image/jpeg 2.61 MB
WM2-001e-050.tif image/tiff 22.1 MB
25 files -- 331 MB -- --

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Collection Information
Collection ID WM2
Collection title Wantok Musik Foundation (WMF) - Music Label Recordings of Oceania Region.
Description The Wantok Musik Foundation is an Australian-based not-for-profit Music Label that records, releases and promotes culturally infused music from Indigenous Australia, Melanesia and Oceania. The brand “Wantok Musik” is a Melanesian term that reflects talking with a common language “one talk” although in the diverse cultures of the region that may have different sounds, different beats, different instruments, the music we all share is common and singing about the same things such as our history, our lore, our education, our hurts, our joys, our injustices, our struggles, our lives, our communities and our stories. This Collection preserves rich musical talents and artists of the Oceania region where the Wantok Musik Label through album recordings and collaborative projects has fostered cross-cultural initiatives and exchange. Through music and language within the diverse cultures of the region, we hear, share and learn about entertainers, performers and artistic and creative expressions where over the years, the Wantok Musik label has recorded, released and promoted of music from First Nation Australia, Melanesia and Oceania. Wantok Musik promotes local and international profile of First Nation and world music groups based in the region by supporting and providing greater economic opportunity for artists, long-term career sustainability at the same time by managing the various activities addresses social issues with creative and culturally focused approaches.
Countries To view related information on a country, click its name
Languages To view related information on a language, click its name
Access Information
Edit access Mihka Chee
David Bridie
View/Download access Mihka Chee
David Bridie
Data access conditions Closed (subject to the access condition details)
Data access narrative
Metadata
RO-Crate Metadata
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