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The performance
role of women in PNG
Cultural values
and traditions must be revisited to further establish the role of
women in PNG society. NAOMI FAIK-SIMET writes
Cultural values and traditions must
be revisited to further establish the role of women in PNG
society. NAOMI FAIK-SIMET writes
The roles that women play in everyday life reflect their status as
mothers, sisters, wives and affines (in-laws).
Women's roles are not recognized enough resulting in the gender
imbalance that is faced today in our society. Women are not given
the opportunity to exercise the value of those roles which are
significant to the development of the status of women in PNG.
A recent study on gender construction in ceremonial performances
revealed that women's roles are reproduced, reinforced and
constructed out of performance contexts. Performances are
associated with the many ceremonies found in Papua New Guinea such
as marriages/bride-price, mortuary (deaths), exchange,
initiations, harvest, etc.
The main forms of performance that take place during these
ceremonies are dance, music and ritual. In each of these
performances, women's roles are played according to their status
as mothers, daughters, sisters, wives and affines which complement
the roles of their fathers, sons, brothers and husbands.
For instance, in the Yangoru female initiation ceremony puberty
rites are performed on a girl when she experiences her first
menstruation.
At the initial stage of her menstruation the girl notifies her
parents who then inform her wawos (mother's brothers) and kandres
(mother's brother's sons).
The wawos and kandres are responsible for building the punka (a
cone-like house structure) for the girl to stay in for a period of
three to five days.
She is kept away from the village because menstrual blood is
considered dangerous. Contact with it can cause harm to both men
and his food gardens.
During this period both the girl and her parents abstain from
eating and drinking any form of food and water. The parents of the
girl do this to show support towards their daughter at this very
important stage of her life.
After the fifth day the girl is given a public wash outside the
punka and is assisted by her mother. Following this, a special
meal made from a special vine from the bush (paingue) is given to
the girl and her parents.
The meal is strictly prepared by the girl's wawo's wife (mother's
brother's wife). After the meal, the girl is dressed with
traditional attire and ornaments by her aunt (mother's brother's
wife) to prepare her for the next stage of the initiation ritual.
In this next stage, the girl gives money and valuables to her
mother's brothers. The valuables are in the form of cash and
traditional shell money (hombili and morighao). This is to signify
and further strengthen the bond between mothers and their brothers
and also as a token of appreciation by the girl and her parents to
the wawos for their support in raising the girl over the years.
The girl is taken back to the punka at the end of this
performance. Following the ritual performance, traditional songs
and dances are performed to commemorate and add meaning to this
occasion. The ceremonial performance is called telek/telekhrie.
Only the women of the neighboring villages perform this dance. The
women start dancing and singing around the punka where the girl
is. They are armed with short, light spears which are held in a
shooting position aimed in the direction of the punka. The dance
is performed by women in pairs whose arms are inter-locked. One
woman joins her left arm with the other woman's right arm while
the free hand holds the spear. Both women are armed with spears.
The dance takes the form of short light steps, backward and
forward with the spear slightly raised up to the ear level. After
this dance with the spears, the women proceed on to the next
dance, this time without the spears. They carry all sorts of
string bags as well as small dishes on their heads.
The string bags are hung from the head while the dishes are placed
on their heads and supported by their hands. This procession takes
place only when the women start to sing and dance on the nearby
hilltops.
Once they reach the top of the hill they remove the string bags
and dishes from their heads. They bring their hands and arms to
the back, the right hand reaching down the backside to the middle
spine while the left hand holds the right arm from behind.
The women in this position then sing and shout at the top of their
voices to the other villages summoning especially the potential
young men that a girl from her village is now ready for marriage.
She has successfully passed the first part of the initiation
ceremony and is now ready to take on the full responsibilities of
a woman. This is just one example of the many traditional
ceremonies practiced in Papua New Guinea that empowers young girls
for the roles that awaits them in marriage and motherhood.
Women today are looking for solutions to their marital, social and
economical problems. Young girls in or out of schools and women in
failed marriages today are seeking comfort in night-clubs and in
doing so devalue themselves.
Women are not taking ownership of their bodies as something which
is endowed with so much meaning that must be respected and valued.
The female body contains powerful substances, which strengthens
their roles as mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. The pain
that a mother experiences during child-birth and the bond that is
felt between a mother and a child is something a man will never
experience.
Cultural values and traditions must be revisited to further
establish those roles so that both men and women can work together
and appreciate the value of those roles.
*The writer is a dance researcher with
the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies.
 
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