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The Gunanggi courtship dance
Karim leg kukim nus
dance is not just a courtship dance about a boy meeting a girl. It
denotes the glamour, the depth of public and private life secrets
of mending and maintaining relationships.
By MARTIN TONNY
Karim leg, kukim nus is a courtship
dance of the Gunanggi people of Chimbu province.
Karim leg, kukim nus literally translated into English language,
would mean carry the leg, burn or cook the nose.
The dance depicts a variety of dance designs and patterns,
rhythms, form, style and language.
The rich witticism in composition, the creative naming and
metaphorical rhetoric are properties that define the cultural
activity.
Karim leg kukim nus dance is not just a courtship dance about a
boy meeting a girl. It denotes the glamour, the depth of public
and private life secrets of mending and maintaining relationships.
The songs tell about places, people and lifestyle. The words of
the songs make climbing the highest mountain like ascending a
hill, the driest land absolutely fertile and even ugliest person
in the team the cutest.
Anybody taking part in the courtship dance has a good story to
tell.
Above all, the karim leg kukim nus dance is a traditionally
accepted practice and always has the consent from the society as a
useful match making event.
My home Gunanggi in Simbu province has a population of about 8,000
people, one primary school, one upper primary, the Segima health
centre and road access to the provincial capital Kundiawa.
The village consists of 13 clans. It is not remote nor does it
display all spoils of modern Papua New Guinea. It is a place that
has seen enough to proudly assess and appreciate every day changes
in lifestyle.
The 'Haus Man' still stands in prominent locations and tribal and
clan matters are dealt with in the true Melanesian spirit.
On big occasions, pigs are slaughtered the highlands way,
traditional singsing and chants come alive and ceremonies are
given the desired flavours.
Karim leg kukim nus is one of the many practices in Gunanggi that
has survived many changes.
The tradition almost became extinct in the early 70's when Michael
Jackson's break dancing, Bob Marley's reggae music and variety of
PNG and international pop music infiltrated the lives of young
people.
Youth took to string band and modern disco music. Within Gunanggi,
clans formed string band groups and travelled from one village to
another often upon invitation.
Traditional courtship songs took back stage as kids grew up
singing modern pop sings they heard on the airwaves.
Those that owned stereos and speakers built disco houses and
operated on weekends. Modern music excited the young and digusted
the older generation. Intermarriages and broken marriages were
becoming common, new relationships were built and new enemies
created all at the same time.
During those years other changes took place. Children grew up
speaking pidgin, people began eating rice more often than kaukau
and a variety of clothing styles were worn by young people.
It was during the 1997 election period however that karim leg
kukim nus was revived.
In almost every campaign house and village the once dormant
practice took centre stage.
Songs were composed about candidates and performers moved around
in groups to show support for their candidates.
The songs were mostly about candidates' personality, where he or
she came from and what the person can do when elected.
The songs and choreography still carried the traditional style of
composition.
Clans or villages formed 'culture groups' who were invited by
candidates to their campaign houses to sing all night.
Sometimes pigs were slaughtered to welcome the culture groups.
Generally, the resurrection of karim leg, kukim nus proved to be
enterprising.
Not only did this result in bringing women back to the villages
but food and other goods as well.
Creativity was at an all time high as people composed and adopted
songs into the local dialect. La Bouche's 'Be My Lover' was
adopted and became quite popular.
Songs were composed about coaster buses on the Okuk highway
impersonating the sound of the air brakes and a dance to reflect a
driver sitting behind the steering wheels.
What karim leg kukim nus proved was that modern and outside
influences had no control over their way of singing and dancing.
Karim leg kukim nus brings into perspective some important issues
for us to learn from. Firstly, the activity always had consent
from the community,
Secondly it urges Papua New Guineans to promote our rich cultural
heritages on modern stages in its true sense.
We can achieve that if we promote our real traditional songs and
music in their authenticity instead of adapting our songs to make
money for commercial studios that have no respect or regard for
our cultural diversity.
It is not enough to say our heritages is promoted because of low
budget video clips showing Papua New Guineans in traditional
attire performing traditional dances to an unrelated modern music.
PNG's Weekly Top 20 music chart in the last few months has been
drowned with Solomon Island music.
The video clips on television music programmes are mostly
imitations of foreign singers and performers.
More should be done to produce video clips like Rinunu from Ronnie
Galema's album.
Efforts should also be made to reproduce the music of famous
Sanguma band and Raun Raun Theatre's extravagant dances.
 
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