Culture to also take centre stage during Apec

Business

By GYNNIE KERO
Papua New Guinea has a diverse and unique culture comprised of many different groups.
The country’s traditional and cultural practices are truly interesting and exciting to witness and be a part of.
During Apec 2018 PNG is not only showcasing its economy, business, trade and other potential as well as the opportunities available for the investors to view.
The country is also promoting its culture and traditions and taking the opportunity to showcase its tourism potential.
The primitive medium of exchange in the traditional economy was the precious kina and toea shell jewelleries.
Kina Cultural Group is one of the SMEs/MSMEs that took part along with others to in the recent Apec meetings.
It is embarking on a project to promote the preservation of our traditional and cultural practices for the purposes of keeping our history and traditions alive and the knowledge passed onto the next generation.
Kina Cultural Group spokesman, Max Pumina, who is also DAL’s chief policy and technical adviser, said the purpose of the display during Apec Senior Officials Meeting (Som1) was to showcase the kina and toea shell jewellery.
It was to inform delegates that such a traditional and primitive economy, akin to Apec role and its core businesses of building bilateral and multilateral economic and trade relations between economies, was in place.
This resulted in peace, security and stability.
“In our primitive and traditional economy, tribal leaders organised huge ceremonies and festivies lasting over several days,” Pumina
said.
“Large numbers of valuable kina shell jewellery of high grade, strings of toea shells, huge number of large pigs, long poles and large gourds filled with traditional crude oil, volumes of traditional salt and large amounts of food stuff were stacked and displayed in special arrangements to be witnessed by trading partners, tribal alliances and enemy tribes from far and
near.
“These ceremonies were used to boost and strengthen tribal alliances, trading partnerships for wealth creation and building security for protection and defence of their people and their land.
“Their tribal military might was displayed through rigorous and aggressive marching in full traditional regalia that would shake the earth and move every spectator to flee in fear mode.
“They would slaughter rows of large pigs with matured tusks in a single day and distribute them to invited allies, trading partners and tribal enemies alike.”