Islanders raising funds for cultural show

A SELECT group from the Trobriand Islands is in Port Moresby to raise funds for the Trobriand Islands cultural show which will be held from Nov 18-21.
The show is a joint project by the Kiriwina LLG and the 33 ward councillors on the island, to create an avenue where the people can come together and showcase their unique culture in the form of dances, arts and craft, songs and others.
Kiriwina LLG president Jennifer Rudd said the idea of the cultural show was to revive, and promote the islands cultures.
She said the show was a good thing as it would develop their tourism industry, with it being set to eventuate straight after the Canoe festival in Alotau and hope to get as many tourists up to the Trobriand Islands to share in the Cultural Show when the festival ends.
Ms Rudd said the group hoped to raise more than K100,000 in Alotau and Port Moresby to fund the show.
They will be performing at the Lamana Hotel today for corporate clients, and there are other venues where the diverse Trobriand culture will be showcased.
The show is also an awareness drive to target the young people that their culture is their most important identity and national heritage which they must not ignore or turn away from.
Ms Rudd said the show would most importantly initiate a shift back to traditional gardening of yams, which would give impetus to such celebrations.
This is to advocate for people to work the land and to end the current yam shortage situation affecting three villages on the island.
“Yams are our identity and our culture.
“Without yams, we cannot feast, pay bride price or do anything and without these, there is no culture for the Trobriand Islands,”  she said.