Man hopes to preserve culture in storyboards

 By SHARLYNE ERI
A MAN from Southern Highlands is trying to preserve his tribal artefacts in storyboards to depict his tribal culture and hopes to have books published on them.
Yake Pua has been collecting and creating traditional artefacts and kina shells over the years.
His love for art and craft prompted him to start creating storyboards with artefacts representing stories of his culture.
All of the storyboards depict their rituals and the history of the Kina culture, which is common to the people of Southern Highlands.
“I am a living witness of my culture so I want to pass it on to the next generation before my time is up,” he told The National.
“I am a book waiting to be written. I am telling my story, but I need someone to write it for me.
“I am only a craftsman who wants to preserve my culture. I am doing my part with these storyboards but I need an author.”
Pua said he decided to preserve his culture because that was how he could best explain it to other people who had no knowledge of the local dialect.
The storyboards will tell the story of the Kina culture from the beginning.
Pua is getting support from local tribesmen who created storyboards of their own tribes and given them to him.
He will exhibit all the storyboards once he has gathered stories from different tribes in Southern Highlands.
With funding from interested individuals and business houses, Pua hopes to publish a book for every storyboard which he says should go a long way in preserving the culture for the benefit of future generations.