Plea to preserve Melanesian traditions

 TRADITIONAL Melanesian cultures are disappearing at an alarming rate and more should be done to preserve them, says international photographer David Kirkland.

Kirkland said despite the successful staging of the previous four and start of the fifth arts and cultural festival, not enough was being done to promote the value of traditional cultures and to protect them.

Speaking at the media launch of his photo exhibition depicting the diverse cultures of the country and known as the Tribal Melanesia, which will be staged tomorrow, Kirkland said modernisation was continuing to change the world.

He is a professional travelling tourist photographer and has had over 20 years of experience photographing the country’s traditional attires and rituals.

Kirkland said as modernisation continued to change the world, many ancient rituals were no longer being practised and were being lost.

He said the eagerness to embrace social and economic opportunities, the attention was being diverted from valuing and preserving the country’s cultural heritage.

“Time-honoured values are being set aside, oral histories are not being passed onto the young and once treasured artefacts are being sold or lost,” he said.

“Combined, these inevitable consequences of modernisation promise to sever the valuable link between past and future generations, taking away the unique elements that define and distinguish the many fascinating cultures of the world.”

Kirkland said cultures in PNG and other Melanesian countries were vastly different from what he had seen 20 years ago.