Respect Hiri trade

THE Hiri trade will always accept the creation of Edai Siabo of Boera village.
No once will dispute that.
As such, the people of Boera village, by birthright, are owners of the trade.
An association, Eda Siabo Boera Hiri Foundation, is registered with the intellectual property office at Investment Promotion Authority.
Under that registration are items such as lagatois, clay pots, lahara, hisiubada, sede, pepe, bogebada, barabau, tohe, tattoos, practices, ritual, uttering, folklore, hehona, upara, nuisere, koe, beliefs, values principle, matagore and others.
All these must be make known because we have three females taking part in the festivities who know are not from Boera and know nothing about Hiri trade.
This is a significant traditional event that identifies the Boera people and cannot be treated this way.
It is not a corporate or commercial event.
Only people with sufficient knowledge and cultural standing should be allowed to partake in the event.
The Eda Siabo Hiri Trade festival is all about celebrating the return of the lagatoi with brave young men singing hehona songs and doing the nuisere atop the roof of the front-end cabins of the lagatoi with beautifully tattooed women singing upara songs and doing the famous koe on the beach in welcoming them.
It is not about the re-enactment of the legend of Eda Siabo to be showcased with imported Sestern fancy lighting skills as a pretext to promote a profit-oriented organisation.
If the lagatois and hiri hanenamos are not on the cards then this events should not be considered as a festival.
Lagatois and hiri hanenamo are both climatic centrepieces of festivals related to Hiri trade.
These items collectively create an atmosphere whereby we remember, honour and pay homage to our brave ancestors, re-enact scenes from the past and reviving the lost traditional flavour.
No lagatoi and no hiri hanenamo means no Edai Siabo Hiri Trade festival.

Muri R Henao,
Boera Village