School revives mini cultural show

By JAMES G KILA
KARKAR Secondary School in Sumkar district of Madang aims to maintain PNG’s unique indigenous cultures by reviving a mini cultural show, and what a better time to have it staged during the 47th Independence anniversary celebrations recently.
The students from Karkar island and the mainland attired themselves in colorful traditional bilas and swayed and shook their bodies to the beat and rhythm of the kundu drums during the tumbuna singsing day on Sept 17.
It was a splendid sight noticing the beautiful Karkar Secondary School girls wearing bright red, blue and purple grass skirts which is a predominant colour of Madang ‘purpur’ to dance. Furthermore, it was joyous also to see girls from Sumgilbar, where I come from, posing with their sweet and confident smiles in a perfect combination of traditional beauty and dignity.According to the principal of Karkar Secondary School, Adelino Kaboanga, the students began with a string band competition on the night of Sept 15. The traditional singsing was to take place the next day but due to the heavy downpour it was postponed to the Sept 17. That day also saw a game fishing competition which commenced early in the morning and ended at 4pm.
The students and teachers stood as one in a display of patriotism to display the unique cultures and traditions of Sumkar district particularly the various dances from the mainland in Sumgilbar LLG, Bogia district, Madang district and the two predominant language speaking people of Waskia and Takia on Karkar island.
The Sumgilbar students performed their traditional dance called ‘Kanam’ while the students from Manam Island performed the Tarangau. Madang district students danced Singsing Kanai to the thrill and amazement of the crowd.
Students from East Sepik province and the New Guinea Islands also proudly to displayed their identity in form of their energetically and gentle swaying traditional dances respectively.
Kaboanga and the mini cultural show organising committee chairman, Samson Sanda, who both hail from Manam Island were proud men along with other teaching staff following the success of the mini-show.
Kaboanga said in most education institutions around the country organisers of big events were usually skeptical of the outcome especially when certain students could become rowdy or outsiders would come in to disrupt or cause disturbances to the events. However, at Karkar Secondary it was otherwise. The mini cultural show ended so well.
Kaboanga, on behalf of the school, thanked the students for their participation as well as the teachers plus the stakeholders who had contributed their time and effort.
He also clarified that the initial idea to stage the mini cultural show celebrate the commissioning of two school infrastructure namely a boys’ new ablution block and a new housing project.
Kaboanga further explained that new ablution block was a modern set-up with tiles inside and has septic toilets for the male students to use, while the new an office complex had the principal’s office and the secretary’s office upstairs while downstairs would be a coffee shop to serve students and teachers.
Board chairman of the school, Peter Sumayang was proud and satisfied that the mini cultural show had served its purpose, and it was even so meaningful as it coincided with the 47th anniversary of PNG on Sept 16.
“It would greatly benefit our younger generation when they uphold their cultures and maintain their national identity,” Sumayang said.
“With over 800 languages and with over a thousand tribes this it classically displays our cultural and traditional identity,” Sumayang said.
He added that many young people, particularly students nowadays, were gradually losing their cultural identity due to influx of modern technology. He cited a classic example youths moving about with music boom boxes and drinking alcohol and listening to foreign genres of music and many do not even know their traditional songs and some cannot even speak their local languagues.
Kaboanga said they had sent invitations to the Sumkar district administration to attend the event but to no avail. A group of media personnel from Madang including NBC journalist-in-charge, Anisha Issimel and team and this writer were accorded the honour of presenting prizes to the winners in the fishing competition as they were the only foreign guests to the school.
The Madang-based journalists had travelled by banana boat on Sept 16 bound for Karkar Island when along the way the sea current turned the boat around during one of their stops during heavy downpour forcing the boat skipper, Noel Milong losing course so they headed the wrong direction returning to the Kubugam boat stop along the North Coast Road.
However, after about 30 minutes of travel and upon realising the land mass ahead he turned the boat around and headed back to Karkar Island.
The journalists were soaking wet when they reached the shore of Karkar Secondary School. It was a special rainy day for Issimel as it was her 47th birthday.
The hospitality offered by the Karkar Secondary School principal was warm and kind.
A number of parents and elders from the mainland in Sumgilbar LLG and Bogia district had travelled to the school on the island to teach the students the traditional dance moves and the customs involved.
“Before our folklore dies out we want it to be passed down to our children now in school so they would then pass them down to our grandchildren,” an elder from Manam Island, Alphonse Wadakai said.
School board chairman Sumayang summarised everything by stating that Karkar Secondary school mini cultural show should inspire the students who come from different parts of Madang and PNG to learn while on the island to re-ignite their passion and interest in their culture as a means of national identity.

l James Kila can be contacted on [email protected]