Selling mudman masks for a living

Letters, Normal

LAST month, The National published my letter “Copycats give mudmen a bad name” (March 16).
I pointed out that the famous Asaro mudmen are fast losing their appeal due to copycats and imitation masks.
Recently, the Post-Courier published a photograph of a man displaying mudman masks.
The mudman masks in the picture were made of cement, not clay.
What the man is doing is unethical and giving a bad name to the Asaro mudman.
Tourists will feel they have been cheated once they find out the masks were made from cement, not mud.
I call on the authorities from Tourism Promotion Authority to conduct regular checks to ensure unscrupulous people do not taint our country’s cultures in the name of making a fast buck.
We, the people of Komunive, are proud of our Asaro mudman culture.
We always give our best in any performance or artefacts that we create and ensure their originality.
Right now, we do not have any law to protect our culture from being exploited, imitated and abused by others.
As such, I call on the TPA to come out with some laws to protect our cultures.

 

Muddy spiders
Goroka