Goroka Festival

Welcome to Papua New Guinea. Upon arrival in Goroka, you will be met at the airport on arrival and transferred to your hotel.Asaro Mudmen, Cane Swallowing, Dances, Music & Traditional Cooking Following lunch at the hotel, head to the Asaro Gihiraa Korex village. Here you will enjoy a short climb to the summit of Mt Gurupoka to view a performance by the iconic Asaro Mudmen and along the way climb through a narrow secretive entrance into a surprisingly large cave where the local tribe would shelter from attacking enemies. This is truly the best Mudmen experience in Goroka’s Asaro area. Your host Robin, a village leader, is a direct descendant of the original Mudmen tribesmen and his storytelling skills are second to none. The scene is set and the mountaintop scenery is spectacular. The photographic opportunities will be memorable!Upon descending the mountain you will witness some incredible cultural performances including the ‘Cane Swallowing’ ceremony of boys’ initiation where a cane rope is pushed into their stomachs through their mouths to cleanse themselves as an initiation ceremony. Often referred to as Dring Kol Wara (Drink Cold Water) by the Bena people of Eastern Highlands, the initiation is practised only by men. In previous times, women were never allowed to know about it, much less see it.The cane is carefully carved to achieve a smooth surface to allow easy ingestion. With careful preparations, final touches are made to bend the cane into a U-shape before hanging it to dry in kitchen huts. It is dried for about one month before being used. Now and then the dried cane is taken out and left in water to regain moisture to maintain its outer covering. Its length may vary from two to three metres.The initiation period may last for two to three months, depending on the amount of pork available for meals in the ‘Haus man’. Mothers of young boys cry for their sons as they are taken away to learn their customs and embrace manhood.During this initiation, initiates are required to lie on their back, face-up, to sleep as it is believed that that will straighten and elongate the intestines in preparation for the Neheya. Meals provided for the initiates comprise only pork fat and boiled kaukau (sweet potato), believing that this dish, also known as hosamaya, ensures the smooth passing of the cane along the digestive tract. It is prepared only by elderly women who have gone past menopause. To witness this ancient practice is a rare experience.The cane swallowing is followed by nose bleeding and tongue bleeding demonstrations that have been practised down through the ages. These activities will be lightened up with some colourful dance performances including the Moko Moko Victory dance and the Korokuvo Mask dance.Later in the afternoon to the accompaniment of traditional Bamboo Flute music, you will observe traditional cooking demonstrations. The melodic sounds are performed by the musicmen from Gimisave village who have travelled from the other side of Mt. Gurupoka. Traditional cooking demonstrations where meats are prepared in the method of cooking known as Mumu, regarded as the national dish of Papua New Guinea. It is composed of pork or chicken, sweet potato, taro, plantains, with leafy vegetables. Mumu is an example of a balanced dish composed of two bases, crops (including starch) and meat. The dish is named after the earth oven used to cook it.Return to your hotel for Supper.MealsLunch, Late afternoon Mumu Dinner in the village & Supper for those needing a top-up after the earlier Mumu.AccommodationThe Pacific Gardens Hotel or similarServicesPrivate vehicle and Australian Tour Leader and local PNG Guides.Sightseeing: Asaro Mudmen performance, Cane Swallowing demonstration, Customary Dances, Music & Traditional Cooking in the Asaro Gihiraa Korex village in the shadow of Mt Gurupoka.   

Enjoy an early breakfast as you depart at 8.00 am to get your bearing at the festival. The sing-sing groups start to arrive at 9 am. You will be in awe at their body decorations, colourful traditional costumes and vibrant face painting. Learn about the different types of costumes and their significance in the cultures of these people.The Goroka Show is the longest-running annual cultural festival in Papua New Guinea and is held during the nation’s Independence Day celebrations. More than 100 tribes participate in the event performing extraordinary displays of ‘sing-sings’ – traditional songs, dances and ritual performances. The staging of the Goroka Show began in 1957 and was first introduced and organised by Australian patrol officers known locally as ‘kiaps’. Kiaps from each district built round houses typical of their districts where they displayed the various and unique cultures of the people living there. The kiaps brought in ‘sing-sing’ groups from surrounding areas. It created an entertaining weekend for everyone and still does 60 years later.Colours, Kundu drums and chanting explore your senses as thousands of warriors, all dressed in their very finest traditional regalia, performing and dancing and in sing-sing. Each group, with their own cultures and languages, vow to outclass the other groups. Walk among the dancers, shake their hands and meet them.Tumbuna Market & Bilum FestivalFollowing the festival, you will be transferred to the Tumbuna market for the opportunity to purchase locally made handicrafts before returning to your hotel late in the afternoon. We will also pop into the venue for the Goroka Bilum Festival. The festival is an opportunity to celebrate and elevate the ancient skills and designs of Bilums, while simultaneously acting as a marketing platform for bilum weavers in outer districts. From humble beginnings, the Goroka Bilum Festival has grown into a four-day celebration applauding the artistry of female weavers across the Highlands of PNG.MealsBreakfast, Lunch, DinnerAccommodationThe Pacific Gardens Hotel or similarServicesPrivate vehicle and guide

Before the second day of the show, we will attend a private viewing of the famous Huli Wigman preparing themselves in their distinctive costumes and painted faces for the show proper. This viewing will take place on the grounds of the McCarthy Museum which will be visited. The museum houses collections of artefacts and specimens from the Highlands region including wooden dishes, stone mortars, stone blades, magic stones and sandstones for making stoneblades. There are also some WWII relics on display including a P-39 Airacobra.We return to the showgrounds for the second day of the iconic Goroka Cultural Show. A picnic lunch will be provided so you do not miss any of the action. The “Sing Sing” enables a limited number of Western tourists to experience up close, the colour, movement and music performed by the largest gathering of diverse tribes in the South Pacific.Coffee Plantation TourAfter the Show, we will visit a coffee plantation to view a coffee processing mill. You will be taken through the growing as well as the factory process from the factory door to preparing the green bean ready for export. This enterprise is assisting in improving Papua New Guinea’s declining coffee production, including supplying seedlings by the thousands, as well as increasing the quality of its product. Coffee is Papua New Guinea’s second largest agricultural export, employing tens of thousands of people.MealsBreakfast, Picnic Lunch, DinnerAccommodationThe Pacific Gardens HotelServicesPrivate vehicle and guide

After breakfast at 7:00 am, you will be picked up from your hotel and transferred to the Goroka airport for your flight to Port Moresby (flight not included).MealsBreakfastServicesPrivate vehicle and guide