Just Another Sing Sing
Spirits, Snakes and Firework – just another Sing Sing. Well, we came along quite a few so called Sing Sings. They are a display of culture and history manifested in dancing and singing. As each clan has its own this is where you can get a glimpse into the recent past of the people of Papua New Guinea. It may seem like old and forgotten traditions but make no mistake it is still present in the life of the people upon this day. In the hills behind Rabaul we are invited by theBaining people to witness a kind of Sing Sing that is mainly performed to ward off evil spirits something that turns out to be by far the most impressing experience we had over the last 6 weeks traveling the country from one end to the other. It’s an eye candy to watch but for those who want to know what its all about, this is what we have been told:
Purpose: To keep the evil spirits at bay, the people dress up just like the spirits and demonstrate that they have super natural powers.
The Spirits dance and demonstrate super power, by walking through the fire and dancing with an alive snake (Python).
The boys with the sticks keep the fire going.
The dancing women symbolize the mothers of the physical human spirits.
The dancing signboard symbolizes the mother of the spirits dancing.
The guy with the long antenna on his head is the chief of the spirits.
Women give their babies to the dancers to make them immune against the bad spirits. This Sing Sing went on for hours. The whole village was attending.
Above and Below Papua New Guinea is a location promotion project about Papua New Guinea.
Idea, Camera, Edit: Florian Fischer
Client: TCMG
Thanks for the support:
Papua New Guinea Tourist Promotion Authority
Aqualung
Keldan The Global Goals
Wirodive
