Papua New Guinea cultural experiences

Invigorating: Dancers on Trobriand Island, Papua New Guinea.Credit: Alamy

MY WIFE AND I WILL BE TRAVELLING ON THE SUN PRINCESS TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA LATER THIS YEAR. I CAN FIND LITTLE ABOUT THREE OF THE SCHEDULED VISITS, TO DOINI, KIRIWINA AND KITAVA ISLANDS. CAN YOU HELP? WE ARE OLDER TRAVELLERS AND SNORKELLING IS OUT.

K. HUNT, LUGARNO

Kiriwina and Kitava are both part of the Trobriand group of islands in eastern Papua New Guinea and your shore excursion will probably go something like this. You will be disembarked in tenders since there is nowhere for a vessel to tie up. I can guarantee that once ashore you will find a market since the islanders take the opportunity presented by a cruise ship visit to sell their artefacts. The Trobrianders are outstanding craftsmen even by the high standards that apply in PNG, especially in the art of wood carving. I have an exquisitely worked canoe prow painted in traditional red and white, a grass skirt that my wife sometimes allows me to wear and a very fine ebony walking stick inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The ebony work is becoming scarce but it's highly collectible.

At some stage there will be a dance, performed by young men and women in traditional costume and again, the performance is unique to these islands. A century ago Bronislaw Malinowski, the eminent social anthropologist, spent several years in the Trobriands and wrote books, one of which was titled The Sexual Life of Savages, a long and detailed ethnography of Trobriand courtship, marriage, divorce, pregnancy and childbirth. It is thanks to this scholarly work that the Trobriands acquired the subtitle The Islands of Love and the dance is indeed highly invigorating.

Following the dance you will most likely take a walk through a village, probably accompanied by dozens of small children. The villages here are simple but attractive, and totally in harmony with their environment. Even for non-snorkellers there is plenty to keep you entertained.

Doini Island is also in Milne Bay Province but much closer to the mainland. Traditional culture here is not quite the force it is in the Trobriands but colourful nonetheless. Chances are there will be a market and a cultural performance here as well. You will probably be offered the chance to visit the island of Samarai, just a few kilometres to the north. Samarai was once an important trading port, second largest in PNG after Port Morseby, with a substantial European population. These days it's a ramshackle affair, the old warehouses and the church being slowly wrenched apart by time and the elements, but fascinating all the same.