Sing-Sing THE NATIVE DANCE OF NEW GUINEA

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22767, 20 July 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

Sing-Sing THE NATIVE DANCE OF NEW GUINEA

Part 111 After a lew beats on the huge hollowed wooden drum the natives began to gather round the chief in the centre of the village. And what a motley crowd they were! From babies in arms to great-grandmothers all were dressed up in their gayest and most valuable finery; and all were in the highest spirits and ready lor a night of fun and feasting. Little would one have thought, seeing the. smiling faces and hearing the happy peals of laughter, that at other times these same natives might be in abject fear of some evil spirit which they considered they had offended* or seething with hate and anger in a fight with a nearby tribe. But to-night everything was set aside except the desire to have a good time. Each and all wished to enjoy themselves. Each was infected with “the spirit of the dance.” Some were old and wrinkled, stooping with age—veterans of perhaps 40 or 50 years, which is Very old for the natives of tropical countries. Yet the women had on their newest grass skirts with the dyes still fresh and bright; and, the men wore all their beads and shells, and had decorated their hair with gloSsy green leaves. Others were just children, from toddlers of two or three to youths and maids of 10 or 12, proud as could be with some new ornament or article of dress. Some had their hair partly shaved off, leaving weird and wonderful patterns on the crowns of their heads—crosses and lines separating shiny bald patches. What was left of their hair was painted red or white, and on their faces, chests, and- arms the same colours had been used to make various designs. Paint is always In the fashion in most parts of New Guinea. Mothers were there, carrying babies in net-bags on their backs, or if they were old enough to hold on, in pick-a-back style. But the weirdest sight of all was made by the young and middleaged men, the warriors of the tribe. From their high- and many-shaped head-dresses to the shell or plaited fibre ornaments round their ankles, every detail of their scanty costume had taken hours of thought and hours of skilled making. Some had long, conical head-dresses of cane, with a mop of human hair fastened

'(By B. W. Collins)

at the upper end to give their wearers the appearance of having very long hair. Others were decorated with the skin of the tree-climbing kangaroo, with its light gingerywhite fur. The heads of others again bore the long brightlycoloured plumes of the birds of paradise. Many had variegated or plain leaves, and flowers as well, though these were used to decorate the arms and upper part of the body, too. Some had nose ornaments of carved pearl-shell or bone, inserted through a hole bored in the cartilage in the centre of the nose. Many had various kinds of earrings of shells or beads hanging through large holes in the lobes of their ears. Necklaces of small carved and bored cowrie shells, or of dogs’ or wallabies’ teeth, and a few made of the white man’s coloured glass beads; armlets and leg bands of fibre, shells or beads; and the usual loin-cloth of beaten bark or tappa cloth, wound round the waist and hanging loose in front — these were the only other items in the costume. Without needles and thread, without metals, without tools of any sort except those made out of stone 1 and bone, they had made the best of the materials they possessed. It was the men’s privilege to dance first. To the rhythm of the big garamut' they began. Round and round they went, in pairs or in single file, some beating their “kundus,” or hand-drums, others chanting in unison. Movements of arms, legs, head—in fact of every part of the body—all played a part. Now and again. the rhythm of the big drum changed, and the type of movement and the pace were altered, too. Some began to fall out for a rest, and to regain breathdancing in New Guinea is strenuous—and then joined in the moving ring again. Two or three gathered in the centre and played their enormous bamboo flutes —about 12 to 15ft long, and as thick as a man’s arm. One' end was rested on the ground or a low platform, and the note was a plaintive wailing sound, with only two variations in pitch. With two or three instruments, however, there was a little more variety, even if alk the notes were •not in the same key. But in New Guinea music consists in rhythm and time, not in melody. The men’s dance went on for about an hour. Then it was the turn of the women. The men still

beat the drums and played the flutes, as it is not the custom for women to make - music. They danced in pairs, arm in arm, and facing the same way. Their movements were not so elaborate and strenuous as those of the men, but more graceful. Some young mothers danced with young children clinging to their backs all the time. After a shorter time this dance was over, and the men took command again. , And so it went on—mostly dances of the same type, an endless procession round the'ring, in pairs or singly, men or women, girls or .boys. Never mixed dancing as we know it, though occasionally a few pairs of girls would daringly join in behind the young men and follow them round. There were also one or two pantomime dances, for which the principal actors dressed up in elaborate costumes, and wore tall pointed masks, similar to those shown in the photograph last week. The "Cockatoo Dance,” the “Snake Dance,” the “Puk-puk (crocodile) Dance” were some. At intervals halts were called in order to proceed with the feast. Steaming pork, boiled sago, roast bananas, cool and refreshing coconuts, and paw-paws—the masses of food I had seen earlier in the evening soon disappeared, my own boys ' doing their full share of the' work. I About 9 o’clock the moon rose, greeted by increased shouting and singing. The fires were allowed to go out, as it was for their light, not their heat, that they had been lit—except those Used for cooking. It was a typical calm New Guinea night—as warm almost as the day time. For hours things went on in the same way—an interminable .series of dances, rests, and. feastings. Never was the little clearing without music and movements, though the dancers and rnusicians were frequently changing. All had a spell at the various activities—resting when weary, eating when hungry, dancing- when they felt so inclined. The younger children were the first to become tired, and some lay down and fell asleep round the outsides of the clearing or under, the houses. ' Then the old folk—the “lapoons”—crept away, up into their huts, to their mattresses of split bamboo .and banana leaves, leaving the younger ones to carry on with the revelry till dawn, or well on into the next day. And I, toO; about midnight I unobtrusively left these happy and for the moment carefree people and dropped to sleep. (Concluded.)