THE CONTRASTING STYLES OF THREE DIFFERENT RACES

Te Ao Hou, April 1958, Page 22

THE CONTRASTING STYLES OF THREE DIFFERENT RACES Part II, by Beth Dean What is New Guinea dancing like? If you can imagine crowds of dancers swirling and turning in undulating masses; their bodies painted red, yellow and black like an ultra modern abstract painting; from shoulders and arm bands are draped long golden leaves mixed with those of the purple and red croteus plant, yellow grasses fringe the waist, two palm fronds spurt upward from the small of the back like a fountain above the Mahl loin cloth of soft dark bark, the Bird of Paradise head-dresses float in such splendour and delicacy as to leave you breathless, then add to this spectacle the beating of drums, the weirdly shouted songs in impelling rhythms and you have the atmosphere of a New Guinea sing-sing. In New Guinea, the dancing is most frequently a communal event with nearly everyone participating. There were occasions when a single dancer showed a talent for inventive movement, but it seems less usual than among the Australian aborigines. Sometimes a whole village will mass in a great oval, circling round and round the village square, bodies swaying forward and back like the lapping tide of a calm sea. Frequently a dozen or so of the men will form a circle for the stylised pig-hunt dance called “Tainpul”. A man takes

his place in the centre to enact the part of the wild boar. Every dancer carries his “kundu” hand drum. It is shaped like an hour-glass of wood with one end covered with pigskin or lizard, the other end is open. All are singing as they beat their drums and dance in a stylised hopping on both feet. The feet are kept flat on the ground and wide apart. The circling men advance toward the “boar” and retreat just as smoothly when he twists and turns in avoidance of their imaginary arrows. Once in a while there are great gatherings of many villages. They create an unparalleled cacaphony as each group works in its own circle monotoning or shouting the special songs and chants it owns either from trading or from ancestral traditions. The most important traders seem to be a group of island people, the Seassi, who compose songs and create dances which they trade for miles up and down the northern New Guinea shores. In return they receive payment of yams, sago, kau kau and other necessities. The dance steps frequently resemble the South American “Samba”, the “Son” and others that have popular equivalents in European ballroom dancing. The habit of chewing betel-nut among coastal New Guinea peoples may have some bearing on the mesmeric almost trance-like quality of their dancing. Betel nut induces a kind of intoxication which when combined with the effect of monotonous rhythm can dull the conscious mind and bring about a kind of elemental frenzy. But the normal dance forms are of a smooth beauty that is a great pleasure to not only the participants, but also to those who watch. The cruel hazing ceremonies for boys when they reach the age of puberty, were formerly widespread and are still continuing in territory that has not as yet been brought under government control. Some of these include the Tambaran ceremonies which seem to be based on black magic and the willing of death. In the Tambaran ceremonies of the coastal peoples, there were dancers with great hunting bows and arrows in place. They came rushing out of the bush toward the large Tambaran house as if to frighten away the Tambaran spirits. The spirits are actually two old men in great masks painted in grotesque colours and patterns. These spirits were heralded by a number of flute players. The musicians, always facing the spirit men, walked backward in an odd dance step, dipping every now and then as low to the earth as their long bamboo flutes would allow. Other men pranced about circling the group as it slowly proceeded from the edge of the jungle to the Tambaran houses. This great building with the sacred pig bones—as well as human ones suspended from its sharp-angled front gable, is for men only. Cannibalism has not yet been entirely stamped out in New Guinea Certain tribes wear enormous head dresses shaped like the spade on playing cards and gorgeously decorated. Even a small breeze makes them so unwieldy that they must have ropes attached so the dancers can hold them on. Of course, the dance steps are necessarily less exciting in proportion to the size and weight of the head gear. Yet small intricate footwork has been developed to make up for less movement of the head and torso.