Papua New Guinea: Holidays
Papua New Guinea: Country Manners
Men’s houses
The men’s house generally represents the largest house or the largest structure within the villages. We are describing a men’s house in the middle Sepik of the Latmul tribe, as this is the most well known.
In front of the centrally located men’s house there is usually a lawn that is used as a place for ceremonies.
– Ground floor
The ground floor has a floor plan divided lengthways into two areas. These two areas are assigned to the following contrary groups:
The group of the Nyame, which stands for the mother and deals with all dark things like night, water and the like. Ä. Is associated.
The group of Nyavi, which stands for the sun and thus for everything light like fire, days, mountains, sky, the color red and the like. Ä. Is associated.
Cult objects such as sacred drums and speaker’s chairs are kept between these two areas.
– Upper floor
The sacred flutes are stored in the upper area of the house. A privacy screen prevents the uninitiated from viewing.
The roof structure is supported by female figures with legs apart.
The men’s house symbolizes the ancestors and the origin of time. The totem animals in the houses represent the ancestors.
Ceremonial houses
The Abeldam tribe lives in the hill country on the edge of the central Sepik.
Here you can also find ceremonial houses called Korambo. The ceremonial houses with their pointed, high roof structures are anchored directly to the ground.
The ceremonial house represents the place where the present and the past meet. The facades are made of palm bark. These barks are painted with colored patterns in red, yellow, white and orange.
Otto Finsch (1839-1917), a businessman, ethnologist, ornithologist and explorer, called these houses taboo houses in his 1885 depiction. A port in Morobe Province is named after him.
Initiation rites These
are customs used to introduce young people, mostly young men, into the adult world.
The boys are instructed in the meaning of the sacred flutes. Associated with this are courage tests as well as painful tattoo procedures.
Cannibalism Headhunting
Many tribes believe that the enemy’s power is hidden in their heads. Hence the head is considered to be the most sacred part of the body.
As a result, wooden headrests were used for sleeping in some places.
The heads of the enemies were stored in the men’s houses after the meat was peeled off and replaced with clay.
In some areas the heads were also impaled on carved posts.
It was not until the 1960s that missionaries expelled these customs from the Asmut tribe.
Shark Calling in New Ireland
This custom is still practiced, especially on the west coast. The men call the sharks with a rattle to catch them later.
The custom is also practiced on other South Sea islands.
Public holidays
Provincial Holidays
Date | Holiday |
February 22 | New Ireland Provincial Holiday |
20th of April | Provincial holiday of Oro |
Mid-June | Provincial holiday of the Central Province |
July | Morobe Provincial Day |
7th of July | Milne Bay Provincial Day |
beginning of August | Madang Provincial Holiday |
August 28 | Manus Provincial Day |
August | Simbu provincial holiday |
mid August | George Brown Day iscelebrated in the provinces of New Britain and New Irela |
August | Southern Highlands provincial holiday |
October | Provincial holiday of Enga |
October | West New Britain provincial holiday |
Mid-October | East Sepik Provincial Holiday |
Mid-October | Gulf provincial holiday |
December 1 | Gulf provincial government day |
6th of December | Western Provincial Government Day |
Source: Countryaah – Papua New Guinea Holidays
There are a number of public holidays that do not have a fixed date but are based on the time of Easter. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the beginning of spring. Lent, which lasts 46 days, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Pentecost is 50 days after Easter. Corpus Christi is celebrated on the second Thursday after Pentecost. All Saints’ Day is celebrated for Orthodox Christians on the first Sunday after Pentecost, but for Catholic Christians the date is fixed on November 1st. On October 31, Protestants celebrate Reformation Day. The Halloween festival also takes place on this day.
Date | Holiday |
January 1 | New Year |
March April | Easter |
Mid-June | Queens Birthday; Birthday of the Queen of Engla |
June 13 | Day of remembrance |
May June | Pentecost |
21 July | Independence day |
25./26. December | Christmas |
Other feasts and holidays
6-7 January | Teptep culture festival in Madang |
17.-21. May | Malalana Mini Culture Festival in the Gulf Province |
June August | Yams Harvest Festival in the Trobriand Islands. The date is changing. |
16th of July | Rabaul Frangipangi Festival. The festival commemorates the first frangipangi flowers after the Matupit volcanic eruption in 1937 |
beginning of August | Goroka Show is a gathering of many tribes in the highlands and is well worth a visit. |
beginning of August | Maborasa Festival in Madang, dance and song festival |
end of August | The Mt. Hagen Fest is a gathering of many tribes in the highlands |
16th September | Hiri Moale in Port Moresby. The trade canoes of the Papuans are celebrated. |
16th September | Malagan Festival in New Ireland. The famous tree dances take place during the two-week festival. |
September | Tolai Wawagira Festival, dance and song festival |
16th September | Festival of Milne Bay |
11-12. October | Kundiawa Simbu festival |
Papua New Guinea: climate
The climate of Papua New Guinea is tropical, meaning it is hot and humid. It is determined by the monsoon, which is responsible for the development of rainy and dry seasons. From December to May is the rainy season, from May to October the dry season. The average temperatures are between 25 ° and 30 °C all year round.
The amount of precipitation varies depending on the region. In Port Moresby, for example, there is an annual rainfall of 1,000 mm, whereas in West New Britain there is over 6,000 mm of rainfall.
Climate table
The following table shows a number of weather and climate data for the country.
Month | Average number of rainy days | Mean maximum temperatures in (°C) | Mean minimum temperatures in (°C) |
January | 11-12 | 31-32 | 23-24 |
February | 10-11 | 31-32 | 23-24 |
March | 10-11 | 31-32 | 23-24 |
April | 10-11 | 31-32 | 23-24 |
May | 09-10 | 30-31 | 23-24 |
June | 06-07 | 28-29 | 22-23 |
July | 06-07 | 28-29 | 22-23 |
August | 06-7 | 28-29 | 22-23 |
September | 6-07 | 28-29 | 22-23 |
October | 07-80 | 29-30 | 23-24 |
November | 07-09 | 30-31 | 23-24 |
December | 10-11 | 31-32 | 23-24 |
Attractions
- Abbreviationfinder.org: Presents the way that PG stands for the nation of Papua New Guinea as a two-letter acronym.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Historical agricultural landscape of Kuk
The historical agricultural landscape of Kuk is located in the southern highlands 12 km northeast of Mount Hagen in the Upper Wahgital and it is a swamp region. The height is approx. 1500 m. The area of the site is approximately 1.16 km². The site was used as arable land for 10,000 years. She is an example of changing cultivation techniques in agriculture. The research showed that slash and burn had taken place in the area, they also found planting holes, and fields were discovered that already had an irrigation system. Presumably tea, sugar cane, taro and bananas were planted in the fields. The time horizon over which arable farming was carried out here is unique. In Kuk one can draw conclusions about agricultural techniques. The Kawelka tribe lived in the protected area, who was relocated there today. The historical agricultural landscape of Kuk was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2008.
The inclusion of 7 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List is currently being discussed. These sites are:
- Houn Terraces – Stairway to the Past
- Kikori River Basin/Great Papuan Plateau
- Kokoda Track and Owen Stanley Ranges
- Milne Bay Seascape (Pacific Jewels of Marine Biodiversity)
- The Sublime Karsts of Papua New Guinea
- Trans-Fly Complex
- Upper Sepik River Basin
Major cities in the country
Port Moresby
Port Moresby has around 307,000 residents, making it the largest city and capital of Papu New Guinea.
The city is located in the south of the country at the tip of the island of Papua.
Lae
Lae is the second largest city in the country with around 75,000 residents.
Lae is located in the northeast of the island of Papua about 300 km north of Port Moresby.
Arawa
Arawa has about 40,000 residents and is the third largest city in the country. Arawa is located on the island of Bougainville about 900 km from the capital Port Moresby.
Special buildings
Parliament Building in Port Moresby
The building was officially inaugurated on August 7, 1984 by Prince Charles. It was built in 1980-1984 according to the design by the Australian architect Cecil Hogan. It combines traditional and modern architectural elements. It contains elements of the great Sepik house. It thus represents a translation of traditional timber construction into modern architecture.
Under a roof of approx. 10,000 m2 there are three building complexes: the parliament, the associated administration rooms of the ministries and parliamentarians as well as a conference and sports facility area.
The building is usually shown in photos with a view of the 15 m high colored facade.
This contains ornaments and elements from different tribes of Papua New Guinea, which are represented by means of colored tiles, carvings and paintings.
The local artists Kauage, Jakupa, Akis, John Man and Cecil King Wungi were involved in the creation of this “mural”.
Museums and galleries
National Museum and Art Gallery in Waigan
The Museum of Culture and Natural History shows the history of the settlement of Papua New Guinea over the past 50,000 years. Everyday objects and sacred objects are exhibited. These include exhibits such as canoes, musical instruments, weapons and fishing items from all the provinces of Papua New Guinea.
Waigan Art Gallery
The gallery features contemporary arts and crafts by local and foreign artists.
Sacred buildings
Men’s houses and ceremonial
houses See under national customs.
Universities
University of Papua New Guinea
The University of Papua New Guinea was founded in 1965 in Port Moresby. Approximately 15,000 students are currently studying in the following faculties:
- Humanities
- medicine
- Natural sciences
- pharmacy
- physics
- law Sciences
- Social sciences
- Economics
Papua New Guinea University of Technology
The Technical University of Papua New Guinea was founded in 1965 in Lae. There are currently around 3,000 students studying at the following faculties:
- Agricultural Sciences
- architecture
- chemistry
- Forest sciences
- Engineering
- mathematics
- physics
- Economics
Botanical Garden
The Botanical Gardens/Port Moresby
The botanical garden of the capital Port Moresby is a must for all nature lovers. It offers amazing insights into the life of the flora and fauna of Papua New Guinea.
Caves or cave systems
Papua New Guinea has some of the largest caves or cave systems in the world.
Mama Kanda
The Mama Kanda cave system is located in the southern highlands of the country. The cave has an extension of approx. 55 km, which has been largely explored.
Benua
Cave The Benua Cave in the province of Bourganville
Muruk Cave
The Muruk Cave is located in New East Britain
Mount Sarakwet
Cave The Mount Sarakwet Cave is located at an altitude of around 3,800 m near Morobe
natural beauties
Mount Wilhelm
Mount Wilhelm is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea with a height of 4,509 m and belongs to the Bismarck Mountains in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Those who take the effort to climb the mountain will have a unique view from the summit. The best time to climb the mountain is around May to November.
Kutubu Lake
This lake is located in the Southern Highlands Province with the capital Mendi, from which it is approx. 50 km southwest. It is supplied with water from groundwater and Hamua Creek.
With an area of around 49.3 km², the lake is the second largest lake in the country after Lake Murray. Its maximum depth is approx. 70 m.
In the area of the lake, the ethnic groups of the Foe live in the south and the Fasu in the north. Lake Murray With an area of 650 km², Lake Murray is by far the largest lake in the country. During the rainy season, its area even increases to up to 2,000 km². However, its maximum depth is only around 10 m. It is located in the Middle Fly District of the Western Province.
The lake is rich in fish and there is a freshwater crocodile farm here. There are several islands in the lake, of which Botoa Island is the largest. Wasi waterfalls in the highlands The Wasi waterfalls in the highlands of Papua New Guinea are worth a visit. Here, in the midst of beautiful greenery, water falls from a height of around 20 m into a small pool.
River trip on the Sepik
During this river trip you can see the fauna, z. B. crocodiles, and admire the villages with their stilt houses.
Variarata National Park
The Va riarata National Park is located on the Sogeri Plateau near Port Moresby.
McAdam National Park
The McAdam National Park is located near Bulolo.
Cultivated landscape of the Sepik
The Sepik is the longest river in the country with a length of 1,126 km. It was used by Germans for the first time in 1886 and was named Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss. Augusta () was the wife of Kaiser Wilhelm I ().
The river then flows in a north-westerly direction as far as Indonesia, where its direction of flow turns to the northeast, and then flows with many turns in an easterly direction and flows into the Bismarck Sea.
The region is characterized, among other things, by the unusually beautiful works of art made here, such as carvings and its important men’s houses.
From March 18th to June 14th, a remarkable exhibition on the culture of the Sepik region took place in the Gropiusbau in Berlin. The exhibition was supported by the Rietberg Museum in Zurich and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.
Sports facilities
Diving
The sea around Papua New Guinea is one of the best diving areas in the world. In addition to a diverse flora and fauna, remains from the Second World War can also be admired.
You can dive in day trips or by means of a multi-day excursion on a diving ship.
Good diving spots with tour operators can be found in Alotau, Kavieng, Kimbe, Lae, Lorengau, Madang, Rabaul and the Wuvulu Island.
Surfing
In Papua New Guinea the surfer can still discover “new territory”.
You can surf on the north coast in Vanimo, Weak and Mandang and on the south coast in Port Moresby and Alotau, Milne Bay and on the islands in Kavieng.
You can find detailed information at www.surfingpapuanewguinea.org.pg
Trekking
There are a large number of hiking trails in the country. You can hike through the bush on these for several days. One of the most famous is the Kokoda Trail. The trail follows the route taken by the Japanese from the north coast to Port Moresby during World War II. The hike takes about 6-7 days.
Kopianga Lake-Oksapmin: The trail takes 3-4 days and goes through the highlands and the picturesque valley of the Strickland River.
Deep sea fishing
Papua New Guinea is a paradise for the ambitious deep sea angler.