Local "Sing-sings" in Papua New Guinea

A sing-sing is a gathering of tribes or villages in Papua New Guinea. Tribal members gather together to share their distinct cultures through dance and music. Villagers paint and decorate themselves for sing-sings. These gatherings aim to peacefully share traditions. Some of the most famous sing-sings include the annual Mount Hagen Show.

As many as 100 regional, provincial, and national tribal dance groups, each with their own style of body decoration, travel for days to gather for these annual traditional events. Sing Sings are based on traditional large gatherings but these modern festivals were created by the government so that traditional enemies could meet on neutral territory. The first sing-sing was held in the town of Goroka in 1957. Instead of fighting over ancient feuds and cultural differences, the idea was to celebrate diversity and socialize peacefully.

All images were photographed in 1989