Kitava & Gawa, Trobriand Islands
We made our morning landfall at the Island of Kitava in the Trobraind Islands. As successive squalls passed by, curious locals in their dugout canoes began gathering alongside the ship. Soon a larger outrigger canoe paddled around us with men chanting and calling. Onshore, throngs had gathered from the island’s interior, and soon the welcoming dances were underway. From the beach we hiked inland to the main village of Kumwageya where many hundreds of locals were gathered. Each of us was given a welcome lei of flowers and led across an open grass area to seating where we watched the dance performance. The great festivities began with the smallest children dancing, and then progressed through successive ages of boys, girls, men and women, decorated in colorful flowers, feathers, woven palm fibers, and even unusual ornaments such as pieces of candy wrappers dangling on strings and Christmas tree tinsel. Glistening in coconut oil, they sang, danced and chanted. They had worked hard to prepare an extensive array of wonderful dances for us, and the entire village had gathered to enjoy the spectacle. After the performances we wandered the area, some of us shopping, others photographing the many beautiful faces, and many quenching their thirst and hunger with freshly opened coconuts. We were joined by the multitudes of happy villagers as we trekked back to the beach where we bid our farewell to these lovely welcoming people of Kitava.
Here, the story becomes more intriguing. On leaving Kitava, we took with us a wayward group of 16 people from the island of Gawa, 40 miles to the east. This group had sailed off from their home island months ago, then tried to sail home but missed Gawa, and ended up far to the west, eventually reaching Kitava where they had been stranded since early June waiting for favorable winds on which to return home. Away from home too long, they accepted our offer to take them back to Gawa, leaving their 30 foot canoe behind on Kitava. These travelers joined us aboard the ship for four hours as we motored them back to their home island of Gawa. They began their voyage home with an amazing and filling trip around our lunch buffet table, and then were given tours of other parts of the ship. Many items that we take for granted, like padded seats in the lounge, televisions, and treadmills in the gym, were a complete novelty to these islanders.
En route to Gawa, Bob Tonkinson shared with us a presentation on “Melanesian Gift Exchange and the Kula Ring.” Here we learned about the mwali (white shell armbands) and the soulava or bagi (red shell necklaces), both objects of extreme value in the Kula tradition. Upon arriving at Gawa, we loaded our traveling guests into Zodiacs, and delivered them and their gear back to their home shores. Onshore, their warm welcome home quickly became an opportunity for the locals to bring out carvings to sell to us. Even though Gawa is visited by tourists perhaps only once a year, these people are obviously not strangers to the handicrafts trade. While ashore, numerous local islanders who had been out fishing in their small outrigger canoes paddled back to shore to share in the excitement of the homecoming of their fellow islanders, and to greet us curious visitors whom they kindly welcomed to their remote shores.
We made our morning landfall at the Island of Kitava in the Trobraind Islands. As successive squalls passed by, curious locals in their dugout canoes began gathering alongside the ship. Soon a larger outrigger canoe paddled around us with men chanting and calling. Onshore, throngs had gathered from the island’s interior, and soon the welcoming dances were underway. From the beach we hiked inland to the main village of Kumwageya where many hundreds of locals were gathered. Each of us was given a welcome lei of flowers and led across an open grass area to seating where we watched the dance performance. The great festivities began with the smallest children dancing, and then progressed through successive ages of boys, girls, men and women, decorated in colorful flowers, feathers, woven palm fibers, and even unusual ornaments such as pieces of candy wrappers dangling on strings and Christmas tree tinsel. Glistening in coconut oil, they sang, danced and chanted. They had worked hard to prepare an extensive array of wonderful dances for us, and the entire village had gathered to enjoy the spectacle. After the performances we wandered the area, some of us shopping, others photographing the many beautiful faces, and many quenching their thirst and hunger with freshly opened coconuts. We were joined by the multitudes of happy villagers as we trekked back to the beach where we bid our farewell to these lovely welcoming people of Kitava.
Here, the story becomes more intriguing. On leaving Kitava, we took with us a wayward group of 16 people from the island of Gawa, 40 miles to the east. This group had sailed off from their home island months ago, then tried to sail home but missed Gawa, and ended up far to the west, eventually reaching Kitava where they had been stranded since early June waiting for favorable winds on which to return home. Away from home too long, they accepted our offer to take them back to Gawa, leaving their 30 foot canoe behind on Kitava. These travelers joined us aboard the ship for four hours as we motored them back to their home island of Gawa. They began their voyage home with an amazing and filling trip around our lunch buffet table, and then were given tours of other parts of the ship. Many items that we take for granted, like padded seats in the lounge, televisions, and treadmills in the gym, were a complete novelty to these islanders.
En route to Gawa, Bob Tonkinson shared with us a presentation on “Melanesian Gift Exchange and the Kula Ring.” Here we learned about the mwali (white shell armbands) and the soulava or bagi (red shell necklaces), both objects of extreme value in the Kula tradition. Upon arriving at Gawa, we loaded our traveling guests into Zodiacs, and delivered them and their gear back to their home shores. Onshore, their warm welcome home quickly became an opportunity for the locals to bring out carvings to sell to us. Even though Gawa is visited by tourists perhaps only once a year, these people are obviously not strangers to the handicrafts trade. While ashore, numerous local islanders who had been out fishing in their small outrigger canoes paddled back to shore to share in the excitement of the homecoming of their fellow islanders, and to greet us curious visitors whom they kindly welcomed to their remote shores.
