Every year in September, since 1957, the small Eastern Highlands town of Goroka turns into bright colours as the Papua New Guinean tribes come from across the country and its small islands, dressed in their traditional outfits, to dance at the Sing-Sing festival. This is primarily to show off their colours and their individual village identity.
While I attended the festival in Goroka, it is also celebrated in other towns in the highlands such as Mount Hagen. The 2020 dates: Goroka 18 – 20 September and Mount Hagen 15-16 August.
This is not a show put on for foreign visitors – at least not yet. Every year just a handful of foreigners attend, which I guess is due to the remoteness of the festival locations and high cost of visiting Papua New Guinea.
Also see the Black & White photos towards the end of this post…
The capital city, Port Moresby, offers limited and outrageously expensive hotel accommodation and is a city with a disproportionately high level of crime. Foreign visitors to the city are warned by locals and hotel staff not to venture out on the streets, and certainly not alone. Nighttime streetwalking is a NO-NO. I did go out with a local guide and car and it was quite an experience to see Port Moresby. The remote locations of the festivals seem to be a lot safer. I freely walked around and felt safe, and was warmly welcomed by the locals.
I also did a day trip hiking into the rural areas around the town of Goroka with a local guide – which is essential. Again I felt safe and I found the hill tribes to be very inquisitive and friendly. Must go back and explore more of PNG.
…and don’t worry – gone are the days of cannibals and in is the era of making Facebook buddies! Take a look at the photo at the bottom of this post! 🙂
Let me tell you more about this perplexed little boy in the photo above: During my day of hiking with a guide in the hills and the villages outside Goroka, we were invited (or likely pre-arranged) into a very basic hut where a fire was burning, billowing out black and white smoke all around the hut. In the rather dim light inside the hut, this little boy was constantly staring at me – looking rather puzzled and chilly. I tried to joke around with him but could not squeeze one smile out of him. I was wondering what he was thinking of me! In this dim light, I took this photo and was amazed that it came out quite well. Thanks Nikon.
☛ Read more: Festivals around the world
Blog post and photos by Peter who has been travelling almost full-time since 2005 and has been to over 122 countries. He visited several countries, such as Japan, more than 20 times. Peter is Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of GlobeRovers Magazine, an independent travel magazine focused on intrepid destinations.