1.12 Teenage Gebusi boys: Terkabo and his friend from another community dress up similarly to indicate their friendship |
3.6 Sasaga in costume for a feast |
3.8 An angry visiting man |
3.9 Wahi in mourning, prepared for a funeral fight |
3.10 Wahi in mourning for a second death |
5.7 Male Gebusi dancer in standard spirit costume. The upper body decorations are those of upper world spirits, especially birds and the possum (which lives in trees). Lower world spirits are indicated on the lower body by the crocodile-mouth drum and crayfish claw rattle at the rear of the costume. During the dance, the crayfish rattle clacks and bounces; this is said to be like the tail of a fish as it cascades over rapids in the river. In all, the dancer symbolizes the totality and harmony of the Gebusi spirit world. |
5.8 Standard male dance costume, showing dance step and drumming |
5.12 This young woman, named Toym, was said by the men of Yibihilu to be a human approximation of a beautiful spirit woman. On first seeing this photo, men turned away mockingly, saying they were too overpowered and frustrated by the sight of Toym’s beauty to look at her image. Ironically, the woman’s name, Toym, also means “taboo” in Gebusi. |
6.1 Modiay in his yellow “in-between” initiation costume, holding his tobacco pipe. Initiates are expected to be generous in giving tobacco and food. Note the large phallic leaf in Modiay’s costume. |
6.2 The six male initiates of Yibihilu stand at night in collective display facing a mass of entering visitors. |
6.7 Momiay wears his completed uga wig.. He hunches forward to help support its weight on his shoulders. |
6.8 Wahi is decorated by his primary initiate sponsor, Swiman, in the red bird-of-paradise initiation costume. |
6.9 An initiate, Haymp is decorated while an umbrella is held to protect him from the rain of an approaching storm |
6.10 Union of human and spiritual beauty: Yuway stands humbly in his completed red bird-of-paradise initiation costume |
6.11 Ultimate splendor: The six male initiates of Yibihilu line up for public presentation in matching costumes. Collectively, their costume elements, which have been given by a wide range of persons, link the initiates with a wide range of Gebusi settlements. In their costumes, the initiates are also linked with spirits and with each other as initiation-mates. |
6.14 Initiation dance, with selected young women dancing in costume opposite male dancers. In the photograph, note that the man on the right wearing blue shorts is smiling and joking with the women standing to the left of the dancer along the sago thatch wall. Joking between Gebusi men and women parallels the dance of seduction between the male and female costumed performers and between men and women in the spirit world |
6.15 In a rare display, a line of three women dance during the night of the main initiation ceremonies. Each holds a rattle which she thrusts up and down in front of her, symbolizing the action of sexual intercourse. |
6.16 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.17 Costumes of women attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.18 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.19 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.20 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.21 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.22 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.23 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.24 Costumes of those attending the Yibihilu initiation. |
6.25 Man covered in mud, with big “testicles” and “bug-eyes,” after he has impersonated a corpse, run around, and scared youngsters. |
6.26 Imba presents a hardwood bow and set of carved initiation arrows to Yuway. |
6.31 Final initiation twist: Closeup of the two young women who dressed and lined up similar to male initiates at the end of the ceremonies. |
6.32 The night after: an initiate in full costume dons a white feather “halo” and drum-dances for the first time – opposite a female Gebusi dancer. Within a few months of the ceremonies, all the surviving initiates had gotten married. |
8.1 Yuway in costume after a feast, 1981 |
8.2 Yuway dancing, following his initiation, 1981 |
11.11 Sayu dances in traditional costume at Kotie Masam, 1998 |
11.19 Traditional costuming at a remote village, 1998: senior man in a red bird-of-paradise headdress. |
11.20 Traditional costuming at a remote village, 1998: Kuma, a young man in a red bird-of-paradise headdress, holding bow and arrows. |
11.21 Traditional costuming at a remote village, 1998: older man in black |
11.22 Traditional costuming at a remote village, 1998: young boy painted in red |
11.23 Hybrid costuming at remote village, 1998: man with black face paint and a white patterned shirt |
11.24 Hybrid costuming at a remote village, 1998: woman with “red bird-of-paradise” face paint and a black bra |
11.25 Hybrid costuming at a remote village, 1998: two men in modern dress with traditional face-painting motifs |
11.27 Hybrid costuming at a remote village, 1998: two women blend modern and traditional styles of dress |
11.28 Hybrid costuming at a remote village, 1998: woman with a long noseplug and a black dress, partly worn, holding her child |
11.29 Modern costuming at remote village, 1998: man with a sports jersey and plastic flowered headdress |
11.30 Modern costuming at remote village, 1998: boy wearing a new type of flowered headdress |
11.31 Hybrid costuming at remote village, 1998: two women from Gasumi Corners in dresses and wearing jewelry |
11.32 Male initiation at Yulabi, 1998: traditional dancing |
11.33 Male initiation at Yulabi, 1998: initiates in traditional costume |
11.35 Opening of the Independence Day ceremonies: A man in a neo-traditional costume raises the Papua New Guinea flag, with school children lined up behind |
11.36 Opening of the Independence Day ceremonies: A man and woman in neo-traditional dress hold a sign for their group, with a man in a white T-shirt between them. The words on the man’s T-shirt read: "Compulsive, Antisocial, Manic Depressive, Paranoid, but Basically Happy" |
11.37 Independence Day “dramas,” 1998: men dressed in traditional costumes begin a skit that makes fun of traditional customs |
11.38 Man dressed in a traditional costume plays in a skit that makes fun of chopping with a stone axe. Independence Day "dramas," 1998. |
11.39 Men from Gasumi Corners enact a farce of a traditional sorcery inquest: Damywa, who plays the spirit medium, leans over the "dead man," Mata, who has a large fake phallus and testicles strapped to his waist. |
11.40 Men from Gasumi Corners enact a farce of a traditional sorcery inquest: Kawuk (left) is tied to a stake by his inquisitioners |
11.44 Modern skit at Independence Day of a boy in rags (right) who seeks work in town from an overweight wealthy employer (left). The employer pays the boy a few small coins from his case full of money. In the skit, the youth steals the satchel of money and the employer then shoots his own security guards dead for not preventing the theft. The skit portrays the modern tensions of menial wage labor, envy, and violent response by employers. |
11.45 Gebusi man and woman perform in traditional costume before hundreds of spectators at Nomad Station on Independence Day, 1998 |
11.46 Gebusi initiates process onto the performance area at Nomad Station on Independence Day, 1998 |
11.47 Gebusi initiates and women line up at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998 |
11.48 A Gebusi man is rated by an official judge holding an umbrella and wearing a Michael Jackson T-shirt at Nomad Station on Independence Day, 1998 |
11.49 Men enact traditional spirit séance singing at Nomad Station on Independence Day |
11.50 Two Bedamini dancers who face each other perform for the multi-ethnic audience at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998 |
11.51 Mother and child enjoy the various dance performances at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998 |
11.52 Kabasi dancer standing and singing, Independence Day, Nomad Station, 1998 |
11.53 Kabasi dancer with feathers swaying, Independence Day, Nomad Station, 1998 |
11.54 Kabasi dancer sits and sings, Independence Day, Nomad Station, 1998 |
11.55 Kabasi performer on the following day of the Independence Day festivities. He wears a white shirt and stands with his son at the Nomad ballfield. |
11.56 A boy who is too young to be a first-stage initiate is dressed in yellow initiation costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998 |
11.57 Creative costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Man with a cassowary headdress, holding his bow |
11.58 Creative costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Man in black face paint a necklace, and chest bands |
11.59 Unusual costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Man with a tall two-tailed headdress |
11.60 Unusual costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Man with a high cassowary headdress twisted around wires |
11.61 Unusual costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Man with a very large plastic "noseplug" strapped to his face |
11.62 Unusual costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Man with a distorted facial costume, wielding an ax in mock attack against the photographer |
11.63 Modern costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Man wearing a blue shirt and red bird-of-paradise feathers mounted on a red hat |
11.64 Costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Two boys dressed in leaves and body paint |
11.65 Unusual costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Two men caked in red clay with strap-on phalluses and bug-eyes, impersonating corpses. The man on the right has a live snake strung through his nasal septum |
11.66 Unusual costuming at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Two men wear masked costumes of painted bark cloth and strap-on phalluses. They are impersonating corpses. |
11.67 Neo-traditional and modern dancing at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Bare-breasted, middle-aged woman with a flower headdress and body paint dances to disco music from a boombox in the performance competition. The man from her village explained to the crowd, "We have nothing developed in our village, so we can only present you our women for your entertainment." |
11.68 Neo-traditional and modern music at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Two men in neo-traditional costume play electric guitars. |
11.69 Neo-traditional and modern dancing at Nomad on Independence Day, 1998: Two men dance disco. One is in neo-traditional costume, the other wears modern clothes. |
12.6 Traditional dancing in full costume at the final feast |
12.7 A woman and her son from Gasumi Corners watch traditional dancing at the final feast | | | |
