Singsing for Independance

September 16th was Independence Day here in Papua New Guinea. In 1975, Papua New Guinea gained full independence from Australia, and that day is worth some serious celebrating here in PNG! With very clear ideas about how WE celebrate independence day on our minds, we, along with some other missionaries, ventured a half an hour’s drive to a place called Mosa to witness what the citizens here do to celebrate. There were no fireworks, and that was alright with us. 😀

People came from many different villages to gather and Wow, I mean WOW! They don’t mess around when it comes to celebrating, and we had a wonderful day just watching the hours and hours of “Singsing” (a festival or dance at celebrations). We gathered in a large open field to watch group after group of dancers and participants come to the center of the field and put on their show. Just when we thought we had seen the most amazing costumes, more would show up to wow us again. Hearing so many voices singing their unique songs, and all the beating drums, is unlike anything I could even explain! It is very clear how proud the citizens of PNG are of their country and culture! It was a tremendous learning experience for us to observe the culture and belief systems that have contributed to the celebrations.

Because a picture “is worth a thousand words” I thought I would just share a few of the hundreds I took. Hopefully they will help you get an idea of what is was like. Enjoy!