As the crowd gathered to watch the tumbuan and dukduk dancers arriving at the Kokopo beachfront this morning, several women humbly assembled at the shores with white cloths draped across their arms.
Dressed in black meri blouses and red laplaps, the women swayed as if in welcome of the oncoming canoes and their passengers.
“We are the mothers of men who own tumbuans,” one of the women told Loop PNG.
By carrying these white cloths, the women were demonstrating how a mother cares for her baby.
In the Tolai society, when a man’s tumbuan makes its debut, the mother of the men who own these tumbuans perform this ritual as a sign of embracing the tumbuans and dukduks.
Every boy in the Tolai society is required to go through the initiation process of becoming a man. There is no age limit when it comes to getting initiated.
“It depends mostly on the parents if they want their children to start the initiation at a very early age,” a local told Loop PNG.
“So long as they undergo all initiation processes required of them. Being a man means being able to follow a tumbuan and own a tumbuan.”
The kinawai, a prelude of the National Mask Festival in Rabaul, East New Britain Province, began at 6.50am today.
This two-day event will be held from July 14-15 at the Tolai Warwagira field, adjacent to the Gazelle International Hotel.
The Warwagira & Mask Festival is scheduled for July 13-17.
