Shark Calling Festival Revived

The famous Shark Calling festival in New Ireland Province will now be recognized as a National event under the Tourism Promotion Authority’s Calendar.

Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee for Tourism and culture and member for Nawaeb Kennedy Wenge announced this on the second day of the ‘Shark Calling’ festival at Messi village, West Coast New Ireland Province.

The revived festival was held in Messi on the 22nd to the 23rd of July.

In a bid to preserve this ancient tradition of the people of West Coast, Sentral Niu Ailan, the locals decided it was time to reawaken this special dying ritual called ‘Shark Calling’.

With the shake of special rattle seeds, striking of the deep blue sea with a stick and blowing of a cone shell, a shark is called up to the surface of the water and caught without the aid of modern fishing gears.

This ancient practice passed down from generations can only be found in certain parts of New Ireland Province including Messi and Kontu on the West Coast and Djaul to the North.

Event organizer John Merebo said the ritual of catching sharks is sacred. It begins where certain individuals of a clan go through a month of fasting before going out to sea.

New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan during the opening of the festival urged the locals to hold onto their tradition.

Author: 
Jemimah Sukbat