Shark Calling Festival

This unique event will be hosted at Kono Village, located on the picturesque West Coast of New Ireland.

The festival revolves around the age-old tradition of "shark calling," a practice deeply ingrained in the culture of Papua New Guinea. The skilled participants engage in the art of singing to sharks and subsequently capturing them by hand, showcasing their remarkable connection with these majestic creatures.

To catch a shark in the waters off Papua New Guinea, first the men sing.

They sing the names of their ancestors and their respects to the shark. They shake a coconut rattle into the sea, luring the animals from the deep, and then catch them by hand.

The custom, called “shark calling”, is practised in the villages of Messi, Kono and Kontu on the west coast of New Ireland province in Papua New Guinea, a country of about 9 million people just north of Australia.

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 22^nd to the 23^rd 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’.