Festivities of July

KOKOPO NATIONAL MASK FESTIVAL AND WARWAGIRA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2019
July 10th to 14th 2019

The National Mask Festival is an annual event that takes place in East New Britain where local tribes gather to display their traditional attires and dances.

The festival usually starts at the break of dawn with a Kinavai Ceremony. This is when Duk-Duks or Tumbuans traverse across the seas, chanting and beating their drums until they reach the shore.

This Kinavai Ceremony is sacred to the Tolai people of East New Britain. It represents the migration of the New Ireland people moving into East New Britain as Tolai people.

The festival program usually begins between 9am to 10am, when local tribes from around Papua New Guinea  have a time slot in which they display their different attires,chant songs and dance traditional dances- each with it's own unique story and importance. 
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We have a total of 840 different language speaking tribes in Papua New Guinea so you can just imagine the diversity of such a country. Each language speaking tribe has different cultural attires,dances,chants & beliefs.It is an experience of a lifetime to watch these tribes performing in their traditional attires with their songs and dances.

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The Baining Fire Dance
A truly extraordinary traditional dance, that take place during night time. This dance will have its audience captivated as you watch in awe at the performers dancing in & out of a enormous,blazing fire while chanting & singing in their traditional language.

It resembles the strength & courage of the young men who are being initiated into manhood. 

The men are usually in a spiritual trance when performing this dance. And their traditional pants like attire are thick bark of trees, that are tied on so tight that the flames cannot penetrate & burn their sensitive areas around the groin.
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This dance is only done by the men of the Baining Tribe & it is not performed anywhere else in the world. 

Tolai Whip Dance
The whip dance or LABAR  consists of boys or men being whipped by canes around the arms and legs by their fellow tribesmen as they sing and chant their scared traditional songs...

This dance is only done to the Tolai boys or men that have already been initiated into the scared Duk-Duk & Tumbuan culture.
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Before the dance the boys or selected men to be whipped are sent into the bush to the mens scared meeting place called the TARAIU which they then stay for 1-2 weeks.
This preparation is both physical & spiritual as they are not allowed certain foods and cannot return home to see their families or come in contact with any other female during this given time.
This dance is only done by the Tolai men of East new Britain Province.

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Kinavai Cermony
This dance is the opening ceremony of the Mask Festival. 
It is a scared ceremony preformed to represent the migration of the New Ireland People moving to East New Britain Province as Tolai people.
Duk-Duks (males) & Tumbuans (females) are traditional omens of the Tolai people that arrive dancing on canoes to their chants and beating drums.
Not all Tolai men can dance as a Duk-Duk or Tumbuan until they are initiated this is called WARKINIM.
Where the men especially boys are taken in the mens scared meeting place called the TARAIU then undergo a few tests and accomplishments to enter into the scared traditional society.
The Tolai women are not allowed anywhere near the TARAIU or near a Duk-Duk or Tumbuan if they do so even by accident they will have to pay compensation with TABU traditional shell money of the Tolai people to the Duk-Duk or Tumbuan.
These practices have been passed down from ancestral beginnings but over the years have varied a lot to our modern lifestyle.

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Traditional Attires & Masks
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The look of the masks and attires reflect the power and strength of traditional beliefs and the masks are greatly honored as they represented the presences of the spirits which gave power and knowledge to perform their traditional rituals, sorcery etc.

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Where to get tickets for the festival?
Please Note:For guest staying at Kokopo Beach Bungalows Resort and Taklam Lodge we will organize tickets if requested. 


Click on these icons to reach us

Click here to see MASK FESTIVAL day activity schedule

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Every Saturday from 8am -1pm
Come join us for some exotic dishes from India that will have you craving for more... ​

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Mooring System 

​We are still working on installing buoys on tie dive sites , so we can reduce throwing anchor . 

So far we have a functioning buoys with rope at 
Atun Wreck , Fiona`s reef, Evelyn`s reef and Zero Malapau . 

We hope that buoys and lines will stay long term 

Dear locals :
Heads up,  if you have any rope laying around at home and you are able to bring it down , please do , as we will be running out of scrap rope soon .  We would love to set up buoys at many more sites !

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Dive courses!

Diving at reefs, wrecks can be easely achieved by our first step license - Open Water Diver , or next step - Advanced Open Water Diver Course. 

Contact us  today to find out how to get certified!

Contact us

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Dive Shop looking better every day ! Here are some fresh images from interior !

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Big and small marine life. Here are some of the best shot in June from our dives.

See More marine life photos and dive site map.

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Seems like a damage from Earthquake.
Recently noticed at Fiona`s Reef this long crack .We are not fully certain where does it come from , but could be from Earthquake. Seems about 10-20 m long throughout reef . And about 1 -2 m deep 


Either way , again it shows how fragile environment is .

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Visit our New YouTube Chanel

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Special offer for the New Britain Open – Golf Tournament

The offer is valid from the 18th – 21st of July 2019

Executive Bungalow       - K490.00 per night
Waterfront Bungalow    - K560.00 per night

Inclusion in the room is as follows:
Return Airport Transfers
Hot Breakfast
Laundry Service
Wi-Fi


Please put a small note that *Rooms are based on Single occupancy, for twin share or double an additional fee of K80.00 is applicable on all room types*.

Please email   reservations@kbb.com.pg   to book your room !