Week 2 Part 2: Tumbuna Singsing (tranditional dancing/celebration)

-
Since our arrival in the village of Wargiden our Host Papa had been telling us that he’d have the ladies of the village teach us the village’s traditional dances so that we could have a Tumbuna Singsing (a traditional celebration and dance) before we left. True to his word, Papa summoned us to his veranda facing the sea. We arrived to find the ladies of the village talking in excited whispers as a few men of the village thumped experimentally on their kundu (drums) to ensure they were in tune.

dancing with our village family
Tumbuna Singsing style
Soon, April and I had been guided into one of two lines to stand behind one of our host sisters or cousins to learn the steps of the traditional dances. Flowers were pressed into our hands and the ladies quieted down, waiting for the drums to begin. Thump, thump, thump. The drums began to pound as the men sang out strong in the captivating and ancient sounding strains of Wargiden’s traditional song. April and I did our best to follow the rhythmic flurry of steps the ladies of the village glided through effortlessly. We all laughed as we went the wrong way or finally succeeded. It was a delight to be so involved in something so dear to our village. These dances have been part of the identity of this village and Papua New Guinea for time out of mind, and it felt like I had stepped into the deep river of tradition and antiquity as I wove in an out of the intricate dances with the ladies.
After over an hour of dancing the sun was close to setting and all of us were breathless and happy. We practiced several times before our goodbye dinner and had the Tumbuna Singsing the day before we left (look for a post on this in several weeks). This was a really special way of learning more about our village, its traditions, history and people, and it was a great way that we all were able to bond and build friendship.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brokenness, Hope, and the Now and Not Yet

-
Image
Moonrise near my home       I stood in the shower, in the first truly hot shower I’ve had in over a week, the seeping cold slowly melting from my body. Words kept forming on my lips and in my heart in prayer for the twin baby who was rushed to the hospital today. The other twin died the day before yesterday and now the second was in unstable condition at a hospital about 30 minutes away. The babies are relatives of a dear friend and my heart broke in unintelligible words in the shower. It had been a rough day. One woman was brought in without a pulse and it became evident shortly into the resuscitation that she was too far gone. At the same time another baby was fighting for its life hooked to tubes and fluid bags, its fearful mother watching with wide silent eyes as staff worked on her little one.      Less than a month back to my Pacific island home and the black wall of suffering has already slapped me full in the face. The haunting reality of our broken world and the faintly glimme
Read more

A Creepy Crawly Welcome

-
Image
  Asiatic rhinoceros beetle  Flicking on the light I walked down the stairs to my basement. I had only been home for a few minutes but wanted to check the house and see what I’d need to do to get it into shape after my long absence. The upstairs was clean and tidy and ready for me to start unpacking and the whole house had been cleaned a couple of weeks before. I went down the stairs and turned the corner. I pulled up short. There if front of me was the huge inverted corpse of a spider, curled legs frozen and dangling in the web of another spider. The dead spider was at least an inch across and had to have been quite big when it was alive. Taking a broom from the wall, I poked at the dead spider, just reassuring myself that it was indeed dead. I shuddered and stepped around the web, making a mental note to clear away the cobwebs downstairs as one of my first chores. I’d only gone a step or two when I stumbled on a rhinoceros beetle that was struggling on its back. It angrily flailed it
Read more

Seasons

-
Image
 Note: I wrote this back in August and forgot to publish it, but it was too good not to share. So, you guys get two blog posts this week. :) Ukarumpa with a lovely double rainbow over it  The smell of freshly roasting coffee and rain glide through my window into my office. The weather is turning cooler and more foggy but the rain has slacked off as we creep into the dry season. And so we make another determined march through the seasons, ticking off the months in their turn. In the northern hemisphere Summer is tantalizingly close. Schools are finishing up their year and kids are counting down the days until break and endless hours without homework or classes. Right now some friends and I are studying the way God’s story starts in Genesis and wraps through the whole Bible, weaving in and out of what feel like unrelated stories and poetry and pronouncements of doom should the people not repent. But as we look for the common thread of God’s story I can see God’s rhythms of creation and g
Read more