Part 1: New Guinea Culture

Section 1 – Questions 1–10

Questions 1-4

Complete the sentences below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.

New Guinea

The Eastern side of the island of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea, became an 1 ________ in 1975

Only 18% of the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea reside in 2 __________

Papua New Guinea tribes should be seen as separate 3 __________

There is a small number of tribes who have had 4 ___________ no with neighboring groups and the world beyond.

Questions 5-10

Complete the notes below.

Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.

Tribes of Papua New Guinea Huli-Wigmen

• 40,000 members
• decorate their faces with 5 __________
• have belts of pigtails, apron of leaves, wigs made of own hair
• do dances which imitate local birds

Asaro mud men

• cover their bodies in mud to resemble 6 _________ order to frighten off other tribes in
• have very long fingernails
• put on 7 __________ to make themselves look fiercer

Chimbu skeleton dancers

• Now families live together
• Now perform dances for the benefit of 8 _________

Mount Hagan Sing-Sing

• Over 50 tribes take part
• Begun by 9 _________ in 1961 to bring together tribes in peace
• Tribes people wear headdresses made of flowers, shells and feathers
• Some loss of authenticity, such as the replacement  of 10 __________ dyes on their wonderful costumes with artificial ones.

Keys

1. independent country
2. urban areas
3. social groups
4. no contact
5. yellow paint
6. river spirits
7. terrifying masks
8. tourists
9. government
10. natural

Transcript

Section 1: You will hear a talk about the island of New Guinea and some of the people of Papua New Guinea.

Speaker: Today’s talk is about the fascinating culture of New Guinea, an island divided in two politically but with huge diversity in both parts.

Speaker: For those of you who don’t know, New Guinea is located in Oceania, in the south-western

Pacific Ocean, north of Australia.

Speaker: Since 1975, the eastern side has been the independent country of Papua New Guinea, while the western side consists of the Indonesian-administered provinces of Papua and West Papua.

Speaker: Papua New Guinea has 7 million inhabitants and is an incredibly rural country, with only 18% of the population living in urban areas.

Speaker: It has 852 known languages and is one of the least explored terrains on the planet.

Speaker: Now, one of the reasons that Papua New Guinea and indeed the whole of New Guinea is such an interesting place is that it is home to hundreds of traditional tribes, perhaps better described as distinct social groups, each one numbering hundreds or even thousands of members.

Speaker: In the Indonesian part of New Guinea, that is the provinces of Papua and West Papua, there are 312 different tribes, including around 44 uncontacted ones.

Speaker: These are tribes who up until now hadn’t had any contact with the outside world, even with other neighbouring tribes. Of course, everyone is most curious to know about these tribes but, by definition, we have little or no information on them.

Speaker: I am now going to talk about the tribes of the Papua New Guinea highlands. These people only rarely had contact with the outside world until the 1960s, so they are still relatively isolated.

Speaker: When we start to examine the tribes, we see a common theme, which is the use of various methods to intimidate other groups so as to protect their own tribe.

Speaker: Let’s look first at the Huli Wigmen, a tribe of about 40,000 from the Tarry highlands of Papua New Guinea. They have given their faces a very distinctive look by using yellow paint and they wear belts made of pigtails, aprons made of leaves and wigs, which are a sort of hat made from their own hair.

Speaker: This look is designed to scare off outsiders, which they also do with their bird dances, which mimic the birds of paradise that inhabit their land.

Speaker: Another highland tribe, the Asaro Mudmen, have the same intention as the Huli Wigmen: to ward off outsiders.

Speaker: By smearing themselves in clay and mud, they adopt the form of the river spirits, which are known to terrify their enemies.

Speaker: Their elaborate appearance is further supplemented with extended fingernails and they wear terrifying masks which serve to accentuate their ferocious look.

Speaker: The Asaro Mudmen were discovered by the outside world less than 80 years ago, but have now become a symbol of Papua New Guinea and make an important contribution to the tourist trade.

Speaker: A third tribe that has become well known is the Chimbu, who live high in the mountains. The Chimbu skeleton dancers used to dance to intimidate their enemies.

Speaker: This tribe traditionally lived in male-female segregated houses, though they are now increasingly living in family groups.

Speaker: This group too now display their traditional dances not to scare off other tribes, but more to entertain tourists.

Speaker: An interesting event, the Mount Hagen Singsing, takes place every year involving over 50 tribes.

Speaker: This came about due to the constant fighting between tribes, which became a serious problem for the Papua New Guinea government, so in 1961 it came up with the idea of a cultural show, which would bring together as many tribes as possible in peace and pride in their cultural heritage.

Speaker: The Mount Hagen Singsing is a wonderful opportunity for Papua New Guinea to showcase its fascinating cultural heritage.

Speaker: At this event, tourists and locals alike can witness the spectacular costumes, including six feet high headdresses made of flowers, shells, and feathers.

Speaker: Inevitably, there is some loss of authenticity associated with this kind of event. For example, chemical dyes are now used instead of the natural ones the tribes used earlier.

Speaker: However, a poor developing country has to exploit whatever resources it has, and the wealth of this region is its tribal peoples.