Local men arriving back with their catch. SUPPLIED PICTURE
It was a successful first day of the two day Shark Calling festival held at Kontu , West Coast of New Ireland Province recently .
Present to witness the occasion was Executive Director of the National Cultural Commission Steven Kilanda, Chairlady of the New Ireland Tourism board Veronica Jigede, Chairman of the Provincial Celebrations Committee John Merebo, CEO Economic sector Edward Lasisi, Provincial Assembly Chief King Pawut and local leaders.
All though the weather was gloomy with spots of heavy rains it did not dampen the spirits of the 20 Shark callers from Kontu and nearby village Tembin that ventured out to sea during the early hours of the morning.
After only to two hours out at sea the sound from a cone shell signalling the capture of a shark was heard. Although it turned out to be the only catch of the day visitors were elated to see the catch of the day. The Shark measuring about 2 metres long was captured by 45 year old Victor Conrad of Kontu village.
“Mi bin stap long solwara long tupla hour na mi catchim displa shark,” said Victor Conrad. Victor has been involved in the sacred Shark Calling custom since he was 12 years old. “ Me catchim planti Shark pinis, namba i lus pinis.”Executive Director for the National Cultural Commission Steven Kilanda who witnessed the custom for the first time was both intrigued and amazed at the sight of the capture.
“ This is amazing I’ve never seen Shark in my life time. It’s my first time to touch a Shark and also first time to witness the sharkcalling festival. It’s amazing, it’s unique, its great . It’s the first of its kind in the world, only in PNG, “ said the executive director.
The head of the NCC also happens to be responsible for the coordination of all the Cultural Festivals in the country and made a commitment to support the Festival moving forward. “It’s only proper that we help them sustain this. They must continue this culture.
As a Papua New Guinean I’m really proud to witness this. I thought it had died out..” A cheque of K10,000 was also presented by NCC in support of the festival. With Mr Kilanda also personally presenting K500 to the winning Shark Caller of the day and K50 to the other participants.
The Festival continued on the next day 5th July. According to the local committee a total of 37 Sharks have already been captured in the lead up to the Festival.
This year the Provincial Government supported the festival with K60,000. However the Provincial Government is advocating for the Shark Calling villages of Kontu, Messi and Kono to run their festivals independently so they can be self sustaining in the future. Partnering with NCC is the way forward.
