A war canoe (Lopo) called Goila Hewalina from DawaDawa Village across the bay from Alotau will make its debut center stage at the next Kenu and Kundu Festival and screen on television in Europe next month.
The war canoe or Lopo is the main center piece of all the National Kenu and Kundu Festivals (NKKF) since it began with its intricate design canoe prows depicting legends and crew of paddlers with sharpened wooden paddles that are also used as a spear.
It is a canoe used by the ancestors of the Ealeba and Tawala people around the Huhu Local Level Government around the Milne Bay coast line for cannibal raids.
Goila Hewalina was launched last Thursday at DawaDawa River months after its construction stage was recorded on camera by a two men Italian television crew.
The launching ceremony was attended by National Kenu and Kundu Festival, Milne Bay Tourism Bureau and Milne Bay Tourism Industry Association officials in colorful cultural launching ceremony along the DawaDawa River.
The ceremony began with Gwavili Primary School students welcomed the officials performing a Bwalu dance ushering the officials to the small podium and later to the launching of Goila Hewalina into the DawaDawa River.
Instrumental in launching the Goila Hewalina was Milne Bay Tourism Industry Association President Maleta Tokwakwasi who with the two men Italian television crew that documented the felling of the tree, construction and finally launching of the canoe.
Ms. Tokwakwasi was proud to see the successful launch from construction earlier this year to launching today all documented on camera.
She said she brought greetings from Italy from the film crew that were with her documenting the whole construction of the canoe.
“I want to congratulate you today the canoe is going to participate in the NKKF with the help of the community elders as you may be aware I came with the two Italians to capture the canoe from the construction phase till the launching now,” she said.
She was proud of the result as they had something to show with documentary movie ready to be shown by the end of October.
“ I thank those who involved in the documentary because it was very hard to document the canoe because of cultural taboos and was also expensive however the film crew came to their assistance and we rode on the opportunity to document something she believed would last forever.” she said.
