Goroka Show, Papua New Guinea

Goroka Show, Papua New Guinea

Goroka Show, Goroka Festival, Eastern Highlands Cultural Show – whatever you call it, there’s no getting around the fact that this knees-up is the most anticipated event in Papua New Guinea. For one weekend in September the usually snoozing highlands town of Goroka erupts into a celebration of song and dance.

And it’s not just for fun. This is a chance for up to 100 wide-ranging tribes to get together. It’s also a battle of the dances. While not technically a competition, there’s definitely a livewire of rivalry as communities dress up in their finest for a sing-sing that showcases their community’s finest dances and songs.

The dances reveal battle victories, songs of healing and feasting, and a candid love for their community. Never has wearing your heart on your sleeve been so energetic.

What you’ll see depends on which tribes decide to visit that year. Storytelling dances and songs are performed. Woven rainbow headdresses are family heirlooms; bird-of-paradise feathers decorate skirts. The enthusiasm of the participants and attendees is earth-shaking.

But which dialect is that? Why do the Asaro people coat themselves in mud? And is that a prayer or a victory song? To get a true understanding of what’s going on, you’ll need to travel with a Papua New Guinea vacation specialist who works with expert local guides. Read on to see what to expect on a trip to the Goroka Show.

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Things to see at the Goroka Show

The sing-sing is a crescendo of kundu drumming, drone singing and dancing. The atmosphere is electric.

The Goroka Show lasts for three days straight, peaking at the sing-sing: a get-together where tribes share songs and dances. Some only meet once a year, so it’s real privilege to witness the shared stories and friendly rivalries. The sing-sing represents communication and community building, all at once – a shared language in a country where there are over 400 dialects.

When you consider how many centuries islanders spent battling culture-crushing colonialism, you’ll realise that it’s a real privilege to be amongst so many disparate tribes standing shoulder to shoulder. And they don’t do it by halves. Attendees spend hours getting dressed for the occasion, and there are stories behind every outfit.

The seemingly ancient tradition of a sing-sing was in fact a construct from the 1950s, invented to diffuse intertribal tensions.

A marketplace pops up, too. Some tribes arrive loaded with their island’s wares: banana, breadfruit, yam, taro, sugar cane. Food stalls then proceed to get busy cooking it, so you could wind up munching on barbecued pork or bamboo-steamed vegetables. Elsewhere, craftspeople peddle geometric palm-woven baskets and bright string bags.

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Tips for visiting the Goroka Show

Most trips to the Goroka Show are part of a small group vacation. Travel with a Papua New Guinea adventure specialist, and they’ll hunt down accommodation on what’s the busiest day in the PNG calendar and source tickets for the show itself, so you’ll avoid long queues on the day. You’ll also be paired up with a local guide. Plus, you’ll travel on to see the rest of Papua New Guinea over the course of a week or two – perhaps the remote festivals of the Bismarch Mountains or Independence Day celebrations in Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea swelters under classic equatorial weather, so bring a hat and sun lotion for the sunshine and a light raincoat for the inevitable showers.

While it’s true that the purpose of the Goroka Show is for tribes to share their costumes and customs, it’s also vital that visitors don’t treat it purely as entertainment. Every swirl of body paint and skywards jump holds deep meaning. However, many tribespeople do enjoy posing for a photo – just remember to ask permission first and share the photo too. Respect the people behind the costume; it shouldn’t need to be said, but touching generations-old headdresses is an absolute no.