If youve been around to our offices lately, you would have spotted this big Gogodala Canoe outside the building. Weve given it a temporary home for now, while we find a permanent home for it for our Pacific Games Visitors to Marvel at when they come for the Games. #2015pacificgames #pom2015 #png This Gogodala Canoe comes from the Kotale village in the Middle Fly District of Western Province. It is a C Grade Canoe that carries up to 23 men and is used in traditional canoe racing festivals. Its distinctive designs represent the totems of the Lalamana sub –Clan, of the Paiya (Red) clan of Balimo, which is the Hornbill (Kokomo) and the Snake (sillo). The tip of the totem shows the hornbill (kokomo) clenched in the jaws of Sillo the snake. In the Lalamana clan, the Sillo snake is a powerful symbol of the clan and feeds on the hornbill. It can take up to five days to build one and usually up to about a month to design. An ‘A’ Grade Canoe can carry up to 70 men while a ‘B’ Grade carry’s 50 men. Canoes are a very important part of the Gogodala culture. The Gogodala use dugout canoes in everyday activities such as fishing, collecting firewood, carrying house posts, transporting sago and garden produce because they are located along a river and surrounded by floodplains. Canoes are an important means for both transport and hunting. Their ancestors travelled to the area in large canoes. The Gogodala people are able trace their lineage back to these original clans and even more specifically, they trace their lineage back to the canoes that they used to travel there. These beautifully crafted canoes can be seen in all their glory at the Gogodala Canoe Festival every year between April and May. The Gogodala Men would dance on the canoes as an initiation ritual. This is an ancient Gogodala practice and attracts visitors from all over the world every year.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 01:26:17 +0000
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