An outer-worldly experience
There’s little I can say about the Mt. Hagen Show in the highlands of Papua New Guinea that would get remotely close to depicting the experience of being there. In a nutshell, I was in the middle of what felt like an old National Geographic documentary. Thousands of miles away from what we call civilization, plenty of body paint, leaf skirts, chanting to the rhythm of the home-made drums, synchronized movements of the hips. Beyond the nutshell, the festival is a way of bringing peace to tribes otherwise used to resorting to the machete for conflict resolution.
the Taris are known to have a short fuse; at the show they were singing, but not smiling too much
Getting ready
Some tribes arrived at the show ready for the party. They came with the truck having all the facepaint, outfits and headpieces in place. Others were on the festival grounds hours early to get ready at the location. Some were applying face paint, others were assembling the headpieces or lathering themselves in vegetal oil to make the skin shine. I was mesmerized by the headdresses. On a base of moss in a knitted cap, feathers or even preserved hole birds wer placed craftily to create the look for their tribe. I’ve seen different types of parrots and birds of paradise. When not worn, the feathers and birds are stored individually wrapped in newspaper.
![tribe arriving at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4889.jpg)
![man applying facepaint at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4307.jpg)
![women applying facepaint at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4371.jpg)
![ready for the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4355.jpg)
![stunning headpiece (with whole birds) at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4724.jpg)
![elaborate costume at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4563.jpg)
The Mt. Hagen Show action
The show itself was set on what looked like a rugby field. The participants would prepare in an area outside the field and when it was their turn they would join a queue of singing and dancing groups making their way towards the entrance and then around the perimeter of the field. After arriving in front of the main tribune (where the officials sat), they would find a spot on the field where they would continue their performance.
![women singing and drumming at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4790.jpg)
![portrait at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4884.jpg)
![the sing-sing group in action at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4938.jpg)
![human hair headpieces at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4786.jpg)
![sing-sing group at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4766.jpg)
![women at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4697.jpg)
![the Chimbu skeletons trying to scare people at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4644.jpg)
![skeleton men at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4645.jpg)
![skeleton kid at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4652.jpg)
![facepaint portrait at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4879.jpg)
![woman at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4739.jpg)
![child portrait at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4591.jpg)
The downtime
![smoking in the downtime at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4602.jpg)
![the famous Asaro Mudmen at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4470.jpg)
![mudman mud mask at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4862.jpg)
![Mudman mini-mask for tourists at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4410.jpg)
![leaves, facepaint, feathers and seed beads outfit for the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4377.jpg)
![member of the Huli tribe from the Tari village, at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4931.jpg)
![an impressive costume, with a massive headpiece made from over 30 birds of paradise and a necklace made of cuscus possum jaws at the Mt. Hagen Show in Papua New Guinea PNG](http://pia.cantstaystill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CSS_H_DSCF4961.jpg)
* and a video: