By SEPKOLIN WALNE in Aroma
The Maopa Levapuka Tovi Cultural Association in Aroma LLG, Abau District, Central Province, has hosted a historic cultural festival, marking the first large scale revival of the traditional heritage since the 1980 South Pacific Arts Festival.
The association was fully registered with the PNG National Cultural Commission (NCC), and the official launch took place last year in Maopa village, Aroma, Central Province.
The festival featured the rare Tovi Dance performed on the raised coconut trunks, along with various traditional activities.
Maopa Levapuka Tovi Cultural Association Chairman Avis Vanua said: “All these cultures here, they belong to the people, we have the product, but we find it hard to display our product, the cause goes back to one of us.
“We can move the Abau District to another level if we understand each other.”
He added that the festival was one of the ways to deliver economic benefits to their people.
He commended the National Cultural Commission for its support and assistance.
Speaking on behalf of NCC Executive Director Steven Kilanda, Festival & Events officer Eugene Avediba said the commission is a government agency under the Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture in PNG.
“According to our office, we are supposed to have reports of all these arts and cultures,” he said. “To this day, we are struggling to preserve these authentic arts and cultures.
“We find means and ways of preserving this arts and culture, and one way of doing so is through hosting cultural shows and festivals in remote provinces to help continue this practice for the younger generations.
“That is why we have established cultural shows within PNG, provinces, and districts,” Mr Avediba said.