Culture

Ignite your senses simply through exposure to our diverse and continuous culture on your visit to Papua New Guinea.

In Papua New Guinea you’ll come face to face with some of the oldest continuing culture on the planet. You’ll mainly meet Melanesian people though some areas are also home to descendants of Polynesian and Micronesian settlers from across the Pacific islands.

From our remote villages to our urban centres, you’ll find that our customs are passionately maintained in elaborate rituals that accompany deaths, feasts, marriages, compensation ceremonies and initiation rites.

MUST SEE

• Witness a 'singsing' expressing customary dance, music and ceremonial dress in a spectacular explosion of colour and sound
• Take away some contemporary art or artefacts as a memento from one of Port Moresby’s weekend markets
• Enjoy the delicacies of a ‘mumu’, one of the world’s oldest slow-cooked ground-oven meals still in practice today

Our main cultural festivals take place annually from July to November throughout the country.

July ~ National Mask Festival & Warwagira, East New Britain
August ~ Sepik River Crocodile & Arts Festival, East Sepik
August ~ Mt Hagen Show, Western Highlands
August ~ Enga Cultural Show, Enga
September ~ Goroka Show, Eastern Highlands
September ~ Hiri Moale Festival, Port Moresby, NCD
September ~ Frangipani Festival, East New Britain
September ~ Madang Festival, Madang
September ~ Malagan Festival, New Ireland
September ~ Karkar Island Bilum Festival, Madang
October ~ Morobe Show, Lae, Morobe
November ~ National Kenu & Kundu Festival, Milne Bay

See our Events page for an up-to-date calendar.