Gonu Bala Bala, Papua New Guinea
Her name is Likobubu Ledido. She is 93 years old. What changes has she seen and experienced in her life?! She is the older sister of the traditional chief of this small corner of Papua New Guinea. That and her antiquity has earned her a revered position in the extended family of fifty or so people who occupy the small island of Gonu Bala Bala. In the matrilineal society of Melanesia, many of the residents of the community would trace their ancestry through her. We were prepared for our visit to her island home by Cultural Anthropologist Bob Tonkinson’s presentation: An introduction to the geography and culture of Melanesia. As Bob finished and the curtains were raised, we found ourselves gazing out at the prototypical South Pacific island, lush with tropical vegetation, tall coconut palms forming a jagged skyline, and white sand beaches dotting the coastline. However, the tide was low and the coral reef attached to the shore of the island prevented our intended Zodiac landing so we continued on through calm water within the fringing coral reef which brought us to Likobubu’s island. As we waited for the tide to rise, we enjoyed our first snorkeling and SCUBA-diving excursions of the voyage, drifting in the warm tropical water, gazing down at the remarkable diversity of corals. There were brain corals, dendritic corals, corals like stacked dinner plates and giant serving platters, all made by tiny filter-feeding colonial animals and the symbiotic algae that live within their tissues. Myriad small fish live in and around the corals, making the coral communities among the richest on the planet and something deserving of our respect and protection. When the tide had risen sufficiently, we threaded the Zodiacs through a narrow passage in the coral and landed at the village. We were greeted with open, welcoming smiles – smiles that revealed teeth stained red by the chewing of betel nuts. Every adult in the community carried a small woven purse within which were the ingredients and accoutrement to engage in this universal practice of Melanesia. We found the people more than willing to answer our every question regarding their subsistence life style; they even shared with us bread freshly baked in a wood-fired oven. And that brings us full-circle back to Likobubu, who was standing quietly in the background as we chatted with her many descendents. When we asked if we might take her photograph she smiled and immediately whipped off her tee shirt to reveal the full set of tattoos that adorned seemingly every part of her body, turning and posing that we might receive the full impact. It was a brief moment rich in cultural significance.
Her name is Likobubu Ledido. She is 93 years old. What changes has she seen and experienced in her life?! She is the older sister of the traditional chief of this small corner of Papua New Guinea. That and her antiquity has earned her a revered position in the extended family of fifty or so people who occupy the small island of Gonu Bala Bala. In the matrilineal society of Melanesia, many of the residents of the community would trace their ancestry through her. We were prepared for our visit to her island home by Cultural Anthropologist Bob Tonkinson’s presentation: An introduction to the geography and culture of Melanesia. As Bob finished and the curtains were raised, we found ourselves gazing out at the prototypical South Pacific island, lush with tropical vegetation, tall coconut palms forming a jagged skyline, and white sand beaches dotting the coastline. However, the tide was low and the coral reef attached to the shore of the island prevented our intended Zodiac landing so we continued on through calm water within the fringing coral reef which brought us to Likobubu’s island. As we waited for the tide to rise, we enjoyed our first snorkeling and SCUBA-diving excursions of the voyage, drifting in the warm tropical water, gazing down at the remarkable diversity of corals. There were brain corals, dendritic corals, corals like stacked dinner plates and giant serving platters, all made by tiny filter-feeding colonial animals and the symbiotic algae that live within their tissues. Myriad small fish live in and around the corals, making the coral communities among the richest on the planet and something deserving of our respect and protection. When the tide had risen sufficiently, we threaded the Zodiacs through a narrow passage in the coral and landed at the village. We were greeted with open, welcoming smiles – smiles that revealed teeth stained red by the chewing of betel nuts. Every adult in the community carried a small woven purse within which were the ingredients and accoutrement to engage in this universal practice of Melanesia. We found the people more than willing to answer our every question regarding their subsistence life style; they even shared with us bread freshly baked in a wood-fired oven. And that brings us full-circle back to Likobubu, who was standing quietly in the background as we chatted with her many descendents. When we asked if we might take her photograph she smiled and immediately whipped off her tee shirt to reveal the full set of tattoos that adorned seemingly every part of her body, turning and posing that we might receive the full impact. It was a brief moment rich in cultural significance.
