Benefitting country(ies): Papua New Guinea

Overview:

To be implemented by the Papua New Guinea National Cultural Commission, this project is aimed at preparing a nomination file to the Urgent Safeguarding List for the social practices and rituals related to the Toare mask festival. The Toare community has a population of around six to seven hundred people and is located in the Uamai villages. An annual celebration and a means of asking ancestral spirits for blessings, protection and bountiful harvests, the festival involves specific rituals, songs, dance performances and a procession. The masks are created using natural materials, and the colours, styles and shapes used have spiritual meanings and connotations. The festival and the related knowledge and practices are at risk of disappearing due to religious and educational influences that portray the practice as evil. This project will support, among others, awareness-raising activities on intangible cultural heritage among local authorities and bearer communities and ensure their involvement in the preparation of the nomination file to the Urgent Safeguarding List.

15/05/2023 - 15/05/2025 – Field School for capacity-building in safeguarding living heritage of ethnic communities in Thailand23/09/2024 - 30/04/2025 – Imbalu ceremonies