Naomi Faik Simet;19/10/08
According to oral history in the Burui Kunai Local Level Government area of East Sepik, initiations through skin cutting was the domain of the women. Traditional ceremonies practiced and maintained in their indigenous settings are more meaningful than ceremonies revived in modern contexts. These ceremonies are communal and involve a wider participation from clan members. Many of our indigenous people who live in villages continue to uphold their traditional beliefs through the many ceremonies practiced in their indigenous contexts. Today many initiation, bride-price and mortuary ceremonies are taken out of their traditional contexts and performed in modern contexts and are only replicas of actual ceremonies that take place in village. The role of men and women in these ceremonies are significant to the over all performance of these traditional ceremonies. Male initiation ceremonies involving all kinds of body scarification’s are a common feature of Papua New Guinea traditional ceremonial and cultural life.