Baining Fire Dance

The Baining live in the mountains inland of the Gazelle Peninsula, and their fire dance is performed at night around a large bonfire: dancers wear tall masks built from bark cloth stretched over cane frames, painted in red and black with enormous eyes and long projecting forms, and they move into the fire, kicking through the embers and passing over the flames, driven by a chorus of men singing and beating bamboo. The dance marks births, initiations and harvests, and is danced by men only. Performances are arranged for visitors from Kokopo, and the masks are made for each occasion and destroyed or discarded afterward rather than kept.

What you actually see

• The bark cloth masks - the tall painted forms built for the night.
• The fire - the bonfire the dancers move through and over.
• The chorus - the singing and bamboo percussion driving the dance.
• The night setting - the ceremony performed after dark in the mountains.

When to go

May to October in the drier season for the mountain roads; performances are arranged in advance through Kokopo operators rather than encountered. The Mask Festival in July brings Baining dancers to the coast.

Honest expectations

Performances for visitors are arranged and paid for rather than being the ceremony in its own context. The road into the Baining mountains is rough. It happens at night in a remote place, so transport must be organised both ways. Fees are substantial.

Nearby

Kokopo lies northeast; the Baining mountains run inland.