Barasi – New Year celebrations, Manam style
13 July 2012
LORRAINE BASSE | The Crocodile Prize
SITUATED 25 KILOMETRES AWAY from the township of Madang, along the fringes of the North Coast drive and a 30 minute journey by boat from mainland Bogia, is Manam Island.
Manam, a volcanic island, has fifteen villages and only one language which is Manam Motu. The people of Manam are fun loving, warm-hearted, caring, and hospitable and take pride in their chieftain society. One thing they love to do is to keep their traditions alive and one such tradition is Barasi.
Barasi is a festival about becoming a new person again and is a transitional rebirth from the old self to the new. It falls every year in the months of May, June and July, is a time of plenty and a celebration of a new year and a new beginning.
However, this cultural celebration is slowly dying at each passing year as Manam islanders have been displaced after the 2004 volcanic eruption and are now living at Potsdam, Moumba, Daigul, Asuramba and Mangem care centres located at old coconut plantations in Bogia District.
The festival starts when the elders of the village beat the garamut (slit drum) at about four o’clock in the morning as they see a group of stars (Pleiades or Seven Sisters) rise just over the top of the island to announce its commencement.
The 15 villages on the island are then divided into three areas to cater for the months of May, June and July. After celebrating in one area they move on to the next area until the whole three months are over.
Here, there and everywhere hustling and noises of people can be heard as they rush into the central area. Grandparents who can walk, and parents and children all go down to the gathering area as it is custom that everyone should be present in order to be blessed by the spirits of riches, wealth, long life and whatever good the New Year might bring.
A huge fire is then lit for the elders to welcome the people and to drive away evil spirits. After that the people sing, shout and dance with the children towards the slowly advancing elders. As they get closer, some elders quickly grab a child for whipping as it is part of the cleansing ceremony.
The girls and small boys are whipped with the tanget leaves while the bigger boys are whipped with a betel nut trunk. Sometimes some boys fall unconscious when the elders beat them hard enough to knock some sense into them because of misbehaving and disobedience.
The elders then put special leaves close to their noses so they inhale and become conscious again. This act helps them to behave and obey the people and the elders.
The girls and smaller children go to another group of dancers to be whipped with the tanget leaves while the boys are normally carried by two elders. While this is going on the people sing and dance to this song:
Goposi, posi be taengru o.
Goposi, posi be taengru o.
Moaede natumanga.
Tanepoa natumanga.
E –e – e – o – o – o kau
When they sing ‘kau’ that is the time the tanget leaf or betel nut trunk falls on the participants. The song means:
Come and let us fight.
The child of the Queen.
The child of the King
After the whipping ceremony everyone goes down to the beach to wash away the dirt of the past year. Young men and women swim out deep into the sea close to the horizon. They tease each other with songs, while the small children and elders swim closer to the shore.
After swimming for some hours they return to the beach. Sometimes the tired ones are taken back to the shore by canoes.
While the children are still swimming the parents go to their homes to prepare food and traditional items for the main celebration.
The parents then prepare for their hungry and tired children a big feast on the beach. After the feast the children are then decorated with their traditional attire and stay the whole day on the beach enjoying themselves with games, singsings and food.
This time of enjoyment is also a time of socializing as friends visit each other and tell stories or share jokes, eat food and dance traditional dances. It is also a time of betrothal and engagement. Thus, most traditional arranged marriages on Manam Island were formed during this time of the year and have a greater value than today.
This is how the marriages are arranged. The parents of a boy would send some food on a big plate to the girl’s parents. If the girl’s parents agree then they will accept the food.
They in turn will send back the plate of food with a tanget leaf covering the food. From then on the boy’s relatives would know that they had accepted their request and will help to look after the girl.
If the girl’s parents do not agree then they will not accept the food. The food will be taken back without the tanget leaf. This makes the boy’s relatives look for another girl in the next New Year’s celebrations.
Meanwhile, among all the excitement and enjoyment, the men in their clan groups go out to get their fish traps which are laid a week earlier. The traps are made from split bamboo and bush rope.
Children are not allowed to play near the people who are making the nets as the net makers might not concentrate and will make some mistakes with the weaving. The mistakes they believe will cause the fish to swim out and not be trapped in the net.
When a conch shell is blown from the canoes it means that they have caught plenty of fish. The women then go down to the beach to help the men bring the fish back to the village. The fish are cooked and shared among everyone present.
After a week, the celebrations end.
Lorraine Evangeline Basse (25) comes from Manam Island. She was born and raised in Goroka. She has just completed four years of studies at Divine Word University and will be graduating this year with a Bachelor in Communication Arts (Journalism)
Well done. Our kids and grandchildren need this information. The only thing to correct here is that Barrasi is the calendar month of our own New Year. Otherwise well done.
Posted by: Johnfeely Sakumai | 05 June 2021 at 06:49 PM
That's a great initiative taken by Lorraine on behalf of my Sandeka family in Abaria Village. They are back in Mangem care centre, currently located on the north coast of Madang town.
I truly appreciate what has been posted here as our own traditions and histories to be remembered in future generations of Manam Island.
I have nothing much to say here but my heart feels for our people and the traditions still linger in our hearts. I can recall back when I was aged 13 and seeing with my naked eyes the mass eruptions around the entire island.
It was really sad from my observation. I though it would be easier for us, especially kids like me in terms of daily life routine, but never.
It was early in the morning while we were still asleep. My mother woke up and started to pray with tears on her face, seeking God for his mercy over the people of Abaria village and entire Manam Island.
The sulphuric ash spread and surrounded the yard during those days in late November 2004 starting on early Sunday morning.
Posted by: Dennis Sandeka | 30 May 2021 at 06:19 PM
Wow! Great article Lorraine. Barasi keep up your great work.
Posted by: Joel Morabang | 24 January 2016 at 01:44 AM
Thank you Lorraine for this well researched and accurately written masterpiece about our Manam Culture.
Posted by: John Tane | 16 September 2015 at 02:58 PM
Uperuiko Lorraine. This is a great piece of article as this event is already dying. Lets work together and save stories about our dying cultures for future Manam generations. I can be contacted on [email protected]
Posted by: Joseph Sila | 10 September 2015 at 06:57 PM
Awesome! Nicely written. I am proud to be from Manam Island of the Taneopa Unguma clan, Kuluguma Village.
God Bless Our Island.
To God Be the Glory.
Posted by: Sulum Girikaine Barasi Langtry | 05 September 2014 at 12:55 PM
Thanks to Lorraine Basse for the well written tale, it shows how uniquely the Manam Islanders adulate the God given tradition.
Reading the tale gives me great gratification towards my culture. I can now pass on the tale to children and grandchildren in the generation to come.
Once more thank you Lorraine & may God bless our people in their struggles. Amen. Amuna.
Posted by: Percy Harek | 05 June 2014 at 08:58 AM
Wow! What an extreme article. Could not skip reading through.
It is a great pleasure and honour to read something about my culture which is my identity. I'm proud to be a member of that unique society, Manam Island.
I give Lorraine a credit for such an inspiration.
(Maraugu....Kaiko Ilom Gere-gere...)
Posted by: Manu Kaboanga | 14 October 2013 at 12:01 PM
Thanks Lorraine, I love reading it, well constructed. I believed it will be of great help to the next generation of Manam Island to read and still remember or practice their traditional activities.
Posted by: Zenitram Dee | 27 September 2012 at 03:30 PM
Another great story, Lorraine.
I could also imagine this one, well illustrated, being used as a reader in the primary schools.
Posted by: Mrs Barbara Short | 13 July 2012 at 07:19 AM