DIDDIE JACKSON

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Paga Hill Development Company
Award for Writing for Children

I would like to share a bit on what motivated me to write this piece. As you may or may not know, I am from the highlands of Papua New Guinea and married to a coastal man, a man from the sea. We have a daughter who is three years old, Sibona, and a son on the way by the name of Kelly.

My daughter loves hearing tales of the happy-ever-after, fairytales and most of all about mystical beasts like mermaids. So I decided to blend this with her own cultural history, the Significant Hiri Trade, and her love of fairytales. And so Sibona becomes the star in this fictional story.

This story is dedicated to the fallen sailors of the Significant Hiri Trade.

ONCE upon a time a very long time ago but not so long ago in the dreamtime, lived Sibona the little mermaid.

FIDELIS SUKINA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

WHEN you live overseas you tend to be more patriotic and enthusiastic about your culture and traditions, the identities that separate you from the rest of the world.

Well that’s the take home message I took from a three-part film entitled Tep Tok: Reading between our lines, a documentary which follows four women of Papua New Guinean and Australian descent from the central province of Papua New Guinea who explore their tattooing traditions.

GARY JUFFA

MY grandmother was the toughest woman I’ve ever known. She was also the funniest and kindest.

Kathleen Furi Juffa was born sometime in the early 1930s. No one back then knew their exact birth dates.

I once asked her and she glared at me and said it wasn’t important. Living and surviving were important, not the date that detailed when you were born she stated with a special look that said “Say no more or die!” It transformed a diminutive woman into a giant ogre.

Kathleen was just 14 when she married my grandfather Victor Juffa after he came back from the war. Well, that’s what my mum said, in a way that suggested she disapproved.

EUGENIA DIOU

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

Oh my handsome aga,
My charming little prince,
My most precious jewel!
What have I done to you?

I watch every single day;
As your glimmering skin grows pale and dull,
…. Your chubby build grows thinner,
…. Your strong and active body weak,
…. Your smiling face grows sadder,
And the crying increases.

DANIEL KUMBON

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Government Award for Short Stories

IT’S a heart- wrenching tale of the brief ascent to power, downfall and death of Takai Kapi, the former member of parliament for Wabag.

And it was all predicted in a dream – not by a fortune teller a village magician but by a respected chartered accountant, Larsen Levi.

Levi is a graduate of the PNG University of Technology. He had a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting.  He encouraged the late Kapi to stand for election in 1997 because he saw him win in a vivid dream which turned out to be true.

DOREEN BAULONI words |
JORDAN BAULONI illustration

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry
SP Brewery Award for Illustration

The drawing shows an artist or illustrator trying to kill a crocodile. He thrusts his pen into the mouth and drowns it in a river. The river represents the poems, essays and stories of all you writers. 

The crocodile is swimming to the shore
it is carrying gold and silver
the one everyone wants to take.
Kill it and cut off his head! don’t you see
for its head is worth thousands
like the head of a boar
on a red note in your wallet

LORRAINE BASSE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

FROM generation to generation, my people on Manam Island in Madang Province have passed down a legend about a mermaid named Matiti.

The word matiti means mermaid in our language. And, in our society, we strongly believe mermaids do exist.

There once lived a cruel and violent man in our village. The people disliked him very much and the young girls and pretty women were discouraged by their parents from marrying him.

Unfortunately, there was an unmarried woman who no one wanted to marry. She had a skin complaint but was otherwise pretty and kind. She was also the only child of a tribal leader. The young woman’s name was Matiti.

Her father was worried about Matiti not getting married, because this would cause the leader’s line to no longer exist. That left the father no choice but to arrange her marriage to the cruel man.

The father asked his wife for her consent but she refused because she believed matiti’s life would be in danger.

LORRAINE BASSE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

IF you’re ever in Goroka, visit St Mary’s Catholic Church at the back of the Bird of Paradise Hotel and hear the melodious sounds from a new band that is taking the town by storm.

Basic Music Ministry is made up of youths who are keen to spread the faith through music.

‘BASIC’ stands for Brothers And Sisters In Christ and consists of 22 youths playing flutes, recorders and clarinets.

LEONARD FONG ROKA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

WHILE the new Bougainville government is yet to address problems encountered in voting in the recent election, some people are saying the common roll needs updating for the coming referendum on the political future of the province.

According to government officials in Buka, there was an enormous amount of money spent to update the common roll for the elections but deficiencies were still prevalent.

BOMAI D WITNE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

THIS past week, Zenzeng Tore Bofirie Mari from remote Balangko village in Finschhafen was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to education and to the University of Goroka.

Some months ago, I shared two articles on Zenzeng. The first was my personal tribute in the form of a poem and the second was a profile of his 38 years of educating Papua New Guineans, two years at Sogeri National High School and 36 years at the University of Goroka.

What amazed me following his inclusion in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours list was the wild outpouring of commendation from colleagues.

SAMANTHA KUSARI

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Paga Hill Development Company
Award for Writing for Children

THERE lived a brother and a sister, Bina and Nika, who were twins. Bina was the boy and Nika the girl. They had a best friend, Kepas, a boy who lived on the same street.

Bina, Nika and Kepas loved doing things together and enjoyed each other’s company. They were called the three musketeers.

Bina and Nika were obedient children. They helped their mum with household chores after school while their father was at work. Kepas was obedient too, but at times he was a little cheeky.

Their neighbour was a poor old widower. His wife had died a some years ago and he lived alone. His children were grown up and married and seldom visited him. Bina and Nika’s mother would warn them not to go to his house or touch his property.

RAYMOND KOMIS GIRANA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

No more mashed potatoes
And no more toothbrushes
Bluetooth needs none

No more baby stories
No more bible stories
Google needs no nun

No more advice
No more problems
See them on Facebook wall

JIMMY AWAGL Words |
MATHIAS SIMON Illustration

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Paga Hill Development Company
Award for Writing for Children
SP Brewery Award for Illustration

TWO glorious days in Kundiawa, Simbu Province - a magnificent time of Simbu style celebration to mark Papua New Guinean literature and commemorate the 40th anniversary of PNG Independence.

Everyone gearing-up for the big event. A glowing day attracting villagers to abandon their homes and come out for a sun bath.

Then, to their amazement, as the sun rises over Mt Wilhelm Simbu Woman appears in her traditional attire, body glistening with grease pig and offering a unique pattern of dance.

The crowds encircle her while she shake her bottom to captivate them. In her hands, a Simbu arrow.

BOMAI D WITNE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

AS Nil-Mam looked at the poster in the hospital waiting room, she was surprised to see what the people were doing to help disadvantaged children through the Simbu Children Foundation.

She smiled to herself as she realised that this organisation united Simbu people from all walks of life wherever they lived in Papua New Guinea and throughout the world.

Nil-mam observed what people were doing in this section of the hospital. Blue and white uniformed nurses scurried about while patients waited quietly for treatment. The hospital environment seemed to command cleanliness and discipline on nurses and patients.

JIMMY DREKORE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

Don’t do
what adults do
you ain’t one yet
or you’ll regret

Don’t waste time chatting
Keep those legs walking

Fall in love with a book
Not with a look

DANIEL KUMBON

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

I feel elated that a collection of stories from Enga Province, which have been collecting dust for many years, has just been published by Pukpuk Publications and immediately becoming available on Amazon.com.

But I also feel like the chef who has prepared a banquet but wonders who will eat all the good food. It’s a thought that keeps nagging at my mind.

I once published a small book with Oxford University Press, Climbing Mountains. It was a supplementary reader for students in Grades 6 – 8.

But I don’t know if students in Enga and the rest of PNG for that matter were ever aware of its existence.

And not only my book but many other similar books by PNG authors published by one of the world’s renowned academic presses.

JIMMY DREKORE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

Go to school
Don’t be a fool

Do your studies
Not tend to ladies

Don’t waste time
That historical crime

Respect your mobile phone
Or you’ll be blown

JOHN KAUPA KAMASUA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

CHANGE is an inevitable threat to art and culture in Melanesia. And change is constant in the universe.

Art and culture is formed from belief systems, ways of viewing the world, making things (material culture) that are either inherited or part of contemporary life.

And it is the active participation of the custodians of these things that are most likely to guarantee their preservation.

The last Melanesian Arts and Cultural Festival was held in Port Moresby from 28 June to 11 July last year.

It presented a great opportunity for Melanesians to demonstrate their arts and crafts and traditional practices while learning and appreciating from each other.

While the event was important for this and for building friendships and solidarity, some noteworthy issues also surfaced. One was the potential for certain cultural objects – what we can call  material culture – to be abused and alienated from their original contexts.

To me, removing certain arts, crafts, traditional practices and cultural symbols from their natural cultural milieu without consideration of their sacredness or preservation amounts to abuse.

An art or craft removed from its creativity, ingenuity and traditional context can lose its significance. This can also be so if the person who crafted the object remains distant or hidden. This then gives rise to the object becoming a mere product or commodity.

LEONARD FONG ROKA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

BETWEEN 1861 and 2011, the world experienced 49 independence referendums and Bougainville’s coming referendum – due at some time before 2120 – is to join this significant line.

In the first three referendums of 1861, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia voted for independence but the majority voted to form the United States – and that is what happened.

A referendum is a direct vote by the people to decide upon or advise on a specific issue. Bougainvilleans will be voting to decide whether they want to create an independent state of their own or remain with Papua New Guinea.

PAUL WAUGLA WII

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

MARRIAGE is essentially a union between two people who undertake to remain loyal to each other come hell or high water.

In Papua New Guinea, it is not only a union between two people but also the extended families of the bride and groom are brought into the equation.

The relationship that is forged between the two families remains through many generations. As long as the marriage is not dissolved along the way, the bond will continue in perpetuity.

In almost every society in the world, young people meet, share intimate affection for one another and – when all goes well- get married. 

That moment when young people begin to court each other is a defining moment in a person’s life. It is likely to culminate in marriage although, in the end, love may not always be a prerequisite for a successful marriage.

PHIL FITZPATRICK

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Ok Tedi Mining Ltd Book of the Year

Remember Me and Other Stories from Enga Province, Papua New Guinea compiled by Daniel Kumbon, Pukpuk Publications/Enga Writers Association, 124 pages, ISBN: 9781514311813, Paperback US$5.83 (K15.49), eBook US$1.00 (K2.66). Available from Amazon Books

IT is the sad case that Papua New Guinea has few commercially established general publishers. This has been true since before independence in 1975.

The reasons for this are manifold, but the relatively small market for Papua New Guinean literature, both within the country and internationally is of significance.

An international lack of interest and ignorance of Papua New Guinea affairs and a rapidly declining literacy rate within the country are also factors.

DIDDIE JACKSON

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

In the dark of the night
My thoughts steal across the plains of my mind
As my eyes stare motionlessly
Into the valley of the dark night

My thoughts danced across the plains of my mind
And so did the words that were so scared to
Come out and play during the day
For fear of all the negatives and what if’s
For fear of just speaking out
My piece of mind
For all this I hold back the most scared thoughts
Till night falls and I let loose
All that is within me

JIMMY AWAGL

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

I am about to depart
I need to leave something behind

It will be meant for you son
Despite the time and situation

I would not be treasured
So I need to do it to capture

Your heart travelling miles
As you are demanding for my breast

JIMMY AWAGL

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

TEAM Simbu has won the secondary school and tertiary categories of the Highlands leg of Papua New Guinea’s Think Tank Quiz, beating teans from Western Highlands, Enga and Hela.

The Simbu Writer’s Association arranged to bring two teams of secondary students and one team of tertiary students to the event.

Due to time constraints and logistic hiccups, SWA was unable to assemble a team in the primary school category.

The elite squad was the team selected from Kondiu Rosary Secondary School which won its category.

DANIEL KUMBON

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

A man in a fake army uniform
with a .303 in his hands
stands on a hill, concealed
over-looking
a deserted village

The man in uniform
shades his eyes
as if to see more clearly
But there is nothing to see
in this lonely village

ISO YAWI

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

In twilight when night begun
The transition of light and dark
When insects and birds songs came audible
Nocturnal creatures came active

Sky’s brightness grew dull
The atmosphere was crystal clear
I lifted my eyes and looked above
As far as my sight could reach

KELA KAPKORA SIL BOLKIN

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

MAKAI Ike or Haus Makai is a hut where the Catholic faithful, especially Simbu villagers, congregate to pray at night.

Almost every clan has a minimum of two Makai Ike and they invite clans from other tribes, and even their neighbours in the Western Highlands and Jiwaka, to occasionally come for prayer, a privilege which is reciprocated.

Most Haus Makai are not purpose-built but many families turn their homes into Haus Makai, often for ulterior reasons. Sadly, this practice has many darker sides to it, and it can inflict damage on the family units that take part.

SAMANTHA KUSARI

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Government Award for Short Stories

THE weary fuzzy haired girl, somewhere around the age of fifteen, stood on the busy pavement. Although she tried to hide the pain she had run away from, she was clearly troubled.

She tried to force a smile at people but the word ‘miserable’ seemed to be written in bold capitals across her face.

To her right a blue and red fence was overshadowed by a huge billboard with a picture of a beautiful woman smiling. She had a phone in one handand was happy and free. At the top of the billboard were the words: ‘DIGICEL, THE BIGGER BETTER NETWORK’.

LEONARD FONG ROKA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Paga Hill Development Company
Award for Writing for Children

ONCE upon a time in the area of the village of Kanauro there lived two old friends, Nuu (beetle) and Kaipa (firefly). They lived alone in the jungle and were dedicated to gardening, fishing and hunting each day.

They had no friends nearby with whom to share their abundance of food and they had no near neighbours to chat with. Therefore, often lonely and sad, they would watch the sun rise in the east and set in the west and every day was very much the same.

One day, as they were sitting by a smoking fire and wondering what to do that day, Nuu had an idea.

‘Kaipa, my brother,’ he called excitedly, ‘let’s paddle to Nila, that village on the faraway island to the south, and meet our relatives. We can spend some time there.’

Kaipa was pleased as they were lonely in the jungles of Kanauro. ‘That’s a good idea, my brother Nuu. We can go after we sleep.’

RAYMOND KOMIS GIRANA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

THE Autonomous Bougainville Government has been formed in caretaker mode after president elect Dr John Momis was sworn in on Tuesday.

Following his declaration of loyalty to Bougainville, Dr Momis announced the membership of the caretaker government that will take Bougainville through to the inauguration of the Third House of Representatives later this month.

The swearing in was administered by Senior Magistrate Bruce Tasikul and witnessed by the newly elected members of the Third House of Representatives, Regional Member for Bougainville Joe Lera, Chief Secretary Amani Monovi and members of the public.

LAPIEH LANDU

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

40 years on …
High rise assemblies and four lane thruways

40 years on….
Exorbitant flyovers and compositions

40 years on …
The profound stocks beneath pilfered 

40 years on….
Women still swaddle with dismay

BOMAI D WITNE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

We came from heaven, we will return
We came from our mother’s womb
We did not need air, food, water, shelter, all was there
We are told by pastors and priest of heaven, the womb is
We were there for nine months, we will go back

We descended heaven to earth, we cried
We know pain, hunger and misery waits
We were disconnected from heaven, umbilical cords cut
We grow and travel in different directions, every person for himself
We travel in search of heaven, not insight

DANIEL KUMBON

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

IF President John Momis hadn’t given me the address of an American anthropologist who lived for many years in my province, I would never have seen the display of Engan artefacts on display at the African American cultural centre in Dayton, Ohio.

It was at Honolulu Airport late one night in June 1991 that I ran into John Momis and Michael Ogio (now Papua New Guinea Governor-General).

They were on their way to Canada to attend a conference on Indigenous People’s Rights focussing on the plight of American Indians and Australian Aborigines.

At the time Dr Momis was PNG for Provincial Affairs and Mr Ogio was the member for North Bougainville.

I was glad to meet them after an unpleasant incident with security. Of all the passengers flying from Australia, I was singled out by a burly official who asked for my passport and detained me.

BOMAI D WITNE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

NIL-MAM’S perfect sleep at Yaltom’s uncle’s house in Kundiawa was interrupted by the footsteps of people walking outside, close to where she laid her head.

She reached for her watch; it was 5.30 in the morning. She heard a rooster crow in the distance and birds singing in nearby bushes. She could hear a drunkard scolding both rooster and birds.

“Who are these people walking in the direction of town at this time of the morning,” she thought. She heard the sound of more footsteps. People were rushing to secure a place at the betel-nut and main markets to sell buai, scones, vegetables and other goods.

Nil-mam got up and joined her in-laws at the ember fire in the kitchen. She was handed a wooden seat. “It is a coconut scraper, I cannot sit on it”, Nil-mam said.

PHIL FITZPATRICK

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Ok Tedi Mining Ltd Book of the Year Award

The Resonance of My Thoughts by Francis Nii, Pukpuk Publications, 126 pages, ISBN 978-1511968874. Available from Amazon, paperback US$3.94 (K10.32) plus postage, e-book US$1.00 (K2.62). Follow this link

FRANCIS Nii was one of the earliest supporters of the Crocodile Prize and, following Reg Renagi’s example, wasn’t afraid to put his name on what he wrote for PNG Attitude either.

Given Francis’s vulnerable physical condition this was a great example to other writers.

I well recall looking up from my papers at the very first Crocodile Prize writers’ workshop in Port Moresby in 2011 and spotting him in his battered old wheelchair. It was a bit of a surprise because he hadn’t mentioned his disability to anyone.

NICOLA DANIEL

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Government Award for Short Stories

IT caused speculation when Gundu gave birth to her fifth girl to join four female siblings.

Baundo was born at the break of dawn when the first roosters struggled to crow in the light drizzle that made the whole scene suggestive of misfortune.

In a small hut on the hilltop of Pari village, Baundo Dekemba was born to Ambane and Gundu.

Everyone was anxious to find out the gender of the baby because Ambane was an outstanding and courageous hunter and warrior who for some unknown reason did not have a son.

FRANCIS NII

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

VOLUNTEERISM means sacrificing precious time, energy, knowledge, experience and resources for the benefit of others in the community and, more broadly, the nation.

It is no easy feat, particularly when the volunteers are people with no formal employment and with no stable financial base.

It’s a mammoth task, particularly in the society that is ridden with greed and selfishness, and yet members of the Simbu Writers Association (SWA) are devoted to it.

BOMAI D WITNE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

AS she walked with James past several teachers’ college students, Nil-mam reminded herself that she still had time to travel to Kundiawa if she couldn’t find Julie here.

She tried not to think about her father visiting the college to check on her but the thought kept returning again and again.

Nil-mam knew Julie could not do much to fully explain to her parents what had happened; that she had absconded with Yaltom and that she was now pregnant.

She made up her mind to call her parents and tell them but could not think of the appropriate words to say.

SANDRA MAINEKE

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

THIS is a creation myth from my local area that has been passed from generation to generation by word of mouth.

During pre-historic days, there lived two brothers in the Buin area of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

Buin is in the southernmost part of Bougainville and it borders on the Solomon Islands.

Geographically, Bougainville is part of the Solomons but politically it is part of Papua New Guinea.

WENDY DOGURA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

That terrible voice calls yet again
Has called millions, since the beginning of men
Yet unsatisfied,
Yet thirsts and hungers still,
For a soul to grill

I close my ears and close my eyes
And stand so still, so it will pass me by
Yet hesitant,
Reluctant and unmoved still,
Wanting me to follow at will

PHILIP KAUPA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

You give and you take
With love and reason

For every reason
You prepare its perfect season

Sometimes it’s unbearable
To accept reality

DANIEL KUMBON

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

I have hundreds of neighbourhood friends. But perhaps not the type of friends you might envision. They are friends from another world.

They have always been there, living in my own backyard, in my house, everywhere.

I am of course talking about my pets and the birds and insects around me.

Some are pests that spread sickness. Others are very useful, like my dog at night and my cat which has wiped out the rat population.

LEONARD FONG ROKA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

EVERY rainy season in Buin, South Bougainville, sprouts forth the phenomenon of the peturoi.

These are pools abundant with aquatic life – fish, eels, river prawns and so on – and are created as the meandering river systems change course building up sedimentation that forms blocked bodies of water where people go to fish.

There are a number of peturoi types known across the plains of Buin. Some peturoi lakes are formed when a large river system creates a new course and others are created when a river in flood overflows and spreads across the land. When it recedes, there are bodies of water with fish left behind in low-lying areas of the land.

RAYMOND KOMIS GIRANA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

BONG Maloto in the Haku and Halian dialects of Buka literally means ‘tenth night’. The term carries its literal meaning but is also understood to mean 10 days after one’s burial.

Bong Maloto is a traditional practice rich in meaning and passed from generation to generation. It is a prime feast of thanksgiving where family and clan members of the deceased come together to pay their last respects and wish the deceased goodbye.

KONETERO RON DOTAONA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

TWELVE years after my village welcomed me into this world, I left home. It was the first time for me to leave home and the last time I was to spend entire years at a place I called home.

I had to cross the unforgiving waters to talk to a grey-haired old man named Edukesen. Dad travelled with me. And, after spending a few days in the provincial capital buying necessities and sorting out fees, we hit the sea.

The few of my valuables I took with me were rubber tubing for a slingshot and my guitar. Mum commented that I looked like I was going picnicking instead of leaving to meet my Edukesen.

The waves of Goschen Strait showed no remorse to our wooden craft. This stretch of water is a heart-in-mouth experience and it can be a graveyard. You don’t put every carat of your faith in the skipper, because he ain’t no saint either.

LEONARD FONG ROKA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Award for Writing on Tourism, Arts & Culture

YOU cross the east coast bridge over Bougainville’s largest river, the Laluai, leaving behind the Kieta District’s Kokoda constituency and sink into the wonders of Aga Country, as the Buin people love to call their home territory.

Alternatively you can get wet crossing the Mivo River bordering Siwai and Buin Districts in the south-west and there breathe the fecund air of Buin.

Buin is one of Bougainville’s most populous areas with rich biodiversity and splendid cultures and traditions that have been in the making through the course of time.

MICHAEL GEKETA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

I am the green betel nut
Amidst beautified Port Moresby 
For all reddish spit stains
And much litter heaped
I am innocently blamed

The green betel nut I am
Amnesty is most sought
For Buai Ban policy conceived
And killings resulted
I am innocently implicated

PHILIP KAUPA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

I am not a fashionista
nor am I a perfectionist
I admire the works of a pharmacist
and love to be a poetic artist

change and care are works of nature
when I couldn't be, I know I can’t be pure
it is pleasing for a heart that is sure
to mend and make one newer

RAYMOND KOMIS GIRANA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

THE months of May and June are very busy for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville as the election for Bougainville’s third House of Representatives rolls along with campaigns, polling and counting now underway in the three regions.

Bougainville’s new government will be sworn in later this month to administer the most crucial act since the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement.

The new Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has until to 2019 to hold a referendum in which Bougainvilleans will be asked whether they want independence or continued association with Papua New Guinea.

RAYMOND KOMIS GIRANA

An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Paga Hill Development Company
Award for Writing for Children

BUZZARD, Bat and Bumblebee were best friends. They met every Sunday afternoon at Kibung Island to chat and discuss their life-giving and life-draining experiences of the week.

During their meetings they read one another letters of affirmation and appreciation of one another’s qualities, gifts and talents.

Kibung Island was home to Totopiok the giant who lives in a big dark cave along the island’s eastern coast. From his cave, he could clearly hear every single word from the sharing and discussions by Buzzard, Bat and Bumblebee.