WM2-001i - A Bit Na Ta - Matamatam Ralalar Raluana

'Matamatam' is a Kuanua word "to remember" by conducting a special ceremony. This process take several years in planning and preparations by a clan to hold a 'matamatam' ceremony and follows a series of steps for identifying and honouring members of a clan at the same time acknowledging the value and importance of the other clans in the district. A Matamatam ceremony involves 'Dukduk' and 'Tubuan'dancing and sharing pork and a special type of banana called 'tukuru' - a short fat banana with a grey colouring. At the "Matamatam" the messaging through the slit drum called 'garamut' known as 'kulakulatiding' that represents the cry and representation of the clan's totem or spirit of the clan. The ceremonial events in the 'matamatam' cycle starts with planning, then clan graves cemented, names written on headstones the clan monument erected. Appreciation and payments called "Vapuak" is held through the christian influence with a dedication ceremony for men who worked on the cement monuments. The third step is a 'Paluka' that involves dancing by men and women celebrating of the dead clan members with names on graves and the erected clan monument then fourth step of 'Gitigit Vudu' leading to the fifth step of "Kinavai" to the final activity of "Nidok", the highest level of initiation for the men of the clan. Sources: Gideon Kakabin "A Kinavai" article at PNGAA Library. https://www.pngaa.net/Library/Kinavai.htm (David Bridie & Steven Gagau, April 2025). Language as given: