Kilivila (Kiriwina – Papua New Guinea)

Two sets of recordings

I: Items 001 to 007 are recordings made by the Kiriwina pastor Antonio Lubisa Bunaimata of his life story. Some tapes are barely audible

II: Items 008 to 014 contain a mix of singing, chanting, drumming, and traditional stories

Ralph Lawton was a Methodist missionary from South Australia who lived on the island of Kiriwina, the biggest of the Trobriand Islands in Papua New Guinea, between 1961-1973. During that time, he made a series of audio recordings of the oral traditions, music and languages of the island. Ralph went on to receive a doctorate in linguistics from the Australian National University in 2013. These recordings cover a range of musical styles and they are a beautiful sonic record of the culture of the Trobriand Islands.
(Steven Gagau, 2019)