PNG Peroveta Singers of Canberra

This collection was created from the PARADISEC Podcast Series “Toksave Culture Talks” under Episodes 13 & 14 and directly relates to the Collection TCT1-13 & TCT1-14 about music of the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. The podcast episodes and full interviews with Deveni Temu can be found in the TCT1 collection.
It features recordings of the PNG Peroveta Singers of Canberra made in 2023 by the PARADISEC team. This group was formed in 1999 by diaspora community members in the ACT and since then they have performed at events such as the National Folk festival, as well as meeting regularly at the Holy Cross Anglican Church in Hackett, not only to learn and sing Peroveta songs, but also share Papua New Guinean culture, language and music.
The Sene traditional Papuan song and dance and Peroveta “prophet” singing introduced by the LMS South Sea islander missionaries from Cook Islands in late 19th century. The Canberra group responds to recordings at PARADISEC archive in MG1 & IC1 collections and performances are in various languages namely Hiri Motu, Hula, Keapara (Aroma, Keakalo), Mailu from around the Port Moresby area mainly Hanuabada village in the National Capital District along the southeast Motuan coastal villages and further towards the Rigo and Abau districts of Central Province. The songs also include the southeastern Pacific of the Cook Islands Māori or Rarotongan songs.
The music recordings both from the history and culture of PNG Peroveta singing that stretches from the 1950s’ to the present day and embraced by the PNG diaspora show the enduring popularity across decades as singing styles and a genre popular and practiced by the people of Central Province, PNG.