IDNO

T.151540.RPT

Description

On Catalogue Card: "236. S.P. New Guinea. Gumine. Ekta. 35mm." [Poignant's manuscript]
"10 to 20. children in mock fight." [Poignant's typed text]

Place

Oceania Melanesia; Papua New Guinea; Highlands Region; Chimbu Province; Gumine District; Gumine [Simbu Province]

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Kaleku (also known as Martin); Bargo; Erita

Photographer

Poignant, Axel

Collector / Expedition

Date

1969

Collection Name

Poignant Collection

Source

Poignant, Roslyn

Format

Colour Transparency

Primary Documentation

Other Information

T.148696.RPT - T.152693.RPT were located in the drawer file of transparency sheets, numbered C1021/.

T.151533.RPT - T.151556.RPT were located in a transparency sheet, numbered C1021/120.

Publication: Similar image published in Poignant, Axel and Roslyn. 1972. Kaleku. London: Angus and Robertson, p. 21 - 22. [KK 15/08/2022]

Bibliographical reference: Poignant, Axel and Roslyn. 1972. Kaleku. London: Angus and Robertson, p. 19 - 23. This extract comes from a children's book, written about a boy named Kaleku and his family in Gumine: "Everywhere Erita went Hallo [the piglet] went too.
One morning, as she stood watching the boys playing marbles she forgot about Hallo and let go of the lead.
Suddenly, one of the boys looked up and called: 'Hallo! Look! Hallo is in Bargo's garden!'
At once the boy called Bargo sprang up and grabbed poor Hallo, threatening to kill and eat him.
'No! No!' wailed Erita, tugging at her little pig. 'He hasn't eaten anything in your garden!'
'He hasn't done any damage at all,' said Kaleku [Erita's brother] firmly.
'Let's have a fight to settle the matter.'
'Hurrah!' the boys shouted as they ran off to get their spears and bows and arrows. Quickly they dressed themselves for battle in banana leaves. Kaleku smeared himself with charcoal. He looked so fierce that most of the boys sided with him. Only the smallest boy fought for Bargo.
The grown – ups came to watch and cheer as the boys charged each other.
Erita hugged Hallo tight. How proud she was of Kaleku!
Just as everybody began to grow tired of the game, Bargo cried out that he was 'wounded' and fell down 'dead'. His 'relatives' pretended to wail over him.
His little friend jumped into a pool and began to beat it with his hands, splashing himself with mud. How everybody laughed! They thought he was acting but he was crying because the game was over.
When Dai [Kaleku and Erita's grandfather] heard about the fight he said: 'Tomorrow, I'll show you how we fought in the old days.'" [KK 15/08/2022]