Where ? A cluster of small islets located north - east of Papua New Guinea, part of the Bismarck archipelago in Melanesia.
The Islands of Love as the Trobriands are often reffered to, are extremely rich in tradition and culture. Each year in august during the harvest of the yams, a cultural event is celebrated with canoe races, funny cricket games, traditional dancing and of course the exchange of the Kula ring which has been the base of inter-island relations in the Milne Bay region for centuries.
Probably because the results of the elections were not so fortunate this year in 2007, the Mila Mila festival was cancelled. Yes, indeed a dumper on my visit. I had been doing two years of deep research about this region. Bought a complicated air-ticket, took a great deal off from work and was all excited when the day of departure was finally there.
No Mila Mila festival in 2007. Nevertheless I had such a wonderful time with the friendly people from the Trobriands, learned about their traditions and lifestyles and had a great taste of what the real stuff would look like during a private performance by the villagers of Oweria. This is definitely the most attractive set of pictures to be found at Globetrotters.be. Please, have a look for yourself...
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