Shark Calling Festival – New Ireland Province

Do a goggle search on the Shark Callers of Kontu, and you find a hand full of videos and two very brief reports that do not really talk about the traditional art of shark calling, but provide information on sharks

Shark calling is a tradition practiced by only three villages; Kontu, Tembin and Mesi in New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. This tradition was first made famous by Australian filmmaker, Dennis O’Rourke in his 1982 documentary, ‘The Shark Callers of Kontu’.

I first watched the film as a kid in my parents house and now I have the opportunity to witness it first hand. This tradition is now an annual event attracting tourist from all over the world. This year’s event will be held on the 24th, 25th and 26th of July in the village of Kontu.

Stay tuned as I provide posts, tweets (depending on internet availability) and daily updates from beautiful New Ireland next week.