INTRODUCTION
Read the instructions below - clicking on the blue links
You will learn about our neighbours and study a great map of the Pacific region. The Story of Damain and The Strike v Hunger will give you an insight as to what life is like in other our neighbouring counties.
Papua New Guinea is an island country in the Pacific Ocean. Port Moresby is the capital and largest town.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
It is estimated that more than a thousand different cultural groups exist in Papua New Guinea. Because of this diversity, many different styles of cultural expression have emerged; each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes,
singing, music, architecture and much more. Most of these different cultural groups have their own language. People typically live in villages that rely on subsistence farming. In some areas people hunt and collect wild plants (such as yam roots) to supplement their diets. Those who become skilled at hunting, farming and fishing earn a great deal of respect.
On the Sepik river, there is a tradition of wood carving, often in the form of plants or animals, representing ancestor spirits.
Sea shells are no longer the currency of Papua New Guinea, as they were in some regions – sea shells were abolished as currency in 1933. However, this heritage is still present in local customs; in some cultures, to get a bride, a groom must bring a certain number of golden-edged clam shells as a bride price. In other regions, the bride price is paid in lengths of shell money, pigs, cassowaries or cash. Elsewhere, it is brides who traditionally pay a dowry.
People of the highlands engage in colourful local rituals that are called "sing sings". They paint themselves and dress up with feathers, pearls and animal skins to represent birds, trees or mountain spirits. Sometimes an important event, such as a legendary battle, is enacted at such a musical festival.
NEW ZEALAND
Early Māori adapted the tropically based east Polynesian culture in line with the challenges associated with a larger and more diverse environment, eventually developing their own distinctive culture. Social organisation was largely communal with families (whanau), sub-tribes (hapu) and tribes (iwi) ruled by a chief (rangatira) whose position was subject to the community's approval. The British and Irish immigrants brought aspects of their own culture to New Zealand and also influenced Māori culture, particularly with the introduction of Christianity. However, Māori still regard their allegiance to tribal groups as a vital part of their identity, and Māori kinship roles resemble those of other Polynesian peoples. More recently American, Australian, Asian and other European cultures have exerted influence on New Zealand. Non-Māori Polynesian cultures are also apparent, with Pasifika, the world's largest Polynesian festival, now an annual event in Auckland.
New Zealand is a country made up of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The Maori people lived on the islands for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived in the 1600s. New Zealand’s capital is Wellington.
East Timor is one of the world’s newest countries. It gained independence from Indonesia in 2002. The capital of East Timor is Dili. The country is also known as Timor-Leste.
NEW ZEALAND - HUNGI
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - MUMU
INDONESIA - SATAY
TIMOR-LESTE - IKAN SABUKO
AUSTRALIA - ROAST LEG OF LAMB (BUT MAY BE DISPUTED)
The country of Indonesia is made up of about 17,500 islands. It is the largest country, both in area and in population, in Southeast Asia. The capital is Jakarta.
INDONESIA
Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Australasia/Oceania. It is part of the Malay Archipelago. It has 18,108 islands. 6,000 of these islands are inhabited. The most important islands of Indonesia are Java, Bali, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Sumatra. The capital of Indonesia is Jakarta, on Java. The current president is Joko Widodo. Modern Indonesia began on the 17th of August 1945. At 10 o'clock on that Friday morning, Ir. Soekarno read Indonesia's Declaration of Independence. Indonesia's Independence Day is a national holiday.
There are people of many different cultural groups living in Indonesia, has more than 700 ethnic groups. It is affected by Indians, Chinese people, Arabs, Malays and Europeans. The Javan hawk-eagle is the national bird.
TIMOR-LESTE
The culture of East Timor reflects numerous influences, including Portuguese, Roman Catholic and Indonesian, on Timor's indigenous Austronesian and Melanesian cultures. East Timorese culture is heavily influenced by Austronesian legends. For example, East Timorese creation myth has it that an aging crocodile transformed into the island of Timor as part of a debt repayment to a young boy who had helped the crocodile when it was sick. As a result, the island is shaped like a crocodile and the boy's descendants are the native East Timorese who inhabit it. The phrase "leaving the crocodile" refers to the pained exile of East Timorese from their island.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA - RUGBY LEAGUE
INDONESIA - SOCCER
EAST TIMOR - SOCCER
NEW ZEALAND - RUGBY UNION
AUSTRALIA - CRICKET (REALLY!)