Fabien Astre | The Goroka Festival

Photo © Fabien Astre-All Rights Reserved

The Goroka festival is probably the best known tribal gathering and cultural event in Papua New Guinea. It's held every year close to the country's Independence Day on 16 September in the town of Goroka, the capital of the Eastern Highlands Province. About 100 tribes arrive to show their music, dance and culture. This traditional festival is called a sing-sing, and is the biggest of its kind in the world. 

The feathers of birds of paradise are heavily featured in the festival, either used for decorative head gear or ceremonial dress, and it is often noted how extraordinary that so many feathers can be squeezed on a traditional headdress. The dances and songs during the festival reflect the behavior of the birds of paradise in the wild, which represent beauty and seduction to the tribes.

Fabien Astre documented the Goroka festival, and his colorful photographs appeared in a number of publications such as The Daily Mail, Rough Guides, and Bored Panda amongst others.

Fabien is a French photographer who started traveling in earnest about 10 years ago. He worked in
New Caledonia and backpacked his way in both Australia and India. Returning to Australia, he became interested in travel photography, and currently spends most of his time in Asia and in the Pacific. Currently living in the Solomon Islands, he's combining travel, diving and photography.