by Ron Meshanko
The Huli culture of Papua New Guinea is slowly fading away as traditions, practices, myths, and rituals vanish.. The manayi, daloali, and gebeali — the Huli ritual specialists — are dying off without trained replacements. The bi mana, bi te and Hela tene oral traditions are being forgotten. The Haroli bachelor cult, which was the main educational structure of Huli male society, has virtually disappeared. Action must be taken to preserve Huli culture and religion before it is too late.
To help preserve and celebrate Huli culture, The Huli Museum was created as an in-depth presentation on Huli Culture. The website serves as a depository for articles, papers, photographs, videos and information about Huli life, religion and culture. All of this will be safe and available for future generations.
We want to do what the Jimmy Nelson Foundation does for our world, but only for one tribe: the Huli. We want to take a snapshot of Huli culture before it fades away. Our hope is to have educational curriculums developed based on this pool of wisdom to help teach Huli culture to the children and adults of tomorrow in a fun and interesting way.
Yes, cultures change over time, it is true…but they also disappear. Our mission is to ensure the future of Huli culture for the citizens of the Hela nation and the world.
You are welcome to join our mission by 1) spreading the word about the website with Huli and non-Huli alike; 2) submitting an article about Huli culture, lifestyle or religion; and/or 3) submitting your favorite Huli photos and videos. You will be acknowledged for sharing your knowledge, work and art with us.
Together, we can do this!