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Turnim Hed

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The larynx, not diamonds, are a girl’s best friend in Chimbu, Papua New Guinea. During the Turnim Hed courtship ritual, men woo prospective wives by demonstrating their singing ability. Decorated with paint, feathers and shells the men sing to the women, who in turn indicate their appreciation by ‘rolling heads’ with the best performer. There is, therefore, a very obvious incentive for the men to fine-tune their voices from an early age and life in Chimbu is infused with music from birth to death. Turnim Hed follows the courtship of Kube, a young man intent on wooing Anna, a rival clan member. The singing is the easy bit. Once wooed, they have to wed and the in-laws are angling for a larger pig-dowry to make an alliance that looks set to develop into a real-life ethnographic Romeo And Juliet.

The larynx, not diamonds, are a girl’s best friend in Chimbu, Papua New Guinea. During the Turnim Hed courtship ritual, men woo prospective wives by demonstrating their singing ability. Decorated with paint, feathers and shells the men sing to the women, who in turn indicate their appreciation by ‘rolling heads’ with the best performer. There is, therefore, a very obvious incentive for the men to fine-tune their voices from an early age and life in Chimbu is infused with music from birth to death. Turnim Hed follows the courtship of Kube, a young man intent on wooing Anna, a rival clan member. The singing is the easy bit. Once wooed, they have to wed and the in-laws are angling for a larger pig-dowry to make an alliance that looks set to develop into a real-life ethnographic Romeo And Juliet.

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