Traditional Way Of Making Fire in PANGIA –PNG

The Africa remains the root of Papua New Guineans bloodline. For various reasons known to our great grandparents migrated to the Country they found called Papua New Guinea.

The Papua New Guinea cultural diversified an established fact and truly a world living in a single country. Putting rest for those who may perhaps questions the validity of my argument is that PNG is made up of 800+ diversified culture, indeed a unique world of its own. If you like, we would merely say, 800 countries living in one single country.

Let's not drive far from the subject. Yes, the journey was long one, many, many years ago. They travel with them few life necessities such as axe, and cash crop seedlings.
What amazes modern generation is they came with hunting, house building, dance, gardening, and fishing, fire making skills, knowledge and experience.

Many valuable knowledge, experience and skills were pass on through oral from generation to generation. Alone the way, many of the traditional house of school have died out, a saddest side of the people's story.

Anyway, the home PANGIA in Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea located is located in Highlands region toward Gulf of Papua-Southern Region. Papua New Guinea is divided into four regions, Momase, Island, Southern and Highlands.

How Pangains make traditional fire using bushes materials? In-order to make fire, they require bushes materials which includes a dry bush leafs, a dry 30cm+ dry wood less than a baseball size, a dry cane or any strong bush ropes, and a person.  Following procedures are reported again and again until fire is ignited.

The dry bush leafs are crushed into small pieces, then put together like a bird nest. The dry wood is split into half, about 15cm of the 30cm dry wood while 15 or so meter is left intact. A small stick is push between the split wood that attacks oxygen to flow in. The cane or strong bush rope about 60cm is require for the exercise.

The rope is placed on top of the dry leafs, the dry wood goes on top of the rope and the dry leafs like a nest, a small stick is fixed into the split dry wood. Then the right leg is placed on the wood to create firmness. The 69cm rope is blend into 30cm on each side (right & left), at least 2-4 cm rope is under the dry wood.

The person blend down and grasp each end of the rope and start pulling them up and down in very fastest motion. The man releases powerful energy into the wood and rope which the dry leafs catches the heat that starts up the fire. The first sign to look for is smoke emerging from the dry leafs. The dry leafs like nest is gathered close together in both hands and blow is given so that fire develop into flame.
This is the story of making fire by the generation who brought us this this far. Even current generation practice till to this date.