Dance skirt, Melpa people (detail)

In 1933, four Europeans were searching for gold in the mountains of

Papua New Guinea - the “Land of the Unexpected.” There is no record they found gold, but they did discover a completely unknown people called the Melpa. Luckily for them, the Melpa weren’t headhunters. They were a peaceful, agricultural group with one or two quirky traditions, who appeared to be stuck in the Stone Age.

Melpa ceremonial dance skirt

When they were discovered, the Western concept of owning a wardrobe did not exist for the Melpa. Even today, eighty years later, most Melpa men only own a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and women a cotton floral dress. Usually, neither have shoes. What they do have are their traditional costumes worn during important ceremonial events, and upon these they place great value.

Featured is a Melpa man’s

dance skirt. It is composed of hemp and natural pigments and was worn during the Moka, a ceremony where reciprocal gifts are given, each one bigger than the last. The Moka helps the Melpa take care of one another. It is a form of sharing; and what the Melpa wear during the Moka reminds us some things should never go out of style!

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