Cruise holidays: Ponant luxury Pacific Islands journey to Papua New Guinea’s Trobriand Islands

French cruise line Ponant offers a range of tours around Papua New Guinea, including visits to the mysterious 'Islands of Love'. Photo / Studio Ponant, Margaux Coupez

Yams, yarns and innuendo are all part of local lore at Papua New Guinea’s Islands of Love, writes Sara Bunny.

You know you’re in for an interesting trip ashore when the info session the previous night starts like this: “There are three keys to life in the Trobriand Islands - gardening, sex and magic. It’s all interlinked. And just about everything has something to do with sex.” As part of Ponant’s 12-day Ancient Cultures of Papua New Guinea cruise, we’re stopping off at Kiriwina, the largest isle in the Trobriand archipelago, dubbed the “Islands of Love”.

Here, amorous antics, thrusting traditional dances and innuendo-laced gardening have all contributed to the nickname. Custom dictates that Trobriand women are allowed as many partners as they want, men have little choice in the matter if selected, and resulting babies are thought to be the spirits of the deceased from the matriarchal line. There’s much more, but we’re told locals typically don’t like filling outsiders in on all the juicy details.

However, love was the last thing in the air just a fortnight before our visit, when unconfirmed reports of 20 dead in a tribal skirmish on the island filtered through international news. At the village, we hear rumours that the lethal clash broke out after a soccer game turned sour. Tense inter-tribal relations are part of the fabric of life on these secretive shores, along with sacred trading ceremonies, myths and legends, and a complex belief system that only born-and-bred islanders could ever fully grasp. But today, we’re getting a rare glimpse.

Up past a pristine beach, we file along a guard of honour on to the village field as an all-male dance troupe skips and chants in unison. Next, young women festooned in intricate strings of shells and feathers take centre stage. Their jewellery clicks to the beat as they march in a circle, the village elders watching on from the middle, stepping in to correct slouched shoulders and adjust crooked headdresses.

Young dancers entertain visitors in the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea. Photo / Studio Ponant, Margaux Coupez

At the village market, shells, woven bags, bowls and trinkets are lined up on mats for sale. There’s a wooden figurine of an Egyptian-style cat, some slightly unnerving carved masks and even a carefully constructed wooden skeleton with a striking set of ribs, but I settle on two patterned platters.

While playful figurines are fine for the tourists, items and adornments can have weighty implications for locals. On the day we visit, traditional Kula canoes with painted prows bob gently on the tide, a sign of the trading rings that bond communities and cement alliances. Kula valuables include shell necklaces and armbands, and exchanges mean an obligation to look after your trading partners for life. At a trading ceremony, the aim is to gain respect by giving away something with greater value than you receive, and trading agreements span hundreds of miles across the Solomon Sea.

Ponant zodiac boats arriving in Kiriwina, the largest island in the Trobriand group. Photo / Sara Bunny

Closer to shore, colourful posts jut from the water to indicate the yam festival is taking place, but on these isles, it’s little to do with roast veg. Trobriand tradition says yams equal sexual prowess, and the more yams a man can grow, the more powerful he is. The vegetables are proudly shown off in yam houses, (not on display for tourists on the day of our visit) with the biggest structures an instant signal of the heartiest crop. Of course, the chief’s yam house is always the default largest, and after all the effort, the yams are only eaten if bad weather means a shortage of other choices.

Superstition and myth is a big part of village life on Kiriwina Island. Photo / Sara Bunny

If gardening is a favourite pastime for Trobriand villagers, so is spinning yarns and telling tales. In Tok Pisin, the form of Pidgin spoken throughout Papua New Guinea, it’s called “biga sopa” which roughly translates as “lying speech”. And it’s even found its way into the history books.

We’re told about a European anthropologist who once paid a visit and collected so many stories of local life, he wrote a book on the subject. When a copy reached the islands, villagers reportedly rolled around laughing – turns out the intrepid social scientist’s magnum opus was riddled with BS - biga sopa.

Towards the end of our island pitstop, I’m on the beach sweating profusely under a palm tree when three affable blokes with betelnut-stained teeth and beanies on their heads stop by to chat. Within five minutes, they’ve convinced me to blow my last few kina (local currency) on a wooden carving of a crab, and we’re deep in conversation about the island’s mythical beginnings.

The animated tales cover haunted caves and feuding giants, and I start to suspect I’m being played with biga sopa myself. Back on the ship later that night, I tell the story to our onboard expert and he confirms that giants are indeed a major part of Trobriand folklore. Even so, I feel like I’m leaving these mysterious isles with more questions than answers. And a wacky wooden ornament to add to my declarations at Customs back home.

Checklist: Papua New Guinea

Ponant offers a range of luxury cruises and expeditions throughout the globe, with the next Ancient Cultures of Papua New Guinea cruise setting sail from November 12-23. See ponant.com for details.