Trobriand Islands

Trobriand Islands make an intact piece of land located in the Solomon Sea, east of the PNG mainland. Bronislaw Malinowski, an Austrian anthropologist, visited the islands once to study the way people behaved in the island. After having spent nearly three years on the island and completely immersing himself into the culture of the Trobrianders, he succeeded in his investigation publishing the worldwide famous book "The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia". After that Trobriand Islands, known to the world as the "Islands of Love", have always attracted especially men hoping to find the "welcoming" topless, grass-skirted Trobriand girls behind some bushes during yam harvest, when according to the tradition the islanders are allowed to fling with others.

However, that is not the only reason why Trobriand Islands attract tourists. It has wonderful white sandy beaches, magnificent coral lagoons and rainforest, fascinating flora and fauna, a unique version of the game of cricket, extraordinary culture differing from ours. All the above mentioned make Trobriand Islands a great travel destination for those who travel for cognitive purposes and want to see something unusual and interesting. Coming to Trobriand Islands make sure to let the Chief and the Sorcerer know your purpose of visiting their country. It is a sign of respect and the way it should go. You will have the chance to witness the Garden magician control the islanders' work and the forces of nature through hereditary complex magic inherited from his mother's line.

Everybody's eye will catch the interesting dwellings of the Trobrianders, made of rectangular log frames covered with pitched, thatched roofs which can reach to the ground. Yam storage houses are located next to their houses having even more complex shape, built on piles. The Chiefs' dwellings are located in the center of village and are decorated with painted boards. Trobrianders also have some special ceremonial area, which is used for important rituals. Tourists' visits will be colored here by the gay traditional dances of the Trobrianders particularly during Yam festival, which takes place in June or July. All the Trobriand girls have colorful short skirts, oiled bodies, painted faces and hair decorated with various flowers and multicolor feathers. Trobriand men wear grass skirts and some head dresses decorated with cockatoo feathers. During this festival many islanders choose a partner for them and flirt with them, after which they become couples. What is very exciting and interesting is that the islanders show their love towards their partner biting off his eyebrows and eyelashes! That is really something unique and extraordinary as the islanders themselves are.

There are only two restaurants in the islands and no hotels at all. Visiting this island of yam, it would be pointless not to try some yam. In general Trobrianders eat taro, yams, coconut, sugarcane, bananas, shellfish, fish, and Torres Straight pigeons. They prepare meal only once, at night after finishing the gardening. The dinner can include taro, yams and occasionally fish, fowl, pork or eggs. During the day, the islanders gather mangoes, bananas and breadfruit. Only the lowest classes will eat stingray or bush pig. Oranges, mandarins, nuts, maize, oysters, clams, prawns, and other shellfish is a secondary food source. Betel, chewed with lime, is the popular stimulant.

Buying decorated gourds and wooden carvings, especially made from the traditional yam stores, tourists are sure to carry home a bright memory form their adventure travel to Trobriand Islands. Thus their crazy, unique and interesting trip to the "Islands of Love" ends carrying home lots of funny and bright memories with them.