Ongka's Big Moka
Encyclopedia
Ongka's Big Moka: The Kawelka of Papua New Guinea is a 1976 documentary film
, part of Granada Television
's Disappearing World Series which ran from 1969-1993.
In Ongka's Big Moka Ongka, a New Guinea
Big man
, is seen preparing a Moka exchange
. The film follows Ongka's struggles to accumulate huge numbers of pigs and other items of value to present at a Moka ceremony to another tribe. The objective of Ongka's Moka is to build status, prestige and fame for his tribe and for himself. Ongka uses Moka to elevate his status as the "Big Man" of his tribe. The film shows clearly that there are strong elements of competition and one-upmanship in giving Moka, setting the ceremony's date, and also - despite the fact that they never filmed it - in the actual Moka ceremony itself in which the participants wear traditional and magnificent Highland "decoration". Giving Moka can bring the giver close to ruin but the political and social gains from increased prestige can outweigh this.
Traditionally, Moka was an exchange of pigs. The "Big Man" hires a speaker to go down the line of pigs, stopping before each one to sing its praises and describe its lineage. This scene is one of the highlights of the film along with extraordinary footage of a neighbouring "Big Man's" funeral and his tribe's reaction to his death and its probable causes. The film also shows that expensive modern consumer items have also become part of the Moka exchange.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, part of Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
's Disappearing World Series which ran from 1969-1993.
In Ongka's Big Moka Ongka, a New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
Big man
Big man (anthropology)
A Big Man refers to a highly influential individual in a tribe, especially in Melanesia and Polynesia. Such person has no formal authority , but maintains recognition through skilled persuasion and wisdom.-Big Man "system":The American anthropologist Marshall Sahlins has been a proponent of the Big...
, is seen preparing a Moka exchange
Moka exchange
The Moka is a system of exchange in the Mt. Hagen area, Papua New Guinea.It is a complex system of exchange that relies heavily on pigs as currency for status in the community....
. The film follows Ongka's struggles to accumulate huge numbers of pigs and other items of value to present at a Moka ceremony to another tribe. The objective of Ongka's Moka is to build status, prestige and fame for his tribe and for himself. Ongka uses Moka to elevate his status as the "Big Man" of his tribe. The film shows clearly that there are strong elements of competition and one-upmanship in giving Moka, setting the ceremony's date, and also - despite the fact that they never filmed it - in the actual Moka ceremony itself in which the participants wear traditional and magnificent Highland "decoration". Giving Moka can bring the giver close to ruin but the political and social gains from increased prestige can outweigh this.
Traditionally, Moka was an exchange of pigs. The "Big Man" hires a speaker to go down the line of pigs, stopping before each one to sing its praises and describe its lineage. This scene is one of the highlights of the film along with extraordinary footage of a neighbouring "Big Man's" funeral and his tribe's reaction to his death and its probable causes. The film also shows that expensive modern consumer items have also become part of the Moka exchange.