22/05/2026
# MEDIA REPORT
Sacred Kinavai Ceremony Opens Traditional Rites for Patuana Ereman Vin Tobaining Snr.
*Malapau Beach Resort, Kokopo, East New Britain Province — Papua New Guinea*
In the quiet hours before dawn, the waters off Malapau Beach Resort became a sacred stage as the first part of the traditional ceremony honouring **Patuana Ereman Vin Tobaining Snr.** commenced with the ancient and deeply revered **Kinavai** ritual.
The Kinavai, the opening ceremony of the traditional Tobaining mourning and honour rites, saw the powerful and spiritually significant **Tubuans** — the masked ancestral spirit figures central to the Tolai and Tobaining customary traditions of East New Britain — descend to the sea in the early morning hours. The sight of the Tubuans moving through the shallows of the ocean at first light was a deeply moving and culturally profound moment for all those gathered on the shoreline.
Community members, family, and invited guests stood witness as the Tubuans performed at the water's edge, their presence symbolising the connection between the living, the ancestors, and the natural world. The ocean setting of the Kinavai holds deep spiritual meaning, representing purification, transition, and the passage between the world of the living and the realm of the ancestors.
The ceremony was conducted in strict accordance with Tobaining custom and tradition, led by appointed cultural custodians and elders who ensured that every element of the ritual adhered to the protocols passed down through generations. The Tubuans, adorned in their traditional regalia, moved with solemnity and authority that commanded reverence from all present.
Malapau Beach Resort, situated along the picturesque coastline of Kokopo, provided a fitting and dignified setting for this sacred opening, with the calm morning waters of Blanche Bay and the breaking light of dawn adding to the spiritual atmosphere of the occasion.
The Kinavai marks only the beginning of what is expected to be a full and significant day of traditional ceremony in honour of **Patuana Ereman Vin Tobaining Snr.**, a respected figure whose passing has called the community together to observe the customs of their forebears with pride and dignity.
Further stages of the ceremony are set to continue later in the day, with proceedings resuming at **10:00am**. Family, clan members, and the broader community of East New Britain are expected to gather as the traditional rites progress through the day, each stage carried out with the solemnity and cultural integrity befitting a man of his standing.
The community is encouraged to attend and bear witness to this important cultural occasion as the Tobaining people honour one of their own in the traditions of their ancestors.
