Name: The Sharkcallers of Kontu
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 1 h
Rating: 7.6

At Kontu sharks' spirits are still called from the past.

Documentary directed, filmed and produced by Dennis O'Rourke (Yumi Yet) in association with Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies and Australian Film Underwriters and assistance of the Australian Film Commission, with the help of Chris Owen (Gogodala Cultural Revival) and the anthropological advice of Elizabeth Brouwer (A Tribute to Buk-Buk), edited by Stewart Young (First Contact), also broadcast later for the British World About Us series.

We go to the island of New Ireland, in the far north-east of Papua New Guinea, to watch the custom of shark calling, a traditional fishing filled with magic. Willy and Selam are two fishers of the village of Kontu, on the west coast on the Bismarck Sea, and they try to catch sharks on their outrigger canoes with their hands, a noosing snare and a club. Will their party be succesful to allow the sharing of the shark's flesh "according to strict traditional rules"? The result must first rely on magic, for sharks, men and fishing were created by the ancient god Moroa, so that sharks now "contain the ancestors' spirits".

The fishers must first spear the reef to "arouse the sleeping spirits", and drown magic stones to show the shark's spirit the path to follow. Will they avoid bad magic which could make the sharks become agressive and attack them? With Moroa's help however, "the magic should always work". A magic rattle made with coconut shells is shaken to lure the shark. Does it actually mimic the sound "made by a school of fish in distress"?

While the fishing goes on, elders are interviewed about the old way of life, before the change induced by colonization and modernity. Which place is left "for the old beliefs in a changed world with a new economic system"? Before, the shark fins were exposed in the communal men's house to "remind the shark caller's power to communicate with his ancestors". Now the fishers have to sell them to the Chinese merchants in town, presumably "to pay fees, taxes and new pleasures". Will they however manage to get a good price for their efforts?

The fishing party is by far the most interesting part of the documentary. The film is alas mired in a backward evocation of the past, modern things being presented as having only tarnished the golden age. Short inserts of children at school or people at church are intending to show how bad is this present modern time. A young in favor of modernity is interviewed, but only to be presented in a sort of mondo-like way as a drunkard. Actually, without properly presenting the different persons encountered, the film should have reached more interest by staying focused on a few characters, while showing the various aspects of their very life.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

At Kontu on the island of New Ireland, traditional fishers call and catch sharks by magic. But will they be able to maintain their way of life in a time upset by modernity? (XNB/Black Roses)

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The Sharkcallers of Kontu

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