People
MEET THE HIRI QUEEN BY CARMEL PILOTTI | PHOTOGRAPH: GODFREEMAN KAPTIGAU
The Hiri Hanenamo Quest is more than just a beauty pageant, it’s about cultural heritage. The 2021 Hiri Hanenamo Queen, Raila English, says it’s the greatest honour to represent her people after winning the crown in February. “It has always been a dream to participate in the Hiri Hanenamo; my mother always dreamed of it too, so I represented both her and my step-mother as well, and their villages of Tubusereia and Pari,” English tells PNG Now. With her father from a third Motu-Koita village, Hanuabada, English, 21, feels she took home the crown for all three, albeit officially representing Pari, where she grew up. English says that despite challenges due to her father being ill and her concern for him, she was put at ease to go through with the competition with his encouragement and blessing. She recalls her experience working alongside the other nine Hiri Hanenamo contestants of this year’s quest, saying, although they were supposed to be rivals, the women formed strong and valuable bonds during their time together. Taking on this obligation, she has a vision to create a 24 PNG NOW APRIL/MAY 2022
platform for the inspiration and empowerment of women, and promote opportunities to support, connect and grow women in business. “I am motivated and enthusiastic about this because it enables us to promote our culture on a whole other level. “The passion, the love for our culture and the traditional heritage of our ancestors is truly amazing, therefore I am putting myself out there for the future generation of women to be courageous and be willing to learn about and promote our culture.” English has a love for the sea and hopes to work in the maritime industry, while another long-term goal is to own and run her own beach resort. For the next year, she will represent the Motu-Koitabu people as a young spokesperson and ambassador on the public platform. “It means so much to be the Hiri Hanenamo Queen. It means respect, courage, empowerment, acknowledgement, and an obligation to my people,” she says.
Photos of the Hiri festivities, Page 26
Raila English, crowned the 2021 Hiri Queen in February. The quest was meant to go ahead last year but was delayed because of COVID-19.
