HIRI-HANENAMO CONTEST 02

The Hiri Hanenamo contest is a traditional pageant where young women from villages in the Motu Koitabu region, aged between 18 and 25 years, dress in their traditional attire, and contest to be crowned the Hiri Hanenamo Queen. A pageant may be deemed as a modern concept by some, but the ideology and principles of the contest bear roots dating back to the very first hiri voyage.

In fact, the first original Hiri Hanenamo was the wife of Edai Siabo, the pioneer of the hiri trade many years ago. Her commitment and dedication to the rituals vital to ensuring a successful hiri she must bring happiness to her family. It is from these traditional concepts which the Hiri Hanenamo contest derives most of its key values.

Hiri Hanenamo is not attributed to beauty alone, though it is one aspect of being a Hiri queen, it is also a prerequisite of being able to possess an amount of elegance and grace in carrying out duties and their performances are also considered. Many components of village life are also taken into consideration by the judges, including authentic tattoo designs, body decorations and ornaments relating to the contestant’s village.

Contestants undertake a series of accomplished traditional dancing, not only in the presence of a judging panel but in front of their village leaders, chiefs, and hundreds of spectators. The dance routine in itself is a master piece mixture, of movement, sounds, and visuals. The delicate hips swings are complimented by the carefully fashioned traditional attire, as each movement sends life to every element if the attire. The contestants sing native Motuan hymns and songs, with the most delicate pitch, accompanied by the beat of the kundu drums. Each contestants performance is a spectacle that cannot be done justice in the prison of a photograph, or the shallowness of a written article. To truly grasp the beauty of the contest, the minimum requirement is to be sitting in the crowds.

The tittle of Hiri Hanenamo queen, for the year 2023, was awarded to the beautiful Miss Kinmjosh Damuri of Tubusereia village. It was no simple task selecting a winner from the eight contestants. However, Miss Damuri's elegance, grace, and representation of cultural values made her stand out from the other contestants. After being crowned the 2023 Hiri Hanenamo queen, Miss Damuri acknowledged her fellow contestants reinforcing that they were all winners, and all were ambassadors of their history and culture.

Apart from the prestigious Hiri Hanenamo crown, other special category awards were given, such as:

Best traditional attire: Miss Margareth Winnie

Best cultural knowledge: Miss Quanika Gaudi

• Best koe (sway): Miss Hevari Agalu. Another special category, Miss Hetura (friendship), was chosen by the contestants themselves and awarded to Miss Ray Arere from Kouderika village.