Duk-Duk is a secret society, part of the traditional culture of the Tolai people of the Rabaul area of New Britain, the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea, in the South Pacific.
Description
The society has religious, political, and social objectives. It represents a form of law and order through its presiding spirits. In ritual dances, members of the society invoke the male spirit duk duk and female spirit tubuan, depending on which mask the dancer wears. The dancers are always male, despite some performing the role of female spirits. Women and children were traditionally forbidden to look at these figures.
Both types of mask are cone-shaped and constructed of cane and fibre, with short, bushy capes of leaves. The duk duk mask was traditionally taller than the tubuan and was faceless. The tubuan had circular eyes and a crescent-shaped mouth painted on a dark background. In addition to the mask, leaves cover the torso of the dancers so that only their legs are visible.
Only males could belong to Duk-Duk, with an entrance fee paid in dewarra (small cowry shells strung on strips of cane, often 100 metres or more). The society has its own secret signs and rituals, and festivals that in past times were closed to strangers on pain of death. Duk-Duk only appeared with the full moon.
Justice was executed, fines extorted, and taboos, feasts, taxes, and all tribal matters arranged by Duk-Duk members, who wore masks or chalk on their faces. In carrying out punishments, they were allowed to burn houses and even kill people. Dancers wearing the tubuan masks were regarded as divine beings whose judgment and actions could not be questioned.
The society's practice has been dying out since around the start of the 20th century, but Duk-Duk dancers are now featured as a tourist attraction.
