Ongka's Big Moka - The Kawelka of Papua New Guinea's primary photo
  • Disappearing World Ongka's Big Moka - The Kawelka of Papua New Guinea (Season 1, Episode 13)
  • TV Episode | 52 min | Documentary

Disappearing World

Ongka's Big Moka - The Kawelka of Papua New Guinea (Season 1, Episode 13)
TV Episode | 52 min | Documentary
In this documentary produced to bring attention to various ways of life that stand on the brink of extinction due to rapid progression in the modern world, filmmakers travel to five continents to explore the values and behavior of ...See moreIn this documentary produced to bring attention to various ways of life that stand on the brink of extinction due to rapid progression in the modern world, filmmakers travel to five continents to explore the values and behavior of endangered societies in an era where culture seems to take on a new meaning with each sunrise. In one such case, the influential leader of New Guinea's Kawelka tribe spends five years amassing an abundance of valuable items including 600 pigs and a motorbike only to give them away in a festive ceremony called the moka. A key component to Kawelka culture, the moka ceremony finds those seeking to gain influence attempting to do so not by acquiring valuable objects, but by giving them away. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and the leader of the tribe is ultimately threatened with violence as a result of his outwardly selfless act of giving. Written by Jason Buchanan See less
Read more: Plot summary
Director
Charlie Nairn
Producer
Charlie Nairn
Cinematographer
Ernest Vincze (photographed by)
Editor
Shelagh Brady
See all filmmakers & crew (8)
Status
Edit Released
Updated Dec 11, 1974
Release date
1976 (United States)
Awards
Series awards
1 nomination

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Cast

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2 cast members
Name Known for
Ongka's primary photo
Ongka
Self Self   See fewer
Disappearing World (1970)
Andrew Strathern's primary photo
Andrew Strathern
Self - Anthropologist (voice) Self - Anthropologist (voice)   See fewer
The Family of Man (1970)
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