Outside of the country? A little risqué, maybe? Indecent, certainly.
Modesty is a relatively new concept to us. It's a tropical country so most of our traditional clothing covers very little. Mostly, it was something covering the lower part of the body, and nothing on top, for both men and women.
Women's traditional attire from the Trobiand Islands.
From Rigo, Central Province.
A group of men apprehended by local police (two on the left) on suspicions of murder.
A family inspecting their shopping outside a store. Mount Hagen, date unknown.
A group of men who curiously came up to see a white filmmaker. Chimbu Valley, 1933.
After getting colonised and “modernised” we seemed to have speedrun in the opposite direction; our dress is much more conservative now. I think religion - Christianity - might have a lot to do with that. The country’s population is now 97% Christian.
Footnotes
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