Like other New Ireland societies, Lihirians signify even minor events through the use of communal feasting. All life transformations and closures of events are indicated through the use of food, and there is an inability to even conceive of these events without food. For example, when the aidpost on Mahur was extended to create more space it lay unused for about two years as it was considered impossible to use the aidpost without an opening ceremony, complete with a feast, and Mahurians were waiting to jointly celebrate the opening of the aidpost with the new church in Kuelam village.

Feasting in Lihir varies from minor household meals to mark a visitor's departure, to extensive multi-day events with hundreds of guests and a great deal of food. These latter feasts are called karot, referring to a feast that includes the killing of pigs and the gathering of many people. These generally celebrate life-cycle events, though they may also be feasts to remove the influence of spirits (tndol) on persons (niaktip), to celebrate removal of a golgol (taboo marker) or to celebrate the resolution of a major conflict.

As Fergie describes for the New Ireland society of Babae (a pseudonym, Fergie 1985; 1995), there is a corpus of life-cycle feasting events in Lihir that convey persons from conception to death and beyond. These include the conception/first pregnancy feast of tektipsasie, the hair cutting ceremony of kiptiekoh or kuirkoh, the women's puberty/initiation ceremonies tolup, the feast to honour elderly persons, hararum, and a cluster of mortuary-type feasts, mbiektip, pkepke and tunkanut.