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Living
Spirits with
Fixed Abodes
Living
Spirits
ii Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
with
Fixed Abodes
The Masterpieces Exhibition
Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery
Barry Craig, Mark Busse, Soroi Eoe

Editor
Barry Craig
Photography
David Becker, Anthony L. Crawford
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS

HONOLULU
iii
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ISBN 978-0-8248-3151-6
Copyright 2010 Barry Craig, Mark Busse and Soroi Eoi

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13 12 11 10 4 3 2 1
iv Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
Contents
Foreword Sir Michael Somare vii
Preface Thierry Bernadac and Jacques-Olivier Manent viii
Acknowledgements Barry Craig ix
Maps x
Chapter 1 Introduction Barry Craig 1

Chapter 2 Short History of the Papua New Guinea National Museum Mark Busse 5
Chapter 3 The Work of the National Museum Mark Busse 15
Chapter 4 The Role of the National Museum in Contemporary Papua New Guinea

Society Soroi Marepo Eoe 19
Chapter 5 The Masterpieces Exhibition Barry Craig 25
Appendix 1 Functions of the National Museum and Art Gallery 253
Appendix 2 Ethnographic Collections of the National Museum Barry Craig 254

Bibliography 265
Sources of Illustrations 276
Sources of Masterpieces 277
Index of Masterpieces 278
General Index 280
vi Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
Foreword
by the Prime Minister the Right Honourable Sir Michael T. Somare, GCMG CH KStJ
With my interest in, and long association
Tolerance comes about through u

nder-
because their parents have not passed onto
with, the National Museum and Art Gallery of
standing. It is important for our people and
them the reason behind why a certain dance
Papua New Guinea, it gives me great pleasure
their children to understand why some of
is performed. A people are just people if they
to be involved once again in the promotion
their ancestors built sacred houses and
do not know their story.
of Melanesian art and culture by making a
adorned them with spirit masks. They must
few remarks in this outstanding publication,
be able to access information on why others
gratitude for the contributions of Sir William
Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes.
tattooed their bodies and what these tattoos
MacGregor, Sir Hubert Murray and other
As the founding Prime Minister, and in the
For this reason I acknowledge a debt of
mean. They must know who their traditional
colonial administrators who, for the purpose
course of Papua New Guineas thirty years of
trading partners were and how these trading
of establishing a future museum in this coun-
nationhood, I have been concerned about
relationships can be improved, strengthened
try, collected artefacts that are no longer
the conservation, preservation and docu-
and adapted to suit their future environment
being made today but have been replaced
mentation of our rich heritage and the evolu-
and needs.
through the introduction of a new technol-
tion of our art and culture in todays rapidly

changing world.
My concern in part is that our children
My other concern is that we are driven

today by economics and providing the basic
ogy and a new way of life.

There is much work to be done in giving
essential services to our rapidly growing pop-
these items, that have been collected and
must be empowered with the knowledge
ulation. Though important, the preservation,
kept for us, their proper place by ensuring
that we are a diverse nation of people and
conservation and documentation of our his-
that they are identified, classified and pre-
can build a great future on the richness of
tory may continue to be regarded as second-
served for posterity.
our cultures, art forms and traditions. By
ary to the basic needs of our people. Therein
knowing and understanding our past we can
lies the contradiction. So many indigenous
passed down by word of mouth. Secrets and
set the course for where we want to be in the
societies are struggling to get on their feet
rites were passed down through family lines
future.
and feel a real sense of loss because their
in the haus tambaran or through myths and
past has been erased forever.
legends. We must preserve some of this infor-
In the present age of increased communication and technological advancements,
Papua New Guinea is fortunate in so
Formerly in our country everything was
mation by adapting to todays modern tech-
the peoples of the world are discovering
many ways. Our late colonisation has protect-
the existence and uniqueness of one anoth-
ed us from many atrocities that have been
er. Always there will be quests into human
committed against indigenous peoples all
Museum and Art Gallery in conceiving this
history. People have always searched their
over the world. Many of our cultures and tra-
project to publish information relating to
past to give meaning and add value to their
ditions are still alive because contact with the
the cultural treasures represented by the
existence. It is thus important that we also
outside world was so recent. For these rea-
Masterpieces Exhibition; and I am deeply
preserve information on our past so our chil-
sons we must preserve our identity so that
grateful to the French Government for sup-
dren can enrich their existence in the future.
our future generations do not experience
porting this project financially through its
the sense of loss that many other indigenous
Embassy in Papua New Guinea.
Our people and our children must learn
niques.
I commend the initiative of the National
that though we are all Melanesians, our ways
peoples feel. With the richness of our diverse
of life can differ greatly from village to vil-
heritage we can stand tall among all other
and our oral history can now be preserved
lage. This fact is noticeably manifested in our
existing cultures of the world.
in writing. I cannot stress enough the impor-
We are living in the age of information
art and artefacts. Only through knowing our
Given the reality of our current financial
differences can we live in harmony with one
limitations, we must find innovative ways to
sic, architecture or folklore. Generations to
another and understand why our neighbour-
inspire our young people to preserve our
come will find usefulness in this information.
ing ethnic groups make certain choices that
heritage and keep it alive and dynamic. It
They will be grateful that their forebears had
otherwise would appear to be beyond com-
would be sad in years to come to see our chil-
the insight to document their history.
prehension.
dren perform dances that are meaningless
tance of documenting our history, be it mu-
Foreword vii
Preface
It is a great honour for France through its
travels through the highlands and the islands
have a great aesthetic value through their
Embassy in Port Moresby to be associated
of Papua New Guinea is always struck by the
shapes and colours, they also have a spiritual
with the publication of Living Spirits with
cultural differences among the communities,
dimension deeply rooted in the ethos of their
Fixed Abodes: The Masterpieces Exhibition
some showing great dexterity at wood
community. The texts accompanying the
of the Papua New Guinea National Museum
carving, others at painting, usually with the
photos aim at rendering the specific ritual
and Art Gallery. We would like to thank Tony
use of bright colours, others still at music, and
meaning of artifacts and strongly contribute
Crawford of Crawford House Publishing
so forth. Those differences are also expressed
to the interest of this book.
for the edition of this book, Barry Craig of
through dancing, costumes and headgear,
the South Australian Museum and former
masks, tattoos and all sorts of ceremonies
possible through a grant from the French
curator of the Papua New Guinea National
enjoyed by the tourists visiting Papua New
Government within the framework of the
Museum and Art Gallery for the writing of the
Guinea.
Treaty of Cooperation and Friendship signed
Introduction and Catalogue, Mark Busse of
Many books have already been published
The publication of this work was made
between the Governments of France and
the University of Auckland for his summary
on the arts and traditions of Papua New
Papua New Guinea in 1995. We would like
of the history and functions of the Museum,
Guinea, especially by German scholars (for
to acknowledge the role of the Secrtariat
David Becker for the quality of the photos
the New Guinean part of the country) and
Permanent pour le Pacifique in Paris,
and Soroi Eoe, Director of the Papua New
British, Australian and American researchers.
especially its former Director from 1996
Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery,
France was involved at an early stage
to 2002, Mr. Garrigue-Guyonnaud, and the
for his chapter on the role of the National
through some of the Catholic missions in
Agence Francaise de Dveloppement for
Museum and, above all, for his collaboration
Papua New Guinea and, after the Second
their assistance in this most valuable project.
throughout the implementation of this
World War, through the links established
project.
between the Muse de lHomme in Paris and
Thierry Bernadac
Papua New Guinea is a country with over
some communities in the Sepik and Morobe
Ambassador of France in Papua New Guinea
800 spoken languages, often considered as a
provinces. However, this book is certainly the
(1999-2004)
real obstacle for its economic development
first of its kind for the extensive coverage of
and its administration, but certainly not for
most provinces and the number of photos.
the richness of its cultural diversity. One who
Although Papuan New Guinean artifacts
viii Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
Jacques-Olivier Manent
Ambassador of France in Papua New Guinea
(2005- )
Acknowledgements
It would be unlikely that any one person
Bowden, Helen Dennett, Pat Edmiston, Ossie
the National Museum paid for meals and
would have sufficient knowledge of the
Fountain, Steven Frost, Godfried Gerrits, Mike
accommodation for both periods totalling
large number of Papua New Guinea cultures
Gunn, Brigitta Hauser-Schublin, Bernard
nearly five weeks; and the South Australian
to write a catalogue of the Masterpieces
Juillerat, Christian Kaufmann, Anthony Meyer,
Museum allowed me to spend a considerable
Exhibition without assistance from others.
Anthony Mulderink, Roger Neich, Philippe
proportion of my work time for well over a
This catalogue has benefited immensely
Peltier, Eva Raabe, Paul Roscoe, Thomas
year on this project.
from the work of many researchers
Schultze-Westrum, Meinhard Schuster,
from many countries, but of course their
Dirk Smidt, Glenn Summerhayes, Pamela
and gave innumerable valuable suggestions
information comes from the large number
Swadling, Jrg Wassmann, Robert Welsch
to improve its accuracy and readability, but
of Papua New Guineans who have accepted
and Dadi Wirz.
any failings are the responsibility of the
these researchers into their communities,
Library and archival research was
Jim Specht read through the entire text
authors and editor.

Most of the photographs of the exhibits
their houses and their lives, and shared their
facilitated by Jill Evans of the South
knowledge. This catalogue is an opportunity
Australian Museum Library; staff of the
were provided by David Becker, facilitated
to give back to those Papua New Guineans
Special Collections, Barr Smith Library of
by the generous grant from the French
and their descendants at least something of
the University of Adelaide; Steven Miller,
Government. Tony Crawford provided
the heritage of their ancestors.
archivist of the Art Gallery of New South
additional photography at my request.
Wales; and staff of the PNG National Museum,
The Director of the PNG National Museum
perhaps even mistakes in the information
especially Sebastian Haraha, John Dop
permitted me to access and select images
provided. On behalf of the researchers who
and Francis Bafmatuk. Reproductions of
from the photographic archives of the
have provided the information, and of the
archival photographs were facilitated by Jan
Museum, especially those thousands of
authors of this book, I apologise for this.
Brazier (Australian Museum), Paul Dalgleish
photographs taken by me in 1981-83 while
We have done our best but should anyone
(Australian Archives), Fran Jury (South
I was Curator of Anthropology there, to give
be able to contribute to a more accurate
Australian Museum) and Virginia Lee-Webb
context to the exhibits. Other people also
account, the editor and authors of this book,
(Metropolitan Museum of Art).
provided images and they are acknowledged
Inevitably there are uncertainties and
and the staff of the National Museum, will be
Waltraud Schmidt patiently translated
in the captions. Jenny Crawford stalwartly
pleased to receive corrections and additions
many papers published in German and
dealt with the large number of changes to
to add to the database of the objects in the
without that the text would have been
text and layout leading up to the stage of
Masterpieces Exhibition.
considerably impoverished. I am most
final printers proofs.
An expression of gratitude is first due to

the many authors who have been referred
to in the text; their names appear in the
grateful to have had her professional

assistance in this matter.
I was first asked to participate in this
Finally I wish to thank my wife, Gillian

Perchard, for giving me leave of absence from
family reponsibilities during two periods
bibliography. Without their published works,
project in April 2002 and I was able to spend
spent in Port Moresby researching the
precious little would be known outside the
a week and a half at the National Museum
objects in the Masterpieces Exhibition, and
communities of origin about many of the
in June, at the end of a seven-week field
for daily support during the long period of
pieces in the Exhibition.
trip in Papua New Guinea financed by the
researching, writing and editing; and to thank
South Australian Museum. Crawford House
our son, Sai, for picking up some extra duties
email requests for information and gave
Publishing Australia paid for my fare to Papua
during my absence.
generously of their time in doing so. These
New Guinea in 2003 to do another three
people include Albert G. van Beek, Ross
weeks research at the National Museum;
Many other researchers responded to
Barry Craig
Acknowledgements ix
x Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
xi
xii Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
xiii
xiv Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
xv
xvi Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
xvii
xviii Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
xix
xx Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
xxi
xxii Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
Chapter 1
Introduction
Barry Craig
The Masterpieces Exhibition at the Papua
the National Museums sister institutions,
western half of New Guinea (then known as
New Guinea National Museum and Art
the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, is
Irian Jaya, now confusingly named Papua
Gallery is intended to show Papua New
charged with recording and preserving such
and therefore in this book referred to as
Guineans, and overseas residents and visitors,
works (see Niles and Webb 1987 and Kulele:
[West] Papua). These objects were retained
some of the nest examples of the traditional
Occasional Papers on Pacic Music and Dance).
to demonstrate the continuity of New Guinea
cultural heritage of the country.
The Masterpieces Exhibition was rst
cultures across the international border.
set up during 1979-80 using 120 objects
The information on the labels for the
Papua New Guinea where it is clear there were
displayed under multi-coloured lighting
objects in the exhibition remains minimal.
master carvers or painters, sometimes with
as individual art works with no apparent
The main purpose of this book is to provide
apprentices (for example, see Beier and Aris
relationship to one another (TNMAG 1980:
additional information in association with
1975; Beran 1996), most sculptures, paintings,
12th and 13th pages). The designer of the
images of the exhibits.
war shields, masks and the like were made
exhibition apparently did not invite any
by people only a little more distinguished in
assistance or advice from the anthropology
their skills than their fellow villagers. Therefore
department. The exhibition had no
it seems more appropriate to think of the
discernible structure and the information
It was only about eighty years ago that
exhibition not as one of masterpieces but
provided for each object was minimal and
European scholars began to refer to
of places where the spirits dwell. For Papua
sometimes incorrect.
particular artifacts made by tribal peoples
Although there are some societies in
New Guineans, this is the most important
In November of 1980, earthquake
Melanesian cultural heritage as art
as art (Goldwater 1967: 7-9). Previously, all
damage to the roof of the museum building
such objects were treated like natural history
resulted in extensive and serious leakage
specimens in museums and prior to that
because some cultures are poorly represented
problems when the wet season commenced.
they were thought of as curiosities. Artists
in the collections of the Museum, all the
The exhibition area had to be cleared until
such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh
signicant examples having been removed
the roof could be repaired. The repairs
recognised the aesthetic qualities of tribal
from the country long before the Papua New
were accomplished over the following ten
artifacts on display at the Paris Exposition
Guinea Public Museum and Art Gallery was
months and during that time, as Curator of
of 1889 and half a century later Robert
established by legislation in 1954. In some
Anthropology, I undertook to expand and
Goldwater published his ground-breaking
cases, skilfully made objects from the 1960s
structure the exhibition, within the limits of
thesis, Primitivism in Modern Art. Goldwater
and 1970s have been included to provide
the modest funds that were made available.
later became the Director of the Museum
representation from such areas.
The revised exhibition was opened by
of Primitive Art (Nelson A. Rockefeller
Michael Somare in September 1981.
Collection) in New York, founded in 1954 (as
characteristic of such works.

Inevitably there are gaps in the exhibition
There also appears to be an overrepresentation of objects from the Sepik
There are now over 200 pieces on display
was the PNG Public Museum and Art Gallery)
River region, partly because over a quarter
and most of the objects have been grouped
and opened in 1957. This museum was later
of Papua New Guineas language groups
into several general categories of function
incorporated into the Metropolitan Museum
are located in that region, and remarkable
watercraft, architecture, household items,
of Art in New York.
objects could still be found there even in
gardening and fertility gures, hunting and
the 1980s and, indeed, at the present time.
warfare, musical instruments, masks, and
in the Western world of what art is, and what
Further, there are many cultural groups in
funerary objects.
relevance aesthetics has to the concept, so
Papua New Guinea that do not produce
Some individual objects do not sit
But, just as there has been no agreement
there is confusion about what constitutes
artistically notable objects; instead, their
comfortably in any of these categories
art among tribal peoples, few of whom
creative energies are manifested in songs,
and have been allocated according to
have a word that suggests anything like the
stories and ceremonies that cannot be
the principle of best t. Also, the original
various meanings of the word in European
preserved as objects in a museum. One of
exhibition included a few objects from the
languages.
Introduction 1
about the objects produced by them? And
is well done or not, a spirit can be called to
clarity, scholars of tribal art continue to add
Apparently not bothered by this lack of
what can be said in this book that will be
inhabit it; whether the building is newly-built
to the considerable library of works on the
useful to all readers Papua New Guineans
and sound, or falling to pieces, it can be the
subject. We have books on the art of Africa,
as well as those people of other cultures
dwelling place of a spirit.
of pre-Columbian America and of Oceania.
and places? This book has the task of saying
In the latter eld we have books on the art
something to both categories of readers.
of Easter Island, of the New Zealand Maori,
Whereas Europeans practise their arts in

various media more-or-less as separate art
Except perhaps for some among the
forms (sculpture, painting, poetry, music and
of Vanuatu, New Britain and New Ireland. For
youngest generation who have grown up in
so forth), Papua New Guineans bring to bear
New Guinea, scholars have identied the art
urban centres and been educated in overseas
all their art forms in the great ceremonies
styles of a number of areas, commencing at
schools, Papua New Guineans dont have to
whose themes encompass healing, marriage,
the Birds Head of western New Guinea and
read about how they see the world and what
fertility, harvests, initiation, hunting, warfare
working through the island in a more-or-
place traditional objects have in that world.
and death.
less clockwise manner (Bhler, Barrow and
Information about the identity of objects,
Mountford 1962: 97-137).
such as where they have come from, who
outside the context of the great ceremonies
Within certain art-rich areas, several art
Of course, many objects are created
made them, what they have been used for
household items, tools, weapons, canoes,
style provinces have been identied; for
and the names by which they are known,
cooking pots, body ornaments, musical
example, Alfred Bhlers six art provinces
would, however, most likely be of interest
instruments, and so forth but even those
of the Sepik region (Bhler 1960), Douglas
to them. The kinds of spirits that inhabited
carry numerous and constant allusions to
Newtons thirteen art styles of the Papuan
these works also are of interest to Papua
themes whose primary expression is found at
Gulf (Newton 1961), Simon Kooijmans
New Guineans. For others, it will be necessary
the ceremonies (Schwimmer 1990: 10).
four style areas of southern New Guinea
to say something here about what may be
(Kooijman 1956), and Dirk Smidts four
considered art works in Papua New Guinea,
ceremonies is ritual activity. Erik Schwimmer
style regions of south-west New Guinea
how such works relate to material culture
agrees (ibid.: 7) with Claude Lvi-Strausss
(Smidt 1993). Other scholars have provided
generally, and what is their signicance in the
distinction (1962: 38-44)
a classication according to form and have
context of daily life.
tried to link these styles to prehistorical
Papua New Guineans, just like Europeans,
A large component of these great
between ritual (and myth) on the one

hand and art (and play) on the other. Ritual
movements of peoples and their cultures,
produce works of sculpture, painting,
claims to have as its end result a kind of
such as in Felix Speisers six styles for
architecture, music, song, dance and so forth.
preordained equilibrium corresponding
Melanesia (Speiser 1966).
Europeans agree among themselves that
to certain conditions of life that are xed
only some of these products are works of art
and unalterable. This xity of outcomes is
that they favour sculpture, primarily wood
but differ widely on what criteria they use
absent from both art and play, where there
carvings, and only occasionally refer to
to differentiate art from non-art. Papua New
must exist a plurality of possibilities and
paintings or work in other materials. Part
Guineans do not engage in such debates.
an unpredictable course of events.
of the explanation for this bias may be that
What is important to them is the difference
Westerners trace their cultural ancestry back
between objects (or works in other media)
is only in a very limited sense that [the] great
to ancient Greece and the art works that have
that are inhabited by spirits and those that
ceremonies can be said to have a xed and
most noticeably survived the millenia are the
are not. A magnicent sculpture or awesome
unalterable outcome and cites Alfred Gells
sculptures. But all this is largely irrelevant to
building is merely a piece of wood or a shelter
study of the Umeda ceremonies of the Border
Papua New Guineans.
until such time as the appropriate ritual has
Mountains in West Sepik Province. Although
induced the habitation of the work by a spirit
the ida performances were intended to
inadequate for understanding how Papua
(Hauser-Schublin 1976/77; for translation see
promote the increase of sago, the participants
New Guineans see things, how do we talk
Hauser-Schublin 1983). Whether the carving
made statements and acted in ways that
What is striking about these analyses is
If European ways of seeing the world are
2 Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes
Schwimmer (ibid.: 8-9) points out that it
indicated the performances went altogether
is ancillary; the manifestation or
reports that designs called tataro are painted
beyond that theme the dancing, masks,
production of unusual (or provocative)
on the face and on masks, on shields and
and body paintings were not translatable
images evidences uncanny power, and
on canoes (1983: 95), and are often inspired
into the theme of sago increase. Schwimmer
power in the world is apprehended
by close observation of things and natural
adds that this untranslatability makes it

possible for the ceremonies to convey quite
a variety of meanings to different observers
or they may convey many meanings
simultaneously.
Thus this indeniteness of outcomes or
through the presence of such

manifestations or appearances. The
images can be those of the celestial
bodies and their movements, as in the
archaic and little-remembered calendric
goes on to state (ibid.: 101):
Meaning, and ultimately power, comes
standard ritual performance (as recounted
from the successful penetration
by the actors) to the actual event is like
experiencing and exhausting of images,
that between a European music score and
a process that can be accomplished
an actual performance. It is the degree of
only by confrontation and seeing for
no initiatory performance could be
yourself.
Shirley Campbell, in her detailed and

exemplary analysis of the designs carved and
painted on the prows and splashboards of
wholly successful unless it was aided
Trobriand Islands (specically Vakuta Island)
by the audiences inferential walks and
kula canoes, summarises (2002: 149-50):
constructs of possible worlds.
and
The design units on the kula prow

and splashboards are fundamentally
Papua New Guinea art often stands in a
about the representation of desired
mimetic relation to nature, not only when
characteristics seen in the natural world
it imitates movements, colors, and habits
to be successful. The animals used for
perceived in nature, but also when it
representation on the boards are enlisted
seeks, by its constructed images, to reveal
for the success of a kula expedition. This is
hidden truths about nature.
marked by the boards ability to woo kula
And what this truth is, is knowledge of the

spirits. Schwimmer tells us that the Orokaiva
term for initiation is embahi kiari seeing the
spirits.
In his analysis of the social and ritual life
of one of the painters, Bagou, watching an

insect new to him with intense interest. She
activity that is art. The relationship of the
Schwimmer elaborates (ibid.:11):
(ibid.: 97) and provides an image (Fig. 15)
or events; or those of the coordinate

spectacle of a singsing performance.
makes art possible.
artists are exceptionally interested in nature
system; those of unusual natural objects
plurality of possibilities is the aspect of the
freedom allowed to the performers that
processes around them. She says, some
partners and bring home shell valuables.

With the multiplicity of representations
on the prow and splashboards, together
with special beauty magic and the magic
On the whole, what gives rise to new

designs is a new or unexpected sight a
previously unnoticed marking on a bird,
sh or buttery, or leaf, or a break in the
usual shape or appearance of things.
Another source of new designs is the

spirit world, as when a dreamer nds himself
watching spirits dance or sees them wearing
masks of an unknown design (Chowning
1983: 93). The word tataro:
may come from taro to change shape
which appears in the name of a spirit
called tarogolo (golo = to deceive) that
takes on the shape of particular human
beings, disguising itself as a friend or lover
(ibid.: 95).
There is therefore a clear relationship

between these Lakalai designs and the world
of the spirits. Indeed, when men with painted
faces, or wearing masks bearing the painted
designs, perform at the ceremonies, they
are not merely representing spirits, they are
to protect the canoe from possible
spirits. This is a universal belief in Melanesia.
dangers encountered at sea, the kula
Ironically, the enthusiasm of fundamentalist
of the Barok of New Ireland, Roy Wagner
expedition is guaranteed success in the
Christians for banning or destroying
(1986: 221) summarises the esoteric world
minds of Vakutans; that is, as long as the
traditional cults and ceremonies, and the
of power and meaning that both vivies and
magic is more powerful than anyone
objects associated with them, testies to
mysties the Barok in words concordant with
elses and is efcacious enough to distract
the power of this belief, held even by the
the gist of Schwimmers analysis:
or deter the dreaded women [witches].
Christians themselves.
It is a world of image, in which verbal

capability, however ultimately necessary,
Ann Chowning, in a paper on the painted

designs of the Lakalai of West New Britain,
When Sir Michael Somare, the present

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea,
Introduction 3
was Chief Minister (before Independence
development and cultural institutions in
all to cooperate with us in returning our
was gained on 16 September 1975), he
Papua New Guinea, he wrote:
ancestral spirits and souls to their homes
sent a message to members of the Pacic
We now have a National Museum and Art
Arts Association, meeting at McMaster
Gallery. These house our heritage. Some
University, Hamilton, Ontario. In the context
of our most valuable pieces of artwork
of a consideration of the role of cultural
are outside our country. I would ask you
in Papua New Guinea. We view our masks

and our art as living spirits with xed
abodes. [Mead 1979: xv]
Chapter 2
Short History of the Papua New Guinea

National Museum
Mark Busse
The history of the Papua New Guinea
disappeared, and it is daily becoming
it was already difcult to obtain stone axes
National Museum and Art Gallery is a
more difcult and expensive to obtain
(Joyce 1971: 129).
history of transformation from a colonial
curiosities of value.
He explained the purpose of his ofcial

collection in a letter dated 12 October 1895
institution based on European ideas to a
MacGregor did not support Musgraves
Papua New Guinean institution based on
initiative, not because he opposed the idea of
to the Governor of Queensland (Despatch
Papua New Guinean concepts and values.
a museum but because he thought that the
55/1895 QSA: GOV/A31):
This transformation involved a change in
colony could not afford it. In August of that
The collection belonging to this colony
the museums goals and rationale. The rst
year, he had already arrived at an agreement
has been made with the object of its
museums in Papua and New Guinea were
with the Queensland Museum that the British
possessing a full set of arms, utensils,
established to preserve objects from cultures
New Guinea ofcial collection would be
products of different kinds etc. as would
that were believed to be disappearing. In
cared for and displayed in that institution.
illustrate its past and present position in
the lead-up to Independence, the museum
the future.
MacGregor collected both cultural
shifted its emphasis to documenting and
objects and natural history specimens
protecting Papua New Guineas cultural
during his many ofcial travels between
representative collection, the largest part
heritage and encouraging contemporary
1888 and 1898. In all, he collected and sent
of MacGregors collection came from what
cultural expression. This shift occurred
to Brisbane around 10,800 objects from
today are Oro and Milne Bay provinces, with
because the nations leaders believed that
178 different places in British New Guinea
comparatively fewer objects from Central,
recognition and respect for indigenous
during the decade that he was Lieutenant-
Gulf and Western provinces. This imbalance
cultural expression in all its forms would
Governor. In 1897, around 2550 duplicates
probably reects the fact that people in the
be an essential part of Papua New Guineas
were distributed to the Australian Museum,
coastal areas of Central, Gulf and Western
national identity. These changes were
the National Museum of Victoria and the
provinces already had considerable contact
paralleled by changes in staff as Papua New
British Museum, leaving around 8250 items
with Europeans in the 1880s, and so it was
Guineans replaced expatriates and colonial
in Brisbane (Quinnell 2000: 88, 91). Since
too late to collect the kinds of objects that
ofcers at all levels in the museum.
he collected many of these objects at the
MacGregor wanted (Quinnell 2000: 88).
Despite his stated goal of making a
Although the colony could not yet afford
time of rst contact between Papua New
The British New Guinea Ofcial

Collection1
Guineans and Europeans, MacGregors
a permanent museum, MacGregor made it
ofcial collection is a unique sample of
clear to the Queensland authorities that the
The idea of a museum in what is now Papua
Papua New Guineas material culture at
objects in the ofcial collection belonged
New Guinea dates to 12 October 1889 when
the very beginning of the colonial period
to the colonial government of British New
Anthony Musgrave, Government Secretary
(ibid.: 83-8).
Guinea and that he expected that they would
for British New Guinea, wrote to the Chief
MacGregor wanted to make a collection
eventually be returned to the colony when
Secretary in Queensland (Australian Archives,
that was representative of the full range of
a suitable place for their storage and display
Series G31) proposing that a museum be
objects and peoples of British New Guinea
had been built. He strongly objected to any
built in Port Moresby. He added that the
and, reinforcing what Musgrave had written,
attempt by the Queensland Museum to give
Lieutenant-Governor, Sir William MacGregor,
he stressed the importance of doing this
away, sell or exchange any of the objects
before these objects disappeared. In a lecture
in the collection, stating that he regarded
to the importance of beginning the
in 1885 he had noted the salutary lessons
the Queensland Museum as the collections
formation of a local collection of
of Fiji and Hawaii where colonial ofcials
custodian rather than its owner.
Ethnographic objects at Port Moresby. In
neglected to collect material culture until,
some districts articles that were at one
as he put it, it was too late (MacGregor
A Museum in Papua
time of intrinsic interest and common
1897: 88). In 1889, after his rst trip away
In 1908, Hubert Murray, Acting Administrator
among the aborigines have already
from Port Moresby, MacGregor noted that
(later Lieutenant-Governor) of the Australian
has on more than one occasion referred
Short History of the Papua New Guinea National Museum 5
Territory of Papua, revived the idea of
storage space for its own collections and at
(then) National Museum of Victoria, where
establishing a museum in Port Moresby,
the same time the idea of a Federal museum
they remain to this day (Craig 1996: 92-4).
with the objects collected by MacGregor
in Canberra was revived. The Director of the
forming the core of the proposed
Australian Institute of Anatomy in Canberra
Territory of New Guinea was in a memo-
museums collections. In response to a
offered to house the collection until such a
randum dated 21 December 1921, from the
query concerning the state of MacGregors
museum was established and Murray agreed
Protector of Natives to the Australian Prime
collection at that time, the Director of the
to the transfer from Sydney to Canberra in
Ministers Department (Australian Archives,
Queensland Museum assured Murray:
1934. The Australian Museum asked for and
Series A518, Item A846/1/92):
Typical specimens have been reserved

for the Papuan authorities and are held
in trust by this Museum until such time
as they may be required by them for
Museum purposes. [Quinnell 2000: 93]
The rst mention of a museum for the
was given permission to retain its selection
I would recommend the inauguration
of around 400 objects in recognition of its
of a museum for native curios in Rabaul
services in looking after the collection for so
curios having both an anthropological
many years.
and ethnological interest can only be
For the next fty years the Institute of
retained if the Administration is given
Anatomy looked after the Murray collection
the power to purchase, if they deem it t,
Murray and his eld ofcers were
but when the Institute was closed in 1984,
curios of scientic value.
collecting objects during their patrols in
the collection was turned over to the newly
Papua2 because:
By 1922, collections were being made
established National Museum of Australia
and there was an allocation of funds from the
articles of native manufacture and use
where it continues to be housed. The
budget of the Department of Agriculture. In
are becoming, in the settled districts,
MacGregor collection remained in Brisbane
the 1923-1924 Annual Report for the Territory
more and more rare every day; there are
until negotiations on its repatriation to Papua
of New Guinea there was a listing that
things which we can get now without any
New Guinea saw the rst shipment leave
included over 2500 anthropology specimens
trouble, but which we might have some
Brisbane in 1980 (Quinnell 2000: 97).
and over 750 natural history specimens
difculty in procuring later on. [Australian

Archives, Series A1, Item 1911/12991]
(Craig 1996: 229-30). However, the same
A Museum in New Guinea
problem of lack of space was experienced
Murray had a small museum built in Port
The Australian Military Expeditionary Force
in Rabaul as in Port Moresby. Most of the
Moresby in 1911 to house the colonys second
took over German New Guinea in 1914 and,
collection was packed in crates and the
ofcial collection but it was inadequate even
in 1921, civil administration was established
budget for the museum dwindled to nothing.
for that purpose. In 1915 an agreement was
by Australia in the Mandated Territory of New
reached with the Australian Museum to
Guinea. During the period of German colonial
Australian Institute of Anatomy and Rabaul
house the collections being made by Murray
administration, there was no attempt to set
resulted in around 277 items being sent on loan
and his ofcers, on the condition that a small
up a museum. Large collections were made
from the Rabaul Museum to Canberra in 1933.
representative proportion of the material
and deposited in museums in Germany, and
From time to time, material was added to the
could be selected for the Australian Museum,
collectors from other European countries
collection but it appears that most of it remained
the rest to remain the property of the Papuan
and the United States also took away huge
in crates in Rabaul and presumably was
colonial government. The collections were
amounts of material (for example, see
destroyed during the Japanese attack in 1942.
therefore only temporarily stored in Port
Buschmann 2000, Gardner 2000, Regius 1999,
Moresby until they could be sent on to the
Specht 1999, Vargyas 1992, Welsch 1998 and
Australian Museum in Sydney for safekeeping.
2000). During the wartime occupation of
Cultural Property Legislation in

Papua and New Guinea
Between 1915 and 1930, twelve shipments
German New Guinea, military ofcers sent
In 1913 Murray enacted legislation to
totalling about 3200 objects were sent to
collections to the Australian War Museum,
protect Papuan material culture. The Papuan
Sydney (Craig 1996: 222-24).
then in Melbourne. These collections (almost
Antiquities Ordinance, modelled on the Maori
500 objects) were transferred on loan to the
Antiquities Act of 1901 (amended in 1904
Then the Australian Museum ran out of
In 1931-32, correspondence between the
and consolidated in 1908), made it illegal
the same words and expressions. One
to remove antiquities from Papua without
signicant difference (provided for by a
written permission from the Commissioner
1923 amendment) was that the New Guinea
for Native Affairs and Control and without
legislation allowed for the proclamation of
rst offering them for sale at a reasonable
specic objects, rather than simply of types
price to the colonial Administrator. The
of objects, as cultural property restricted
Ordinance dened antiquities as objects
from sale and export. Thus on 19 June 1936,
manufactured with Papuan tools and
a proclamation forbade the acquisition of
according to Papuan methods, a telling
two wooden images of crocodiles, carved
denition given that the term antiquity
with bone and stone tools, at present in the
usually refers to ancient times or objects
village of Mansamei on the Karawari River
of great age. The use of that term was in
in the Sepik District (Craig 1992; Craig 1996:
keeping with the notion that the people who
137-54).
made such objects were living in the past,
The Birth of a National Museum: The

Years of Sir Alan Mann (1959-70)
After the end of the Second World War in
the stone age of human history. Such ideas
1945, the administrations of the Territory of
were consistent with nineteenth and early
Papua and the Territory of New Guinea were
twentieth century European ideas about
amalgamated. Legislation was reviewed
social evolution which sought to explain
and the two antiquities ordinances were
differences between Europeans and other
consolidated into the Territory of Papua
peoples in terms of an evolutionary hierarchy
New Guinea Antiquities Ordinance of 1953.
(Busse 2000).
At about the same time, the Department of
1960s. New staff were recruited and trained,

collections grew, new storage facilities were
constructed, the number of visitors increased
dramatically and the museum was given
responsibility for administering the Territorys
cultural heritage legislation. Throughout this
period, the President of the museums Board
of Trustees was Sir Alan Mann, and it is difcult to overstate the role that he played in
the museums development. Sir Alan arrived
in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in
1958 as Chief Justice and became President
of the Trustees in January 1959, a position he
held until his death in 1970. J.S. Womersley,
who became Acting President of the Trustees
when Sir Alan died, described Sir Alans role in
the changes as follows (TPNGPMAG 1974a: 2):
When Sir Alan took ofce as President
The collecting activities of MacGregor
District Services and Native Affairs, which
and Murray, as well as proposals to establish
administered the Ordinance, initiated an
museums in Papua and in New Guinea,
active collecting program, the primary
were based on these ideas about social
motivation for which was the collecting of
evolution, and on the belief that non-
artifacts before they were lost forever as a
Western cultures would disappear and non-
result of social change (Mann 1960).
Western peoples would die out as a result of
The museum expanded tremendously in the
the collections of the museum were

almost entirely ethnographic. Storage
was inadequate in two spare buildings at
Government House. There was virtually
no opportunity for public display and
certainly no facilities for the scientic
The need to house the objects being
study of collections. Early in 1959 space
Western expansion. European writers, such
collected by the Department of District
was provided in the building which
as the anthropologist W.H.R. Rivers (1922),
Services and Native Affairs led to the pas-
had been vacated by the Port Moresby
argued that, in addition to introducing guns,
sage of the Papua New Guinea Public
General Hospital. The museum achieved
alcohol, repressive labour practices, and new
Museum and Art Gallery Ordinance in
its rst public display galleries although
and fatal diseases, European contact led to
1954. This ordinance established a Board
the space available was inadequate even
social and cultural changes so severe that
of Trustees as a statutory body charged
then as the greater part of the building
Melanesians would lose interest in life and,
with controlling and managing the
as a result, die out. Collecting and protecting
museum, specied that the policies of
cultural objects thus became an urgent
the museum were to be in the interest
project to preserve evidence of a dying
of the community, and appointed the
people.
Government Anthropologist as Curator. Two
conditioning to some rooms. This has
buildings were provided on the grounds of
ensured that, although storage conditions
of 1922 was modelled on the Papuan
Government House in which to store the
are deplorable, some curatorial protection
Antiquities Ordinance of 1913, using
collections (Eoe 1991: 20; Smidt 1977: 227).
of the collections has been possible.
The New Guinea Antiquities Ordinance
was remodelled as the Council Chamber

for the then Legislative Council.
In recent years Sir Alan Mann was
instrumental in having additional storage
rooms built and the introduction of air-
Sir Alan had a particular interest in
the Antiquities Ordinance of 1953 and, apart
(TPNGPMAG 1974a: 17). This enormous
the natural history of Papua New Guinea
from a minor amendment in 1967, is cur-
increase over a relatively short period of time
and personally collected objects for the
rently in force as Chapter 156 of the Laws of
highlighted the serious inadequacies of the
museums natural history collections.
the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
museums storage facilities, a challenge that
The rationale for the museum during the
The Annual Report for 1966 (TPNGPMAG
was partly met through the construction of
1960s remained the collection of natural
1967: 5-6) noted that the administration
history specimens and the preservation of
of the new ordinance was both new to
objects from cultures that were thought
the museums experience and beyond the
arose, Sir Alan began a process of planning
to be disappearing. The Museums Annual
capacity of the museums staff. The Trustees
for the future of the museum by seeking
Report for 1965, for example, suggested that
therefore temporarily delegated power to
advice from international experts, such as the
the museums purpose was to preserve
grant export permits for cultural objects in
Director of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu
materials relating to a vanishing culture
which the museum was not interested to
and the Director of the Australian Museum
and to preserve natural material for intense
eld ofcers in the Department of District
in Sydney. They made suggestions about the
scientic study (TPNGPMAG 1966: 1).
Administration.
goals and organisation of the museum and
The Annual Report for 1967 (TPNGPMAG

1968: 1) reiterated this purpose, stating:
The Trustees have during the year
DDA eld ofcers were also asked to

continue to collect objects for the museum. A
circular requesting this assistance had been
new storage at the old hospital building.

In addition to solving problems as they
possible sources of non-government funding,

the last of which did not lead to anything.
To formalise the planning process, in 1963
continued to follow their established
issued rst in 1953 and again in 1961. In 1965,
the Trustees commissioned a report on the
policy of making the fullest possible
a brief catalogue of the museums collections
museum from W.F. Ellis, Director of the Queen
use of the resources available to them,
was published. This included a list of the
Victoria Museum in Launceston, Tasmania.
concentrating, as a matter of urgency,
data required for specimens collected for the
Ellis visited Port Moresby for two weeks and
upon the salvaging of as much material
museum. The introduction to the catalogue
consulted with a wide range of expatriate
representing the Territorys disappearing
explained:
administration ofcials but apparently
cultures as is possible.
Because of the accelerated change in
very few Papua New Guineans only
the life and culture of the peoples of
members of the Hanuabada Village Council
concern about the accelerated rate at which
Papua and New Guinea, brought about
(TPNGPMAG 1965: 21). He avoided references
material evidence of earlier cultures is
by the crash program of civilising the
to disappearing cultures and provided a
disappearing, a situation which it attributed
people through economic, social, political,
general description of the function of a
The Report went on to state the Trustees
both to modernisation of the outlook of

the native people themselves and to the
activities of overseas collectors. These factors
were making it difcult for the museum
educational, health, scientic and cultural
cultures have been either greatly altered

or completely replaced altogether.
It is intended that as much material
to obtain authentic objects which record
evidence as possible of the past cultures
and illustrate facets of culture or authentic
and traditions will be preserved in this
examples with specic meanings known to
Museum as a permanent record [Papua
the people concerned.
and New Guinea Museum 1966: 1].
The museums goal of salvaging cultural
museum in the following terms (ibid.):
projects, many of the old arts, crafts and
Field staff were asked to collect a wide
A museum establishes a record of the

various physical, biological or cultural
characteristics of any environment by
selecting representative samples from
it which, classied and ordered, form a
microcosm of the whole.
He established the importance of

collections as the record and research on the
objects from disappearing cultures was
range of objects illustrating any phase of
collections as necessary to extract the data
one reason that the Trustees were given
a peoples life (ibid.: 3). Partly as a result of
abiding in them. For this purpose, he wrote
responsibility for administering and
these initiatives, the Museums collections
(ibid.: 22):
enforcing the National Cultural Property
expanded from approximately 4500 objects
collections must be far in excess of
(Preservation) Act of 1965. This Act replaced
in 1960 to more than 14,000 objects in 1970
that required merely for display. Also the
preservation of specimens from deterio-
ethnological material of the native people
preserving signicant collections, education,
ration is of fundamental importance,
of the Territory. Emphasis is placed here
contributing to the development of national
for scientic knowledge is an accumula-
because so much of this material has
identity and national unity, tourism, and
tion of experience requiring to be referred
been taken away and so little is left to
administration of the National Cultural
back to its sources constantly.
preserve as a national heritage. [ibid.: 28]
He concluded by noting that communica-
Property (Preservation) Ordinance of 1965.

He emphasised the importance of
In 1967, to maintain the momentum
tion of the information secured is also essen-
of development begun following the Ellis
collecting and collections in the work of the
tial, through exhibitions and publications.
Report, Sir Alan Mann asked Dr W.D.L. Ride,
museum, arguing that systematic collections
The Ellis Report addressed other issues as
Chairman of the Council of Australian
could provide the basis for educational
well, such as management and infrastructure
Museum Directors and Director of the
programs for Papua New Guineans as well as
(ibid.: 23-32), and led to the secondment
Western Australian Museum, to prepare a
encourage tourists to purchase handicrafts,
of a full-time secretary to the museum and
comprehensive report on the museum with
to visit places of interest and to appreciate
the recruitment of Roy Mackay, who joined
recommendations for its future development.
the cultural achievements of the people
the museum as Preparator-in-Charge in
Ride drew on reports by the Trustees for the
of the Territory. While he noted that there
October 1964. Mackay, who had previously
years 1963 to 1966, a 1964 Report of the
was a particular urgency and justication
worked as a preparator at the Australian
Commission on Higher Education in Papua
for making museum collections(1967: 13)
Museum, initiated a program to train Papua
New Guinea, a 1966 survey of published
in the Territory because of the rapid social
New Guineans to carry out the work of the
information on archaeological sites in Papua
change that was taking place, he did not
museum as well as to encourage more Papua
New Guinea prepared by Graeme Pretty of
see collecting as simply a salvage activity
New Guineans to visit. These programs,
the South Australian Museum (Pretty 1967a),
in which authentic objects were collected
together with increased numbers of tourists
and a December 1967 report by Pretty on the
before it was too late. Instead, he argued
visiting the Territory, contributed to the
state of the archaeological and ethnological
that the museum in Papua New Guinea
dramatic increase in visitors, expanding from
collections in the PNG museum. These
could function as a critical component in
3600 in 1962 to 22,650 in 1970.
documents, together with interviews with
the development of national identity and
about twenty people in the Territory who
national unity, an important tool to allow
of branch museums to serve the needs of
had knowledge of the museum, allowed
people to see their own small communities
people who were unable to visit Port Moresby.
Ride to provide both a broad assessment
(and their own familiar cultures) as part of a
This suggestion by Ellis may have motivated
of the museums situation and detailed
national whole (Ride 1967: 11).
Peter Fox, the President of the Rotary Club in
recommendations for its future direction.
Ellis also recommended the establishment
Goroka, to commence work in 1964 on the
Ride noted that, at the time of his visit, the

museum was located in an inadequate space
Rides report (1967) can be seen
establishment of a museum in that town.
as a natural progression from the
in the basement of the House of Assembly,
This museum was named the J.K. McCarthy
recommendations made by Ellis. Considered
a building that had previously been the
Museum and opened to the public in 1968
together, the two reports laid much of the
European hospital. The collections, which
as a branch of the Museum in Port Moresby
groundwork for the National Museum as it
at that time numbered about 8000 objects
(MBagintao 1991).
currently exists, especially in their discussion
were kept in a storeroom that was only 1200
Building on Elliss report, the Trustees
of the place of the museum in Papua New
square feet in area, although an additional
made it clear that they wanted the museum
Guinea society and their emphasis on the
storeroom of 620 square feet was being built.
to develop from an institution run by a group
development of professional museum staff
According to Ride (1967: 20):
of interested amateurs (TPNGPMAG 1966: 7)
and the training of Papua New Guineans to
The displays in the Museum are
into a highly professional national institution:
carry out the work of the museum.
characterised by magnicent material,
The Museum is principally concerned

in collecting the ethnographic and
Ride identied ve general functions

for the museum documenting and
much of which is seriously in need of

proper conservative measures [The
objects] are deteriorating as a result of
New Guinea which was located nearby.
involved has been provided by Craig (1996,
atmospheric action, exposure to natural
Despite the benets that might come from
Chapters 7, 8).
light, and through the destructive action
such a relationship, Ride was emphatic
of cleaning which is made necessary by
that the museum and university should
Transition to Independence
remain separate, arguing that university
A striking feature of Rides report on the state
departments should not be burdened with
of the museum in 1967 eight years before
Equally disturbing was the lack of
collections and the museum should not
Independence is that not one of the people
information about many of the objects in
have to compete directly with teaching
who he interviewed concerning the museum
the collections. This, Ride argued, was the
departments for funds.
and its future development was a Papua New
inadequate display furniture, such as

show cases, in poorly glazed galleries.
result of the absence of staff qualied for
With regard to staff, Ride recommended
Guinean. The twenty or so people whom he
curatorial duties. He noted that The Trustees
the initial appointment of a director and a
interviewed while he was in the Territory
employ no senior academically qualied
curator, one with expertise in anthropology
were all expatriates. Such an approach would
professional staff (ibid.: 21). At that time, the
or archaeology and the other with expertise
have been unthinkable only a few years later.
staff consisted of the Preparator-in-Charge,
in zoology, to be followed by a second
Roy Mackay, and three Papua New Guineans,
curator and a registrar within a year of
the museum Trustees but was not
only one of whom had any education. Rides
the initial appointments. The director and
accepted in principle by the Minister for
conclusion (ibid.) in this regard was clear:
the two curators were to be experienced
Territories (TPNGPMAG 1974a: 3) because
museum professionals and thus expatriates,
allocation of funding for implementing
since indigenous personnel at the required
the recommendations was not, at that
level of training are not yet available. Roy
time, considered realistic (Craig 1996: 252).
Mackay, the Preparator-in-Charge, Ride
Therefore, few changes took place at the
are trained to employ such data and
suggested, should be given responsibility for
museum until 1971 when it became a
whose professional reputations depend
training Papua New Guineans as museum
statutory authority and Michael Somare
upon their precision and reliability. It
technicians in the areas of museum display
became President of the Board of Trustees.
is unreasonable for any government
and materials conservation.
He replaced J.S. Womersley who had been
The only way to ensure that data in a

museum collection are adequate to
meet professional requirements is for the
museum to have staff who themselves
Rides report was well received by
In the light of later developments,
the Acting President since Sir Alan Manns
be possessed as a matter of intuition
perhaps his most remarkable suggestion
death the previous year. Somare was then
by untrained staff. The situation in Port
(1967: 19) was:
a Member of the House of Assembly;
or trustees to expect this awareness to
Moresby can only be corrected by placing

persons in charge who are qualied.
Rides recommendations emphasised
In the event of there being little support
in 1972 he became Chief Minister, and
from the indigenous population, informed
on Independence in 1975, the countrys
opinion in Australia might well hold that
rst Prime Minister. He moved quickly to
the need for a new museum building and
a museum is something that Australia
put Papua New Guineans in charge of
the development of a professional museum
should give to the developing nation,
the museum and to implement some of
staff beginning with the appointment of
and see established before there is a
Rides more signicant recommendations,
a director. A site in June Valley had already
transfer of political responsibility, because
particularly those concerning museum staff
been allocated as the location for a new
without experience of the advantages to
and the construction of a museum building.
museum building (not the site where the
be gained from a museum the new nation
National Museum is at present located), and
might leave the development of one until
Ride argued that this site would facilitate

a close working relationship between the
museum and relevant departments at the
recently established University of Papua
too late for it to record the nations own

vanishing culture.
In 1972, seven new trustees were

appointed, ve of whom were Papua New
Guineans. Also, in February of that year,
Dirk Smidt became the rst director of the
In fact, that is what happened; a detailed

account of the negotiations and politics
museum, replacing Roy Mackay who had

been in charge for more than seven years.
Fig. 1. Cartoon by Bob Brown (reproduced from

TPNGPMAG 1976b: 39).
Not long after his appointment, Smidt took

two critical steps toward asserting Papua
New Guineas control over its cultural
heritage.
First, he asked the Council of Australian
Museum Directors for the repatriation
of collections from Australian museums,
especially those made by MacGregor and
Murray. After considerable discussion it was
agreed that
The Conference of Museum Directors
recommends to Boards of Trustees
that when the new Papua New Guinea
Museum building is completed,
representative cultural material of
Papua New Guinean origin held in
their museums be returned to Papua
New Guinea. The Conference further
recommends that this material be
returned as a gift. [TPNGPMAG 1976a: 12]
Second, in June 1972, museum ofcers,

together with Customs and Police authorities,
raided cargo sheds, shops and houses in
Wewak and Madang and seized more than
a hundred culturally signicant objects,
including objects which had been gazetted
as proclaimed cultural property under
provisions of the National Cultural Property
(Preservation) Ordinance of 1965. Many of
these objects were already packed and ready
to be smuggled out of the country. They were
the subject of the rst catalogue produced
by what is now the National Museum, a
catalogue titled The Seized Collections of the
Papua New Guinea museum (Smidt 1975).
In 1973, planning began for the
construction of the present museum building
at a new site in Waigani, next to where
Parliament House would later be built. The
initial plans, drawn up by the Commonwealth
Department of Works, were rejected by the
Trustees because the proposed building
Fig. 2. PNG National Museum & Art Gallery, Waigani

(PNG National Museum Photo Archives #003402).
Fig. 3. PNG National Museum & Art Gallery, Waigani.

Photo: B. Craig, 1979.
did not reect traditional architecture

and because it was thought that Papua
New Guineans would not identify with it.
New plans were drawn up and eventually
approved by the Trustees in June 1974. The
building was to be funded by the National
Cultural Council from a cultural development
grant of $5 million made by the Australian
Government in 1973. Construction began in
1975 (Fig. 1) and was completed in 1977. The
National Museum and Art Gallery was opened
by Michael Somare, President of the museums
Board of Trustees and Prime Minister, on
Monday 27 June 1977 (NMAG 1980).
The building is a purpose-built museum
with air conditioning and humidity control.
In addition to large exhibition spaces, an
open-air theatre and a central courtyard for
live animals and birds, it has ve storerooms,
ofce and laboratory space, workshops, a
library, and a small shop (Figs 2, 3). At the
opening ceremony (Fig. 4), Michael Somare
made it clear that the museum was more
than the building and its purpose went
beyond simply collecting and preserving
objects:
it will not be sufcient just to preserve
the traditional past. Culture must be a live,
dynamic thing What is important is
that we have a culture which is clearly of
Papua New Guinea and not a second-rate
imitation of another culture. What matters
is that we have a culture which reects
our life, our aspirations, our feelings.
[Smidt 1977: 227]
Michael Somare outlined further plans for
position was localised and by 1978 the
localising the museum (TPNGPMAG 1976b: ii):
six remaining key positions will be lled

by national ofcers. The Museum will
By the time Papua New Guinea became

independent in 1975, the transition to a
museum run by Papua New Guineans was
under way. Geoffrey Mosuwadoga, an artist
We believe that the year ending 30/6/76

was a year of considerable achievement.
be completely managed by Papua New

Guinean ofcers by 1979.
The Trustees of the Papua New Guinea

Public Museum and Art Gallery have
Thus, almost ninety years after a museum
and Lecturer in Painting at the National Arts
taken major steps in localising the
was rst proposed by Musgrave, Papua New
School, became the rst Papua New Guinean
positions held by expatriate ofcers
Guinea had a museum of which it could be
director of the museum in February 1975.
in the Museum. In 1975 the Directors
justiably proud. And less than eight years
Fig. 4. The Rt Honourable Michael Somare, then

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, beating a
slit-gong at the opening of the National Museum,
27 June 1977. Photo: A.L. Crawford.
after Ride reviewed the museums situation

and made recommendations for its future
without consulting a single Papua New
Guinean, the museums Trustees were, with
only two exceptions, all Papua New Guineans,
as was the director.
The National Museum after

Independence
Dirk Smidt, who became Assistant to the
Director when Geoffrey Mosuwadoga was
appointed director in 1975, described the
National Museum as it was at Independence
(Smidt 1977). There were more than 20,000
ethnographic objects in the museum but
many had little or no information associated
with them. Further, the collections were
uneven, with some parts of the country well
represented while other areas were hardly
represented at all. He wrote that, even in
the mid-1970s, the National Museum had
insufcient funds to purchase objects on the
international art market despite the fact that
the Papua New Guinea Government doubled
the museums budget at Independence. Also,
some parts of the museums collections were
small in comparison with collections outside
Papua New Guinea. Overseas museums, for
example, had thousands of malagan gures
from New Ireland while the National Museum
employed as an Assistant Curator with the
the 1990s were a time of consolidation
had only a dozen. These matters could only
intention that these people would soon take
during which new storage and retrieval
be put right, Smidt argued, through the co-
over from the expatriate Curators.
systems were developed and information
operation of overseas museums that might
Issues concerning staff and collections
about the collections was computerised. As
agree to transfer some of their holdings to
raised by Smidt in 1977 have continued to be
in the 1970s, the collections remain uneven
Papua New Guinea (ibid.: 231).
prominent during the twenty-ve years since
in terms of geographical distribution, types
According to Smidt (ibid.: 228), several
he wrote. The collections have continued to
of objects and associated information.
Papua New Guineans, including the director,
grow through a combination of donations,
had received overseas museum training and
repatriation and eld collecting by museum
of objects added to the collections since
held positions of considerable responsibility
ofcers and other researchers. Today, the
Independence were from MacGregors
in the museum. Each of the scientic
museums ethnographic collections consist
ofcial collection. Between 1979 and 1992,
departments, for example, had a graduate
of more than 30,000 objects. Much of this
by mutual agreement between the Papua
of the University of Papua New Guinea
increase took place during the 1980s, while
New Guinea National Museum and the
Approximately 3300 of the total number
Queensland Museum, almost 6000 objects
is well qualied to carry out the museums
with dynamic contemporary manifestations
were divided up with 55 per cent going to
responsibilities.
of Papua New Guinea culture, including

music and performance, has been an
Papua New Guinea. Almost 2300 spears,

bows and arrows await selection to complete
Conclusion
orientation of the National Museum since
the repatriation process (Quinnell 2000:
Anthropologists who have studied culture
Independence. The National Museum is
97). The value of the MacGregor collection
contact have long noted that what is
also the National Art Gallery and has a
for the National Museum is immeasurable,
signicant about the adoption of foreign
collection of contemporary art. The outdoor
having immense signicance historically
objects, ideas or institutions is not the
amphitheatre provides the opportunity
and ethnographically. Thus, after more than
fact that they are adopted, but how they
for performances by the National Theatre
seventy-ve years, MacGregors intention that
are culturally redened and used. Not
Company, Raun Raun Theatre and other
the objects he collected should be returned
surprisingly, during the decades since the
performance groups. This is vitally important
to New Guinea was honoured. Negotiations
foundation of the museum in Port Moresby
since it is central to how at least some Papua
for the Hubert Murray and Rabaul Museum
in 1954, it has been transformed from a
New Guineans think about national identity.
collections, now in the National Museum
colonial institution to one more in keeping
As Papua New Guinea historian Professor
of Australia in Canberra, have not yet
with Papua New Guinea ideas and values.
John Waiko (1993: 217) has written, In the
commenced.
Prominent Papua New Guineans writing
eyes of many Papua New Guineans, the
at the time of Independence signalled a
country found a national identity through
of Trustees has been completely localised
shift in the purpose and rationale of the
a blending of ancient and modern in the
and Soroi Marepo Eoe, an anthropologist
National Museum away from being simply
expressive arts. Bernard Narokobi, in a book
with a BA from the University of Papua New
a repository for traditional objects and a
on the contemporary arts of Papua New
Guinea, succeeded Geoffrey Mosuwadoga
place for scientic research to an institution
Guinea, argued (1990: 20-1):
as director in 1988. Thus the management
actively engaged in the process of nation
The contemporary art depicted by the
of the museum, and responsibility for
building based on shared history and
artists represented in this book have
the enforcement of the countrys cultural
common cultural values. The then-director,
a unique place in Papua New Guinea
heritage legislation, have been entirely in
Geoffrey Mosuwadoga, described the aims
history. They are our national treasures,
the hands of Papua New Guineans since
of the museum in the following terms
Independence. On the other hand, the
(TPNGPMAG 1976b: 14):
Since 1976 the National Museums Board
ambitious program of localisation set out

by Michael Somare in 1976, in which the
museum was to be staffed completely by
Papua New Guineans by 1979, took longer
The Papua New Guinea Public Museum

and Art Gallery is the house of spirits,
surrounded by the decorative ornaments
made by our craftsmen as material gifts
to be realised than Somare imagined. Three
to these unseen beings. The Museum
senior scientic positions continued to be
is not an institution for great external
occupied by expatriates until the late 1990s,
admiration stored with the countrys
although there was a dramatic increase in
valuable treasures, but a place of spiritual
the mid-1990s in the number of Papua New
values. It is a place not only for the past
Guineans with university degrees (including
but for the present and future traditional
post-graduate qualications) working in
arts.
the museum. This growing contingent of

professional Papua New Guinean ofcers
The coexistence and even integration of

culturally signicant objects from the past
the worlds treasures, for in a very real

sense they express what lies deep in our
hearts, a longing to be new, yet rooted in
our rich and ancient past.
This catalogue of the Masterpieces

Exhibition of the Papua New Guinea National
Museum documents something of this rich
and ancient past.
Notes
1. For a history of this collection, see Quinnell
1981, 2000.
2. For an account of the Papuan Ofcial (Hubert
Murray) Collection, see Craig 1995 and 1996:
222-28.
3. In this report (1967b: 90), Pretty acknowledges
input from Papua New Guinean visitors to the
museum.
Chapter 3 The Work of the National Museum

Mark Busse
The Preamble to the Constitution of
the National Museum, and these are repro-
Guinea art including drawings, paintings and
Papua New Guinea recognises the worthy
duced as Appendix 1 to this book. In gen-
sculptures. This signicant collection docu-
customs and traditional wisdoms of our
eral, however, the work of the Museum can
ments the creativity of Papua New Guineas
people which have come down to us from
be summarised in terms of collections and
artists and the innovative ways in which they
generation to generation, and pledges to
conservation, research, public education, and
use new materials and media to combine tra-
guard and pass on to those who come after
enforcement of cultural heritage legislation,
ditional themes and styles of representation
us our noble traditions.
to which I now turn.
with contemporary experience.

Ensuring that these large and varied col-
The National Museum and Art Gallery is

a cultural, scientic and educational institu-
Collections and conservation
lections are stored and displayed safely is the

responsibility of the Museums Department
tion devoted to protecting and understanding the countrys cultural and natural herit-
The Museums collections are large, and a
of Materials Conservation. This department is
age and preserving it for the people of Papua
crucial aspect of the work of the Museum is
responsible for the physical well-being of all
New Guinea and their descendants. It does
their preservation. Of equal importance is the
specimens in the Museum and monitors the
this by assembling and preserving national
collection and preservation of knowledge
environment inside the buildings (tempera-
collections of cultural, historical and natural
about the objects in the collections. The eth-
ture, humidity and other factors), takes steps
history specimens, by carrying out research
nographic collections, for example, include
to ensure that pests cannot damage speci-
on these collections, by educating the public
more than 30,000 objects from all parts of
mens, ensures that procedures are in place
through exhibitions and publications, and by
the country, ranging in size from small items
in case of re or natural disaster, and treats
enforcing cultural heritage and war surplus
of body decoration to an entire ocean-going
objects that arrive at the Museum in poor
legislation. These activities are the basic work
canoe. The archaeological collections are
condition.
of the National Museum.
similarly large and contain critical evidence
The National Museum and Art Gallery is

an independent statutory authority functioning under the National Museum and
about the 50,000 years of human history in

what is now Papua New Guinea.
The Museums natural history collections
Research
Archaeologists, anthropologists, biologists,
Art Gallery Act of 1992 and governed by a
reect Papua New Guineas tremendous bio-
and historians employed by the National
Board of Trustees made up of prominent
logical diversity and contain many type spec-
Museum carry out research with the aim of
Papua New Guinea citizens. The Museum
imens for particular species.1 The National
adding to our knowledge and understand-
is located next to the National Parliament
Museum is seeking funds for a new building
ing of the prehistory, cultural diversity, natu-
on Independence Drive in Waigani. It is the
to house the natural history exhibitions and
ral history and recent history of Papua New
home of the national archaeological and eth-
collections as part of the proposed develop-
Guinea. Some of this research directly con-
nographic collections, the terrestrial verte-
ment of Constitution Park in Waigani.
cerns objects in the Museums collections.
In addition to these collections, the
For example, a museum artifact is of limited
the history collection, and the contemporary
Museum has a signicant collection of
value without information such as how and
art collection. Selected items from these col-
objects from Papua New Guineas colonial
where it was collected, who made it, how and
lections are displayed in the Museums gal-
and postcolonial history, including many
when it was made, the purpose for which it
leries, which are open to the public without
objects from World War II. These are kept at
was made, and what the cultural beliefs and
charge. The majority of the collections are
the Museums Modern History Department in
symbolism associated with it are. The storage
preserved for the future in environmentally
Gordons. The National Museum is also seek-
and organisation of information associated
controlled storerooms where they are used
ing funds for a new Modern History Museum
with objects and specimens in the Museums
for research and changing exhibitions.
as part of its plans for Constitution Park.
collections is a major part of the Museums
brate portion of the national fauna collection,
Section 4 of the National Museum and Art

Gallery Act lists twenty specic functions of
Finally, the Museum has a small, but growing, collection of contemporary Papua New
work, increasingly carried out with computers. Also, because many of the artifacts in the
The Work of the National Museum 15
Museum particularly those from the late
publications, and exhibitions incorporating
(Preservation) Act of 1965. These objects,
19th and early 20th centuries were col-
objects from the Museums collections.
which are of great importance to the cultural
lected with little or no information, there is
The Museum has large permanent exhibi-
heritage of the country, cannot be bought,
an urgent need to examine archival sources
tions devoted to Papua New Guineas natu-
sold or even moved without written consent
and to go into the eld to nd people who
ral history, artistic achievements and mate-
from the Trustees of the National Museum.
can provide this information.
rial culture. It also has a regular program of
Many of these objects are still located in
temporary exhibitions that may include over-
the villages where they were made, and
undertake research that adds to our gen-
seas content. During the last decade, there
the National Museum has a legal and moral
eral knowledge and understanding of Papua
has been an exhibition of photographs of
responsibility to inspect them and report on
New Guinea and of the cultural creativity
archaeological sites in Israel, an exhibition
their condition at regular intervals. If such
and diversity of its people. Applied research,
commemorating the anniversary of the intro-
objects are missing, investigations must be
in the form of consultancies for companies
duction of Papua New Guineas national cur-
made to nd out where they are and how
and government departments, is also car-
rency, exhibitions of contemporary art, and
they came to be moved. If necessary, legal
ried out. Archaeological surveys, for exam-
an exhibition about the mining and petro-
action may be taken to seek their recovery.
ple, are carried out during the planning
leum industry in Papua New Guinea. More
and construction phases of development
recently in 2002, there was an exhibition of
(Preservation) Act of 1965 also regulates the
projects. Such surveys are required under
photographs documenting the impact of
export of artifacts and prohibits the export
Papua New Guineas environmental legisla-
the July 1998 tsunami that devastated sev-
of items that the Museum considers impor-
tion to ensure that development projects do
eral villages along the north coast of the West
tant to the cultural heritage of the country.
not damage or destroy evidence that con-
Sepik (Sandaun) Province. This exhibition
Common objects such as contemporary bas-
tributes to our understanding of the human
went on tour to several provinces to publicise
kets, woven arm bands, string bags, walk-
history of Papua New Guinea. Staff of the
the need to plan and facilitate emergency
ing sticks, and model canoes and houses, are
Modern History Department co-operate with
responses to natural disasters.
exempted from the provisions of the Act and
At the National Museum, scientic staff
do not require an export permit. Objects not
researchers from Japan, the United States

and Australia to identify and investigate sites
thought to contain human remains from
The National Cultural Property
Enforcement of cultural heritage

legislation
exempted from the provisions of the Act, and

also not listed as proclaimed national cultural
property, must be inspected by museum
World War II. Archaeologists, anthropologists

and biologists from the Museum have con-
In addition to assembling and caring for the
ofcers, and a permit must be issued in
tributed to a wide range of feasibility studies
national collections, carrying out research
order for them to be legally exported. The
related to conservation and development.
and engaging in public education, the
Museum works closely with Papua New
National Museum is responsible for enforc-
Guinea Customs and the Royal Papua New
ing Papua New Guineas cultural heritage leg-
Guinea Constabulary, as well as with Customs
Public education
islation. The National Museum and Art Gallery
bureaus in other countries, to prevent the
As a result of its large and varied collections
Act of 1992 requires the Museum to main-
smuggling of Papua New Guineas cultural
and its program of research, the National
tain a register of cultural and archaeologi-
heritage.
Museum is a unique institution for pub-
cal sites which is consulted during the plan-
In addition to the National Cultural
lic education. The Museum works closely
ning of development projects to make sure
Property (Preservation) Act of 1965, the
with primary and secondary schools to pro-
that such sites are not damaged or destroyed.
National Museum is also responsible for
vide curriculum materials and guided tours
The Museum also maintains a register of
administering the War Surplus Material
of the Museums galleries for school groups.
objects that have been gazetted as pro-
Act (Chapter 331, amended 2003). This Act
Further, the results of research carried out by
claimed national cultural property under the
declares all objects in Papua New Guinea that
museum staff are communicated through
provisions of the National Cultural Property
previously belonged to combatants in World
16 Living Spirits and Fixed Abodes
War II to be the property of the Independent
unity and national identity. Many of the
come, perhaps, through partnerships with
State of Papua New Guinea. People wanting
Museums responsibilities are legal respon-
museums in Australia, Japan, the United
to collect or export such objects must there-
sibilities, given both by its own legislation
States and Europe. Such partnerships could
fore obtain permission from the Trustees of
(the National Museum and Art Gallery Act of
provide training, practical assistance with
the National Museum acting on behalf of the
1992), and by virtue of its responsibilities for
computerisation of catalogues, collection
State. Day-to-day administration of the War
administering the National Cultural Property
management, conservation, research and the
Surplus Material Act is the responsibility of the
(Preservation) Act of 1965 and the War Surplus
preparation of exhibitions and publications. A
Museums Department of Modern History.
Materials Act of 2003.
vigorous program of activities at the Museum
Despite these large responsibilities and
Conclusion
would then attract and retain professional
their national signicance, over the last dec-
staff who might otherwise seek employment
ade the National Museum (along with many
elsewhere.
Papua New Guinea faces signicant eco-
The importance of safeguarding Papua
other government agencies) has received
New Guineas cultural heritage is explicitly
decreasing funding in real terms. This has
nomic and technical challenges in meet-
acknowledged in the Constitution. The mate-
made it difcult for the Museum to add
ing the expectations and aspirations of its
rial manifestations of Papua New Guineas
important cultural objects to its collec-
people. In the case of the National Museum,
many cultures the objects which Papua
tions, carry out research, mount exhibitions,
these challenges include professional devel-
New Guineans have made and used along
extend its educational programs beyond the
opment as well as obtaining sufcient fund-
with the ideas, beliefs and values associated
Museum itself, and to enforce cultural herit-
ing to carry out the work of the Museum.
with those objects, not only demonstrate
age legislation. Further, it has made it increas-
Given decreasing funding in real terms from
Papua New Guineas great cultural diversity
ingly difcult to employ well-qualied Papua
the Papua New Guinea Government, the
but also link Papua New Guineans together.
New Guinean staff. These people have many
National Museum will require support and
Visitors to the Museums galleries are able
responsibilities and occupy technical and
assistance from other sources, including over-
to distinguish differences between objects
scientic positions that require university
seas sources, if it is to carry out its vital cura-
from different parts of the country but also
degrees, as well as specialised museum train-
torial, legislative and moral responsibilities.
may notice similarities in function, form and
ing that is not available within the country.
designs.
Employment by private enterprise usually
The National Museum plays a cru-
provides salaries that are higher than those
cial role in protecting and preserving the
offered by the museum so it is difcult to
countrys cultural and natural heritage,
recruit and retain professional staff.
and thus in developing a sense of national
Notes
1
A type specimen is a specimen that denes the features for its species and with which other specimens are compared, in order to determine whether
they belong to the same, or a different, species.
These various obstacles may be over-
The Work of the National Museum 17
Chapter 4 The Role of the National Museum in

Contemporary Papua New Guinea Society
Soroi Marepo Eoe
As an adjunct to the scientic role of
Introduction
aware of their signicance. Bernard Narokobi
Museums are often associated with dino-
museums in collecting, storing and studying
(1983: 107) suggested as much when he
saur skeletons, human skulls, stuffed animals
specimens of natural history, colonial gov-
wrote:
and dusty old artifacts. For many Pacic peo-
ernments extended these activities to items
ples, dead should be buried; certain artifacts
of indigenous material cultural heritage.
should be destroyed after they have been
Collections were made, before it has become
used in ceremonies. Museums in the Pacic
too late (Quinnell 2000), in the face of serious
still are seen today as a foreign, unfamiliar
threats to traditional cultures posed by the
fused with physical objects of cultural or
concept. The museums role as a scientic
activities of government, Christian missionar-
aesthetic or religious signicance. While
research and educational institution in the
ies and overseas collectors of tribal arts. This
physical objects may change in value with
service of society has been little understood
has contributed to the view among some
change in social values, our abstract val-
by the people in general or by government in
Pacic peoples that museums are foreign
ues respect for the aged, sharing,
particular. Government planners and nance
in concept, and their collections are accu-
community life, reconciliation, loyalty,
people view museums as warehouses of for-
mulations of exotic curios from the almost-
courage, sympathy, tolerance, obedience,
gotten relics. Why should scarce resources
forgotten past, having no contemporary rel-
humour, popular participation, co-opera-
be used to maintain a museum when its
evance (Eoe & Swadling 1991: 1).
contributions to national welfare and Gross

Domestic Product are so difcult to identify
for and, where appropriate, continuation

and development of our rich traditional
values. These values are not to be con-
tion, acceptance of death, self-reliance,

and countless others remain useful and
Traditional Keeping Places

But museums are not a concept entirely for-
and measure?
We must develop a sense of appreciation
relevant now as ever before.
Many people think that objects from the
eign to Pacic peoples. In most societies, con-
ancestral past have no relevance in the con-
were once thought to be. They are becoming
scious efforts are made to safeguard objects
text of a world dominated by Western values
more innovative in the face of a wide range
and places of historical and religious impor-
and traditions, that such objects belong with
of competing entertainments and sources of
tance. In Papua New Guinea, our ancestors
history and that the study of history is merely
information such as the Internet. Museums
stored objects of spiritual, ceremonial and
an intellectual pursuit. But history provides
worldwide are taking centre stage in their
artistic signicance in caves or in special
the foundation, the connection, the legitimacy
contributions to science, education and serv-
houses such as the eravo in the Papuan Gulf
to who we are. It establishes the identity of a
ice to society, even contributing to national
or the haus tambaran (spirit house) of the
family, clan, or tribe and identies the rights
income by attracting tourists.
Sepik-Ramu region.
and obligations of an individual within soci-
But museums are not the institutions they
Although traditional keeping places and
ety, including rights to land and magico-reli-
Historical Perspective
museums differ in their roles, the objects
gious knowledge. A person who claims there
Museums in the Pacic, particularly in Papua
stored in them are the tangible manifesta-
is no history is like an illegitimate child who
tions of cultural heritage, carrying the col-
does not wish to know his past because he
century colonial experience. This period was
lective consciousness and memories of the
does not have one. The role of the Papua New
characterised by an extremely rapid growth
people who made and used them in their
Guinea National Museum is to draw atten-
in scientic knowledge. Industrial and com-
domestic, political, religious and ceremo-
tion to the foundation and historical depth
mercial expansion went hand-in-hand with
nial lives. These objects mediate the associa-
of some 50,000 years of cultural heritage and
rapidly changing geo-political and economic
tion between man and the natural world and
to its richness and vitality. But to concentrate
boundaries. Museums, libraries and art galler-
between man and the spiritual world. These
only on the past would be to deny the evolv-
ies provided the means by which European
associations change a lot more slowly than
ing and dynamic nature of culture. Therefore
colonists kept in touch with their home cul-
the items of material culture they gave rise to,
there must be a balance between material
ture and maintained a sense of their commu-
so although many of the objects in museums
objects and non-material values, between the
nal identity.
are from the past, most Pacic peoples are
past and the present, for the sake of the future.
New Guinea, owe their origins to the 19
th
The Role of the National Museum in Contemporary Papua New Guinea Society 19
National Identity
and Art Gallery is part of the heritage that
ofcers on patrol. These collections were sent
The International Council of Museums (ICOM)
binds the people of this nation together. The
to Brisbane by MacGregor, and to Sydney,
denes the museum as a:
National Museum therefore has a central role
then to Canberra, by Murray, until such time
in facilitating the opening commitment of
as a suitable museum could be established
the Constitution of the Independent State of
in Papua New Guinea. The MacGregor col-
Papua New Guinea:
lection has been undergoing a process of
non-prot making, permanent institution, in the service of society and its development, and open to the public, which
acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for the purpose of
study, education and enjoyment, mate-
We, the people of Papua New Guinea
repatriation but the Murray collection awaits
s
UNITEDINONENATION
the commencement of negotiations. The
s
PAYHOMAGETOTHEMEMORYOF
National Museum therefore has another
our ancestors the source of our
important role, apart from fostering national
rial evidence of mankind and its develop-
strength and origin of our combined
ment. [Boylan 1992: 12]
Not mentioned, though implicit in this
heritage
s
ACKNOWLEDGETHEWORTHYCUSTOMS
denition, is the issue of identity. From the
and traditional wisdoms of our peo-
viewpoint of developing countries, the role
ple which have come down to us

from generation to generation
of a national museum could be expanded

beyond safeguarding the nations material
s
PLEDGEOURSELVESTOGUARDANDPASS
unity and identity, and that is to recover

the material cultural heritage temporarily
removed from the country during the colonial administration.
Complementary Role
cultural heritage and using it for scientic
on to those who come after us our
The last century has seen phenomenal
enquiry and public education, to include the
noble traditions [Narokobi 1993:
growth and change globally. Mobility and
118]
social interaction among peoples and
promotion of national identity.

Peoples who are still under the control
nations have increased at the same time
Repatriation
as the gap between rich and poor has wid-
won their independence, see cultural herit-
The Papua and New Guinea Museum and
ened and the environment has degraded as a
age as central to the building of national con-
Art Gallery was established in 1954 and of-
direct result of the activities of transnational
sciousness, freedom and identity. Museums
cially became the National Museum and Art
and multinational companies. Where they go,
can function as the glue that holds people
Gallery in 1979, although it was commonly
they leave behind scars, footprints and shad-
and varying interests together for the com-
referred to as the National Museum after
ows in their quest to satisfy the requirement
mon good. Given the extraordinary cultural,
Independence in 1975, and was sometimes
for shareholder prot.
linguistic and ethnic diversity of Papua New
called that even as early as 1965. The National
Guinea, the primary role of the National
Museum houses over 30,000 items of mate-
been signicant changes in the way muse-
Museum must be to safeguard the national
rial culture (excluding archaeological mate-
ums across the world have responded to
consciousness, sovereignty and identity of
rial) from the nations 750 or so language
these facts museums are changing from
this nation.
groups, although only about thirty of those
collections-oriented to service-oriented insti-
groups are well-represented and another
tutions, from being static storehouses for
West political, legal, educational and eco-
thirty fairly well represented. The idea of a
artifacts to institutions providing a service.
nomic systems enables Papua New Guinea
museum for Port Moresby goes back to Sir
This change in function has meant a radical
to function in the modern world. There is
William MacGregor, followed up by the dedi-
re-organisation of the whole culture of muse-
a danger, however, that these systems will
cation of Sir Hubert Murray and, post-World
ums staff structure, attitudes and work
end up controlling us and determining our
War II, of Sir Donald Cleland (see Chapter
ethics. Museums are beginning to use their
priorities and identity. Our political independ-
2). Their efforts resulted in the restriction of
collections of objects to create bridges with
ence and survival as a unique people rests on
export of certain items of material culture,
the communities that support them, stimu-
the cultural heritage of this nation. The cul-
and the accumulation of representative col-
lating meaningful dialogue and lasting part-
tural material held by the National Museum
lections from areas visited by government
nerships. The National Museum has taken the
of a colonial power, or who have recently
Everything we have inherited from the
Over the last decade or so there have
initiative to respond to these challenges. The
so on. The purpose of the exhibition was to
Unless economic development is placed
most signicant of these are in the areas of
show what these organisations do from the
in an appropriate cultural and social con-
Social Commentary, Advocacy and The Living
preliminary stages of searching and testing,
text it will be forever damaging to culture
Museum.
through consultation with the various inter-
and society and therefore more expensive
ested parties, to the production stage. This
Social Commentary
demonstrated the importance of planning,
Museums have a role to play in leading their
dialogue and consultation between differ-
communities to an appreciation of their cul-
ent interest groups such as the developer, the
in the long term both nancially, in areas

such as civil order and health, and politically. [Eoe & Swadling 1991: 270]
The Mining and Petroleum exhibition,
tural heritage and ethnic identity. Museums
government and the landowners regarding
cited above, summarised the process by
are distinguished from other educational
environmental, social and economic impacts.
which different parties negotiate to arrive at
and social institutions by their collections.
This exhibition attracted many comments
a settlement but it did not explore problems
The signicance of these collections is com-
from the public and demonstrated that mul-
associated with national legislation, govern-
municated by means of exhibitions, publi-
tinational companies have learnt from previ-
mental policy or international conventions.
cations, interactive and hands-on presenta-
ous experiences, such as the troubles at the
Sometimes there is an impasse because of
tions, videos, demonstrations, workshops and
Panguna Copper Mine on Bougainville, that
contesting issues. For example, governmen-
seminars. There is the danger, however, of the
there has to be fully transparent consultation
tal policy supporting development may be in
communication becoming one-way trafc
and dialogue.
accordance with national legislation but con-
from the National Museum to the community
Other exhibitions, organised jointly
trary to international conventions to which
providing little or no opportunity for dia-
between the National Museum and commu-
Papua New Guinea is a party; or pragmatic
logue. Ways of dealing with this problem are
nity groups, addressed issues of concern to
nancial considerations may over-ride both
in their infancy.
women and young people. Assistance and
national legislation and international conven-
involvement was obtained from international
tions. In such cases the National Museum can
about the collections but also be involved in
organisations such as the European Union,
highlight the socio-cultural, biological and
public discussion about issues beyond the
the United Nations Development Program
environmental costs and benets of proceed-
connes of the collections, issues that affect
and UNESCO. Issues of public engagement,
ing with a particular development.
the lives of ordinary people on a daily basis.
dialogue and participation will remain a high
Such topics as the use and abuse of drugs,
priority in the National Museums public edu-
can be, and has been, involved in research
HIV-Aids, violence against women, law and
cation policy.
of relevance to development projects. The
Museums should not only be concerned
There are two ways the National Museum
rst is research for the sake of extending
order, discrimination, youth problems, environmental degradation, poverty and so forth
Advocacy
knowledge, research not directed towards
can be addressed through exhibitions. By
Museums can assist government and pri-
any particular end but which will undoubt-
engaging in such activities, museums would
vate enterprise to plan development projects
edly one day prove relevant to an issue of
be demonstrating their social relevance.
in ways that take into consideration the
importance for development projects. Such
present and future needs of people and envi-
research would normally relate to items in
important contributions in this regard over
ronments likely to be affected by proposed
the anthropology and natural science collec-
the last decade. Several exhibitions were
developments. Museums can play a proactive
tions of the Museum. In particular, the collec-
organised through the collaborative efforts of
advocacy role rather than a reactive adver-
tions provide a base line for the presence or
the Museum and the public. The rst was an
sary role. Museum staff can provide factual
absence of certain cultural features or biolog-
exhibition on mining and petroleum explora-
information on the socio-cultural, archaeo-
ical species that may come under pressure
tion in Papua New Guinea involving the com-
logical, biological and environmental impacts
from a development project in a particular
panies operating at Ok Tedi, Misima, Gobe,
of development plans. There are nancial
area. Research may indicate the existence of
Lake Kutubu, Porgera, Tolukuma, Lihir and
implications:
archaeologically valuable sites that ought to
The National Museum has made several
be undisturbed by development, or rare ani-
tries have suffered from the perception that
not also function as cultural centres where
mal species that require protection.
they store and study dead things. But there
living aspects of culture are encouraged,
are alternative models being explored by
and cultural centres might also provide
often do not realise the value of scien-
some. Right from the beginning, the new
some storage and exhibition facilities in
tic research and provide little or no nan-
National Museum building in Waigani was
cial support. In Papua New Guinea in 1999,
planned to have a space to exhibit living
budget allocations to research institutions
sh, birds and animals that is, a small zoo. It
were cut, some to zero. Although research
also incorporated an outdoor performance
Gallery initiative was the Artists in Residence
may not yield immediate results, in the long
and theatre area. In effect, it was based on
Program that had two components. The
term, governments will benet from this
the notion of a cultural centre (see Crawford
rst consisted of a group of performing art-
investment in intellectual capital.
1977), a place where people could come and
ists and the second of graduates from the
not only look at dead things, but see live ani-
National Arts School who were located at
been involved is by conducting impact stud-
mals and watch and participate in cultural
the Museum and carried out intensive edu-
ies and salvage research. National Museum
performances and workshops.
cation programs involving schools and street
Governments in developing countries
The second way the National Museum has
curators have been engaged by develop-
More recently, the Constitution Park and
addition to their other functions. [Eoe &

Swadling 1991: 269]
Another National Museum and Art
kids. This program was complemented by
ers or by the government to conduct impact
National Heritage Centre Project has been
small-scale cultural events organised by
studies in the eld of archaeology, anthro-
proposed. This would involve a precinct
people from various parts of the country.
pology, contemporary history and biology
where the present National Museum and Art
This program added colour and vitality to
as a component of the governments pol-
Gallery becomes an anthropology and pre-
the Museum, and provided the opportunity
icy on environmental planning. The aim of
history museum, and additional buildings
for artists to share their creativity and sup-
this research is to identify the likely impacts
would house a natural history museum, a
port their families nancially. Lack of funding
of developmental projects on the environ-
contemporary arts museum, a modern his-
forced the program to end in 1998.
ment, on the lives of the people in the area,
tory museum, a conference centre and live
and on cultural, historical and archaeologi-
animal exhibits. The latter would exhibit a
Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Tonga and New
cal sites, and to make recommendations
sample of the bird and animal life of Papua
Caledonia, have built cultural centres rather
for protection as required under existing
New Guinea, including birds of paradise, cas-
than museums, but the centre has been
legislation. The National Museum has con-
sowaries and crocodiles, and include cap-
adapted to include some of the functions of
ducted several independent salvage research
tive breeding of poisonous snakes and the
a museum. Thus in addition to their primary
projects, or has done so in collaboration with
commercial production of venom for medi-
role in performing arts, story-telling and craft
the PNG Department of Environment and
cal use.
development, they have added storage and
Many places in the Pacic, such as
Conservation, the University of Papua New
In 1989, a Cultural Heritage Workshop
exhibition facilities. This approach discards
Guinea, the Australian National University,
organised by the National Museum and Art
the stereotypic view of museums by focus-
and overseas museums and research insti-
Gallery of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby,
ing on the performance component, more
tutions. One such project resulted in a pub-
attended by directors, managers, curators
appropriate for Pacic communities, as the
lication about the peoples and cultures of
and cultural workers from all over Papua New
primary function of the institution.
the Lake Kutubu and Kikori areas likely to
Guinea and the Pacic, reported that:
be affected by the Kutubu Joint Venture oil
Considerable discussion focused on the
Many provincial and local cultural centres

were established in Papua New Guinea in
the 1970s and 1980s but most failed due to
extraction and pipeline project (Busse et al.
perceived differences between museums
1993).
and cultural centres. It was felt by many
management problems and inadequate sup-
that the differences should be based on
port from government. At Goroka, the J.K
The Living Museum
practical considerations only. Participants
McCarthy Museum is a branch of the National
For too long, museums in developing coun-
could see no reason why museums could
Museum operating on national government
funding. It opened to the public in 1968 and
generate revenue to supplement the govern-
the Museums nancial problems and would
is more of a traditional museum than a cul-
ments basic allocation?
only erode its visitor numbers as has been
tural centre.
The National Museum must now imple-
shown to happen at museums in Australia
Recently, the idea of a cultural centre has
ment programs not only because they are in
been revived and expanded to include such
accord with the functions of the museum as
Two major projects are being planned
facilities as a museum, library, auditorium,
set out in Section 4 of the National Museum
that are intended to help the Museum create
performance space, university centre, tour-
and Art Gallery Act (No. 9 of 1992), but to
a source of income that will supplement gov-
ism ofce, coffee shop/restaurant, Internet
attract more funds. Therefore exhibitions will
ernment funding. These are the Constitution
cafe, souvenir shop, book shop, leased ofce
be set up that not only provide information
Park and National Heritage Project near the
spaces, and so forth. The capital costs would
for the visitor but that also attract private and
National Museum in Waigani, already men-
be met by Provincial or National govern-
corporate funding, and maintain good rap-
tioned, and the Old House of Assembly
ments or by a major national-level, or interna-
port with government as the major source
Restoration Project located in Port Moresby. It
tional, donor; the running costs would be met
of funding. The dilemma is then that the
is intended that these projects would attract
by funding generated by the centre.
agendas of the providers of funds become
visitors and tourists, carry out certain statu-
the agenda of the Museum, which may not
tory functions of the Museum, and generate
Funding and Revenue Generation
always be in accord with its statutory func-
income through sales of goods and services
For institutions in Papua New Guinea such
tions as set out in the Act. The National
and leasing of ofce space.
as the National Museum, opportunities for
Museum requires sources of funding that it
non-government funding are limited. Private
can generate itself.
donors are rare and foreign funding aid is
that have introduced entrance fees.
In addition, the National Museum could

facilitate tours to some of the 2500 sites of
Some government scal strategists
archaeological, historical and cultural impor-
geared towards community infrastructure,
believe the Museum should charge an
tance in the country, such as the early agri-
and social, health and economic programs. Tax
entrance fee but this would almost certainly
culture site at Kuk in the Western Highlands
incentive programs are strictly limited to char-
deter Papua New Guineans from entering
(7500 9500 years old) and the Bobonggara
itable organisations to minimise erosion of
the building, which would be a great shame
archaeological, geological and geomorpho-
the national tax base. Institutions such as the
as the Museum is there primarily to serve the
logical site on the Huon Peninsula which has
National Museum are therefore almost entirely
people of Papua New Guinea. In any case,
over 47,000 years of human history. Both sites
dependent on the government for funding.
the Museum has never attracted more than
are currently being considered for world her-
40,000 visitors per annum (in the years fol-
itage listing.
As successive governments struggle with

how to allocate insufcient funds to meet
lowing the opening of the new building in
their many responsibilities, cuts are made and
1977) and gures for 2002 and 2003 sug-
Organizations show that museums gener-
the National Museum suffers. But the contri-
gest some 20,000 annually, with some 3000
ated nearly one-fth of the worlds tourist
bution of museums in society cannot be, and
of these being expatriates and tourists. This
revenue of around US$621 billion in 2002,
should not be, measured solely in monetary
number could increase if there were other
forecast to rise to US$1.5 trillion by 2010.
terms. For example, their role is not unlike
reasons for people to come to the area in
that of libraries and schools in providing
which the Museum is located and a regular
expected to host some 229 million tourists by
information and educating people. Because
bus service was available, but the Museum
2010.1
there is only one National Museum (with a
is located at the end of the road and there
In 2003, almost 56,000 tourists came to
branch in the highlands) and a large number
is no through-trafc. Such difculties could
Papua New Guinea.2 This gure is small com-
of schools, the Museum is overlooked as an
be overcome by introducing housing, busi-
pared to those for Australia, New Zealand
educational resource and not included in
nesses and commercial services into the area,
and some other Pacic countries such as
education funding allocations. Therefore the
and connecting the road to other suburbs,
Fiji. But Papua New Guinea has the poten-
question arises, can the National Museum
but even so, entrance fees would not solve
tial to attract far more tourists than it does.
Statistics provided by World Tour
East Asia and the Pacic regions are
This requires effort on the part of all relevant
tions, exhibitions and educational programs.
stitution is rmly anchored on preservation
government and non-government agencies.
However, in Papua New Guinea, the role of
and respect for cultural heritage. In addition,
The National Museum is ready to take on the
the National Museum goes beyond this. Most
the Museum has changed its image from that
challenge of being involved in such an enter-
important is fostering a sense of nation-
of a storeroom of dusty old objects to that of
prise but it needs the support of the gov-
hood, of national consciousness and national
a living, innovative and progressive institu-
ernment through the Tourism Promotional
identity. Papua New Guinea has the worlds
tion making meaningful contributions to the
Authority for the realisation of its two major
greatest cultural, linguistic and ethnic diver-
national development process.
projects.
sity and the National Museum is one of the

few institutions that, through its collections,
Conclusion
can contribute to socio-political stability and
The basic role of museums is to provide
national identity. It is a symbol of unity in
a service to society through their collec-
diversity for a country whose national con-
Notes
1. Information obtained from East New Britain
Provinces Five Year Corporate Tourism Development Plan 1999-2003, page 5.
2 . Tourism Promotion Authority, Turism Niusleta,
Volume 1 January February 2004.
Chapter 5
The Masterpieces Exhibition

Barry Craig
As noted in Chapter 1, the 209 exhibits have
may also be carved with the image of a
ceremony; but it may be kept on a shelf in
been grouped as much as possible according
founding clan ancestor who is appealed to
the mens house and used as a shrine to
to function. However, this is partly a conven-
for success in warfare and hunting.1 A sus-
invoke that spirits powers to achieve success
ience for the purpose of display and there are
pension hook keeps certain valuable items
in hunting or warfare, or to inict illness and
many cases where objects could have been
out of reach of destructive pests but may
death on an enemy.
placed as easily in one category as in another.
bear the image of an important female
Most objects have several levels of signi-
ancestor who is appealed to for protection
cance and therefore may be considered as
against illness. A mask may be attached to a
multi-functional. For example, a large
costume and worn by a man who imperson-
wooden post is a support for a structure but
ates a spirit in the context of a particular
The plan of the Gallery (Fig. 5) shows

where the groups of exhibits can be found.2
Discussion of these functional groupings
proceeds as follows:
Watercraft. Canoes have been signicant
Fig. 5. Plan of Masterpieces Exhibition Gallery
The Masterpieces Exhibition 25
for travel, trade and communication through-
eral months, performed for less than an hour,
Asia. These vessels consisted of a dugout
out the riverine, coastal and island regions of
then destroyed.
canoe with planks lashed along the sides to
PNG, from prehistoric times to the present.
Mortuary objects. When an important
increase the depth of the hull, stabilised by
person dies, their descendants may create
an outrigger (usually single Fig. 9 but
ing, Papua New Guineans build special
images to remind them to revenge the death;
sometimes double as in the Torres Strait). The
houses for secret/sacred ritual purposes and
or the mortuary ceremonies may provide the
smaller outriggers for reef shing were pad-
to store family and community foodstuffs,
context for honouring the dead, strengthen-
dled but the larger ones for the open sea
heirlooms, weapons and ancestral relics.
ing the relationships between groups, and
were driven by rectangular, triangular or
These houses are often seen in symbolic
reafrming rights to land (the gures then
crab-claw sails.
terms as human, bird or beast.
acting as title deeds).
Architecture. Apart from domestic hous-
feature the sculptural forms and graphic
In some areas, such as the south-east

coast of Papua, the vessels were double- or
Household items. Even domestic items
WATERCRAFT
multi-hulled, for example, those used by the

Mailu (Fig. 10) and Motu (Fig. 11). In other
designs found on objects that house the

It is widely believed that humans came
areas, such as the Solomons, the entire hull
to Sahul, the combined continent of Aus-
was constructed of shaped planks lashed
spirits are called upon to assist in gardening,
traliaNew Guinea, at least 40,000 years ago
together and sealed with Parinarium paste
to promote the fertility of plants, animals and
and from South-East Asia. This fully mod-
(Fig. 12), but these were seldom equipped
humans, and to protect crops from theft, the
ern human was probably coastally adapted
with outriggers or sails. It is believed this type
gures functioning as shrines for communi-
and equipped with highly functional water-
of vessel was introduced from the Moluccas
cation with these spirits.
craft (Bowdler 1993: 66). Because of the lower
in relatively recent times, along with the
spirits.
Gardening and fertility gures. Certain
sea levels at that time, such craft enabled
areca palm (Haddon and Hornell 1975, III: 79)
shields carved and painted with designs to
people to spread from Sahul to New Britain,
from which the betel nut, chewed with lime
promote success in battle, but carved human
New Ireland and the Solomon Islands. People
and the fruit of the betel vine, is harvested
and animal gures house spirits whose assist-
reached Buka around 30,000 years ago and
(Beran 1988: 5).
ance was sought in nding and killing
even reached the Admiralty Islands, over 200
enemies, an activity in which head hunting
kilometres off the north coast of New Guinea,
guages, according to most scholars, came
was often a feature. The spirits in these
at least 20,000 years ago.
from Taiwan, through the Philippines to New
Hunting and warfare. Not only were war
gures also assist in the hunting of the larger
Although there is no evidence of the
The peoples speaking Austronesian lan-
Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago around
animals such as pigs, cassowaries and
types of crafts used, they may have been rafts
3500 years ago (Bellwood 1995; Spriggs 1995,
wallabies.
or log canoes. Both forms of water transport
1997). They then spread to Vanuatu, New Cal-
continue in use to the present day, especially
edonia and Fiji around 3200 years ago,
musical instruments is made. Those most
on rivers and in estuaries (Figs 7, 8). There is
colonising the islands of Tonga and Samoa
commonly featuring carved motifs include
remarkable variety in the dugout log canoes
perhaps 3000 years ago. Around 2500 years
slit-gongs, hand drums, water and mud-
of New Guinea, in both form and decoration,
ago, they moved on to the more remote
beater drums, trumpets and long utes.
perhaps the most spectacular being those of
islands of the eastern Pacic, helped by the
the Gogodala (Fig. 6 and Crawford 1981: 110-
development of the double-hulled canoe
to construct masks to represent the spirits
17, 284-307) and the Purari Delta (Young and
(Horridge 1995: 135).
and conceal the men impersonating them.
Clark 2001: 69).
Musical instruments. A wide range of
Masks. Many different materials are used
The wood face-masks are the more durable
It appears that more sophisticated water-
Other scholars, such as Stephen Oppenheimer, suggest that there were two
component and function also as shrines for
craft were brought to New Guinea and
movements of Austronesian-speakers from
the spirits. Some other types of masks are
Melanesia by the speakers of Austronesian
South-East Asia into the Pacic and not nec-
constructed of perishable materials over sev-
languages from the islands of south-east
essarily from Taiwan (Oppenheimer 1998:
Fig. 6. Gogodala racing canoes, Aramia River,

Western Province. Photo: A.L. Crawford, 1974.
Fig. 7. Canoes at Mahanei village, Abau speakers,

upper Sepik. Photo: B. Craig USEE 1969, M14:11A;
16 July 1969.
Fig. 8. Raft on Sepik River, arriving at Angoram from

the Yuat River. Photo: Peter Tree, October 1982.
Fig. 9. Outrigger canoes, Lauan, Kara speakers,

northern New Ireland (Meyer and Parkinson 1900,
Plate 30).
160-76 and Fig. 27). According to this theory,

the rst movement of people was to New
Guinea, the Bismarcks and the Solomons
around 6000 years ago. They then mixed with
the previous populations speaking Papuan
languages, becoming the people generally
called Melanesians. The second movement of
Austronesian-speaking peoples passed
through the small islands north of the Bismarcks and the Solomons about 3500 years
ago, with minimal interaction with the previous Austronesian-speaking colonisers,
passing on to the ReefSanta Cruz Islands,
Tonga and Samoa, and eventually out into
the rest of the Pacic to become the people
we call Polynesians. The rst group (the
Melanesians) adopted some of the cultural
characteristics of the second group and colonised the rest of island Melanesia (Vanuatu,
New Caledonia, and probably Fiji). Some later
moved back westwards to settle the islands
off the south-east of New Guinea and progressed along the north and south coasts of
New Guinea, even penetrating inland up the
Markham Valley. Some Polynesians also
moved back westwards and in particular
there was intense interaction between Tonga
and Fiji that so strongly affected the Fijians
(and vice versa) that they are often categorised with Polynesians rather than
Melanesians (Haddon and Hornell 1975: 342).
A great deal more archaeology (and work
in other disciplines) is needed before it will
become clear which of these competing theories is closer to the truth. However, it is clear
Fig. 10. Mailu double-hulled trading canoe. Photo:
Frank Hurley, June 1921 (Specht and Fields
1984: 43).
that Austronesian maritime technology (in

particular, planked dugout outrigger and
multi-hulled canoes) survived to the 20th
century in coastal and island regions around
New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.
Sea-going outrigger and multi-hulled canoes
were the vehicles by which maritime trade
MPNr 33. Canoe paddle, Nafri village, Yotefa Bay, Nafri speakers, [West] Papua, Indonesia. Wood. 197 cm
long. 76.32.9. Acquired by Robert Mitton from Ananias Merahabia and registered June 1976. Carved c.1928
from su timber (kwila, Intsia species). The design on the paddle represents ying sh (haoi) chasing small
phosphorescent sea lice (hiabo). Also represented are sea snakes (ware).
Fig. 11. Motu trading canoe. Lindt 1887 Plate VII, 1.
Fig. 12. Buka canoe (Meyer and Parkinson 1900,

Plate 41).
Fig. 13. Drawing of paddle blade, Sanji clan,

Humboldt Bay (after Galis 1955: 102, Nr 4).
a = chas (a type of sh), b = chontufechu (trepang),
c = taidj-rwr (calm sea).
Fig. 14. Slit-gong (bunggi) at Rauit, Gnau speakers,

near Anguganak, Torricelli Mountains, West Sepik
Province. Photo: B. Craig M5: 6A; 17 May 2002.
Haddon and Hornell 1975, II: 310-14). This

similarity is not surprising; Hermione Frankel (1978: 2-3) reports that people came from
Tobadi (Sande 1907, Fig. 87), at the northern
end of Yotefa Bay, and moved eastwards to
settle at Walomo, bringing their designs and
artistic skills with them. However, it would
appear they did not bring their language as
the people of Tobadi speak an Austronesian
language whereas the people of Walomo
speak a completely unrelated Sko Phylum
language.
The designs on canoe paddles appear to
be the property of particular clans. A Humboldt Bay paddle from Sanji clan illustrated
by K.W. Galis (1955: 102, Nr 4, reproduced
here as Fig. 13) is quite similar to the one col-
hammerhead shark and blue-banded
lected by Robert Mitton (MPNr 33) from Nafri
sprat, adds up to an image of forceful
at the southern end of Yotefa Bay, whose
speed It is echoed in the Long Tom that
inhabitants speak a language of the Trans-
shoots along the front of the hull, and in

the ying sh with their phenomenal
networks moved specialised goods over
New Guinea Phylum. Galis (1955: 100) shows
large areas (Barton 1910; Brookeld and Hart
that the sails are decorated with tassels that
1971: 322-29 and Figs 13.2-13.5; Dark 1974,
indicate clan identity, and Frankel (1978: 12-
1997; Haddon and Hornell 1975; Harding
15, 32-5, 42-4) provides drawings and
the mountains in the south, where the clan
1967; Hogbin 1935, 1947; Irwin 1985; Lewis
information for clan emblems carved at the
spirits dwell, the forest of the coastal plain,
1972; Malinowski 1922; Malnic 1998; Mennis
front of the strake of Walomo canoes. We may
which is the realm primarily of the women,
1980; Tiesler 1969-70). Towards the close of
reasonably assume that the people of Tobadi,
the villages along the coast where both men
the 2nd millennium AD, only the maritime
Nafri and Walomo share many cultural fea-
and women dwell, and then the beach, the
trade networks on the north coast of the
tures despite speaking such different
reef and the open sea which are the realms
Sepik provinces, around the Vitiaz Strait, and
languages and, nowadays, living on either
primarily of the men. When a canoe is drawn
in the Massim region of south-east New
side of an international boundary.
up on the beach, it must be left with its prow
Guinea had survived in more-or-less traditional form.
In this region, the motifs on the paddles

and canoes usually represent birds, sh,
ights that dance lightly along the hull.
The world of the Walomo is divided into
facing the sea.

It is up to the man, as he goes between
sharks and dolphins. Frankel suggests that it
village and canoe, to maintain its [the
Central North Coast of New Guinea
is the forms and habits of these creatures
canoes] purity through his correct proce-
From Humboldt Bay and Yotefa Bay in [West]
that carry signicance for the Walomo peo-
dure while preparing himself for shing
Papua, eastwards to Vanimo in West Sepik
ple. For example, the box sh, Mukebi, is
lest the sh should become reti-
Province, the mens outrigger canoe, rigged
thought of as the wooden sh and is an apt
cent and make themselves hard to nd.
with a rectangular sail, is decorated with the
description of the canoe (ibid.: 59). She adds
[ibid.: 42]
same kind of carved and painted designs.
(ibid.: 57):
Canoe paddles also are carved with the same
Symbolically, the combination of crea-
kind of designs (Galis 1955: 98-103, Plate 32;
tures, of messenger bird, dolphins, sharks,
MPNr 32. Canoe paddle (and detail of handle),

Kubkein village, Upper Sepik, Wogamusin speakers,
East Sepik Province. Wood. 184 cm long. 77.43.21.
Acquired from Island Carvings in 1977.
Upper Sepik River

About 55 kilometres westwards from
Ambunti, on the Sepik River, is the village of
Kubkein, one of four villages of the Wogamus
people. These people have had diverse origins but are mainly from the east, that is, from
downriver, so their culture is related to that
of the Nggala, the Kwoma and other groups
around Ambunti.
The designs on canoe prows and on the
handles of the paddles vary according to the
clan of the owner. Comparing the motifs on
the canoe prow MPNr 31, and paddle handle
MPNr 32 to the illustrations of canoe prows
and paddle ends provided by Douglas Newton (1971: 59), it is likely that the prow is of
the Wismi clan, whose members are
descended from Nggala ancestors (ibid. 52),
and the paddle is of the Munggwal clan.
Newton records that Wogamus canoe prow
designs came from the Nggala and that the
paddle ends usually represent totemic birds
(ibid.: 53). Specic clans also own designs on
war shields.
There appears to be a symbolic relationship between canoes and slit-gongs, which
were believed to be personied female
water-spirits. Newton (ibid.: 52) reports:
The gongbeaters (mi ras or gahei) were
also female; they symbolize paddles, so
that the gongs themselves are, by implication, symbolic canoes.
Newtons illustrations 91 and 92 show slitgongs with prows carved quite like those of
canoes. In the Torricelli Mountains, the resemblance to canoes is striking (Fig. 14).
MPNr 31. Canoe prow, Kubkein village, Upper Sepik,

Wogamusin speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
205 x 37 cm. 81.26.104 [original registration number
lost].
Middle Sepik River

Yambi Yambi is one of three villages of Bisis
speakers whose territory extends south of
Chambri Lake to the north-west bank of the
lower Salumei River, a western tributary of
the Korosameri River. The inuence of Iatmul
culture shows in the row of spirals incised
along the side of the canoe prow MPNr 29,
the hint of crocodile head, and in the form
of the long-beaked bird (a hornbill ?) at the
front of the prow. However, the face of the
male gure suggests links with the Karawari
cultures to the east.
It is not certain where the paddle MPNr
39 came from. It was bought along with several other items from the middle Sepik area
in November 1966 from an unnamed person.
The face carved where the shaft of the paddle meets the blade is consistent with Iatmul
designs (cf., Kelm 1966a, Plates 443, 447 from
Timbunke). However, the face at the top end
of the paddle shows the saw-toothed motif
around the top of the slanting eyes, and the
loop of tiny circles across the lower part of
the face, motifs that have their equivalents
on shields from the Mundugumor, lower Yuat
River (cf., Fuhrmann 1922: 109 right; Kelm
1968, Plate 420). This paddle may, therefore,
be from one of several villages near or on the
Lower Yuat.
MPNr 39. Canoe paddle and detail, Middle Sepik

area, East Sepik Province. Wood. 253 cm long.
E.4557. Registered 20 November 1969. No further
information.
MPNr 29. Canoe prow, Yambi Yambi village, lower

Salumei River, Bisis speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 170 x 40 cm. E.367. Collected by Dadi Wirz in
1955 and registered 7 December 1956.
MPNr 30. Canoe prow, Watam village, Lower Sepik,

Watam speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 98 x 41
cm. 81.26.103 [original registration number lost].
Lower Sepik-Ramu Rivers

Villagers at Murik Lakes and Watam, near
works (Tiesler 1969-70). Because of these
canoe is exclusively a male project and the
the mouth of the Sepik, have two types of
widespread trade links, the carved prows on
men working on the canoe must refrain from
canoes: dugouts (Murik: gaiiin and bor) for
the outrigger canoes (Neuhauss 1911, I, Figs
sexual activity.
use on the Sepik River and on the lakes (Fig.
253-55), and on the dugouts at Murik (Craig
As the log is carved into a canoe hull, men
15), and large sea-going outriggers (Murik:
1987, Plate 41), Watam, Bosmun (Christensen
also view it as being metamorphosed
sev gaiiin) for trading along the coast and to
1975: 49-51) and nearby villages, are similar in
from a feminine entity into a powerful,
the nearby islands (Lipset 1997: 279, Plate 7).
style and motifs (MPNr 30).
masculine vehicle by means of a process
The men of the Schouten Islands and of the
The outrigger canoes require a large
of cultic initiation. [Lipset 1997: 42]
islands off the coast north-west of Wewak
steering paddle (MPNr 34). For the Murik,
also construct and sail these large outriggers
Lipset reports (1997: 43) that the steersmans
is the symbolic equivalent of the womens
(Fig. 16 and Hogbin 1935).3
wife is held to possess magical inuence over
birth hut and just as men are excluded from
the outrigger canoe as it travels to and from
the mystery of childbirth, so women are
Islands and westwards as far as Sissano
the islands. She is subject to various taboos
excluded from the canoe-making process.
Lagoon. Watam voyages are more restricted;
such as not cutting grass or chopping re-
There appears to be some connection
they go to Murik to connect to the western
wood, lest the canoe break up and sink; or to
between a certain type of mens house and
and offshore trading networks, inland to Bos-
engage in sexual dalliances lest the canoe be
canoes, as suggested by the nial decora-
mun on the Lower Ramu, and eastwards to
swamped, sink into the sea and her husband
tions of a mens house in the village of Big
Hansa Bay and Potsdamhafen to connect to
drowned.
Murik (Ruff and Ruff 1990, Fig. 15 and Fig. 25
Murik voyages reach out to the Schouten
the Manam Island and Madang trade net-
The making and sailing of an outrigger
The shed where the canoe is constructed
this book).
MPNr 34. Steering paddle, showing detail of

handle and blade, Watam village, Lower Sepik,
Watam Speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 328 x
34 cm. E.16304. Purchased from Barry Hoare and
registered 4 March 1974.
MPNr 38. Canoe paddle (naap) and detail of handle, Bosmun village, Lower Ramu, Bosmun speakers, Madang
Province. Wood. 212 cm long. E.5681. Collected by Dr G. Gerrits from owner Bugai and registered 4 June 1970.
This Bosmun paddle is almost certainly for use with a river canoe. Unfortunately, nothing is known of the
signicance of the gure carved on the blade or at the end of the handle.
Fig. 15. Murik paddle canoe, Darapap village, Murik

speakers, Murik Lakes. Photo: B. Craig, C33: 35; 23
November 1981.
Fig. 16 (bottom). Outrigger trading canoe from

Guap, Yuo Island, Kairiru speakers (Meyer and
Parkinson 1894, Plate 44).
MPNr 27 (middle). Canoe bailer, Siassi Islands,

Mutu speakers, Morobe Province. Wood. 50 x 16 cm.
E.16119. Purchased from Barry Hoare and registered
11 February 1975.
Fig 17 (bottom). Double-masted Tami trading
canoe at Bukaua, south coast of Huon Peninsula
(Neuhauss 1911, I, Fig. 257).
MPNr 25 (top). Canoe prow, Aramot Island, Siassi Islands, Mutu speakers, Morobe Province. Wood. 133 x 26
cm. E.13882. Collected, along with several other canoe parts, by Morris Young and registered 18 March 1974.
These canoe pieces were collected on Tami Island but were made in Aramot Island in the Siassi group.
Eric Coote (pers. comm. October 2009) states that this prow is clearly Tami and not Aramot. He suggests that
while the canoe could have been built at Aramot, the iconography suggests the prow has been carved by a
Tami islander.
Vitiaz Strait-Huon Gulf region

Outrigger canoes sailing from the Huon Gulf
and the Tami Islands, and across the Vitiaz
Strait from the Siassi Islands off the western end of New Britain, are similar in design
and in carved and painted decorative motifs.
The people sailing these canoes all speak languages belonging to the same sub-family of
Austronesian languages. Their maritime trade
network reaches Madang in the west, as far
as the north-west and south-west coasts of
New Britain, and to Busama south of Lae in
the Huon Gulf. Food, animals, raw materials
and manufactured objects are traded among
communities specialising in certain products
(Brookeld and Hart 1971: 328-29, Fig.13.5;
Harding 1967; Hogbin 1947).
The larger sea-going vessels are usually
two-masted, with rectangular mat sails, a cantilevered platform and central hut, and no
obvious distinction between prow and stern
(Fig. 17).
There are two rows of strakes, covered
with carved and painted designs, along each
side of the canoe hull, closed at each end
with a splashboard. The prow and stern of the
hull are carved by the Tami with simple
incised designs and by the Siassi, for example,
MPNr 25,with human, bird and animal gures
(Neuhauss 1911, I, Figs 260-65). Single-masted
outriggers are used for coastal voyages and
have only one row of strakes along the hull
(Bodrogi 1961: 31, 109-11).
The Yabim, around Finschhafen, regard
the portrayal of a human gure, head or face
as a representation of a balum spirit. The
word balum is the name given to the soul of
the dead, the central spirit of the [mens]
secret cult,4 and the bullroarer used in the
cult (Bodrogi 1961: 40). They call the representation of the head or face balum-kaui
(balum mask) and the whole gure goam,
MPNr 26. Canoe splashboard, Tami Islands,

Tami speakers, Morobe Province. Wood. 134 x
51 cm. 81.73.19. Acquired from Village Arts and
registered 10 December 1981. Eric Coote (pers.
comm. October 2009) states that this splashboard
(damundam) was carved by the Tami canoe-builder
Daulo for a two-masted canoe (uang salu), personal
name Matabung, that he built on Umboi Island.
after the gurative posts of the mens houses

(Bodrogi 1961: 159). If we assume similar
beliefs for the Tami5 and Siassi, then the
crouching gure on the splashboard (MPNr
26) is a goam and the face on the larger bailer
(MPNr 27) is a balum-kaui, a motif often
found on wooden bowls (ibid., Figs 88, 89).
Both wear an oa-balan feather-plume headdress (ibid.: 157-59, Figs 211, 212). On the top
of the smaller bailer (MPNr 28), the doubleloop motif (yabo) represents two fully-curved
pig tusks, a precious ornament made by
Siassi Islanders (Bodrogi 1961: 166-67 and
Figs 60, 211; Neuhauss 1911, I, Plates 66-7,
105-7). The eyes and nose carved in relief
below the yabo echo the form of the scoop
with its nose-like handle.
MPNr 28. Canoe bailer (top and bottom), Siassi

Islands, Mutu speakers, Morobe Province. Wood.
35 x 14 cm. 76.63.19. Acquired from Village Arts and
registered 21 December 1976.
Massim region of south-east New

Guinea
The kula maritime trading cycle of the Trobriand Islanders and their Massim neighbours
was made famous by Bronislaw Malinowski
in his 1922 book, Argonauts of the Western
Pacic. A summary of this trading cycle, with
diagrams showing the geographical network
and the movement of various trade goods,
has been provided by Brookeld and Hart
(1971: 324-27).
The kula circulates non-utilitarian valuables in a formal way that brings renown to
the kula participant through temporary ownership of the armshells (mwali) circulating
anti-clockwise and of the necklaces (soulava or bagi) circulating clockwise. Associated
with this series of formal transactions is the
movement of many raw materials and useful
commodities along sections of the network,
and into and out of the network at various
points. The vehicle for this trade is the outrigger canoe, itself a potential item of trade.
Brookeld and Hart (1971: 324) state:
But while the shells passed right around
the ring, no man did. The system operated
principally by means of voyages in each
direction outward from each point in the
ring, rarely going further than two legs
from the point of origin. Each voyage was
reciprocated, so that the network consisted of an overlapping series of voyages,
alternating in time, linking an overlapping
series of contact elds.
Since Malinowskis Argonauts , a series

of books and lms have documented this
activity in detail (for example, Balson and
Mitchell 1992, Campbell 2002, Ichioka 1971,
Malnic and Kasaipwalova 1998, Weiner 1988).
The outrigger canoes used in this trade
(generically termed waga) are the masawa
of the western sector of the kula region
MPNr 35. Canoe splashboard (lagim), Boagis,

Madau Island, Misima speakers, Milne Bay Province.
Wood. 106 x 85 cm. 81.26.105 [original registration
number lost but identied as E.3022, collected in
March 1969 by Dr G. Gerrits and registered 12 May
1969].
( Trobriands, Kitava, Iwa in the Marshall Bennett Islands, Dobu, Amphletts) and the bigger
and better-crafted, but heavier and therefore slower, nagega of the eastern sector
(Boagis a Misima-speaking settlement on
the southern tip of Madau Island, Gawa in
the Marshall Bennetts, Woodlark, and, outside the kula region, Misima and Panaeati)
(Malinowski 1922: 144-45). Malinowski comments that the masawa probably originated
in Dobu and spread (during the 19th century) to the north from there, supplanting
the manufacture and/or use of the nagega in
the Trobriands, Kitava and Iwa. Godfried Gerrits informed me (pers. comm. 7 June 2004)
that by the 1970s, both the masawa and the
nagega could be found on Gawa.
Both masawa (Fig. 18) and nagega (Fig.
19) are highly-decorated with carved and
painted boards and with egg cowrie (Ovula
ovum) shells. There is a great deal of ritual
and magic involved in the construction, decoration and launching of a kula canoe. There
appears to be no clear distinction between
front and back of the canoe6 as that depends
entirely on the direction of travel and the
outrigger is always kept to windward.
The main decorative components are the
strakes or sideboards (from top to bottom:
lowaila, sipa and budaka), two splashboards
(lagim), two water breakers (tabuya) and the
detachable prow ornament called sikusaku.
This ornament is tied to the top of the nagega
canoes tabuya (water breaker). It signals that a
kula trip has been successful, that the desired
kula valuables have been obtained; or, where a
wedding is being planned, that pigs have
Fig. 18. Outrigger trading canoe (masawa) of
Kiriwina, Kilivila speakers, Trobriand Islands
(Malinowski 1922, Plate XXIII).
successfully been obtained. If a nagega returns

without a sikusaku it signals lack of success in
these enterprises, or that a member of the
crew has died (Dr G. Gerrits, pers. comm.
8 September 2003).
MPNr 36. Canoe water breaker (tabuya), Boagis,

Madau Island, Misima speakers, Milne Bay Province.
Wood. 111 x 86 cm. E.7780. Collected in March 1969
by Dr G. Gerrits and registered 6 April 1971.
MPNr 37. Canoe ornament (sikusaku), Gawa Island,

Marshall Bennett Islands, Muyuw speakers, Milne
Bay Province. Wood. 69 x 37 cm. E.7856. Collected by
Dr G. Gerrits and registered 7 May 1971.
Fig. 19. Outrigger trading canoe (nagega), at

Narian, Misima Island, 1932. H.K. Bartlett, SAM
archives, AA18, Acc. Nr 973.
The three canoe components in the Mas-
top of this sikusaku are sawila; the sawila is
the boi is always even, always balanced,
terpieces Exhibition are from nagega canoes.
usually carved on top of the mast also. The
always clear.
Dr Gerrits has provided information about
sawila protects seamen against mulukwausi,
what the various carved and painted motifs
the ying witches whose manifestation at
buribwari the osprey (Gerritss tubulib-wala)
represent. MPNr 35, a lagim or splashboard, is
night are meteors (Malinowski 1922: 320).
that it is magic personied, representing wis-
from Boagis (Misima speakers). The two circu-
Before a trip, magic is spoken over the sawila
dom that is not attainable by humans.
lar designs represent ubwara or utuyam
to ask their help in keeping away witches and
(star); at the termination of the spiral, below
stormy winds (Gerrits, pers. comm. 8 Septem-
each star, there is the head of a protective
ber 2003). Supporting the two sawila is a
bird called weku. Right around the rim of the
motif that could be understood as a canoe
two lobes of the splashboard are tiny repre-
with a birds head at each end. A frigate bird
sentations of sausawila, the sandpiper. There
(kuludauta) sits on top of the uncarved handle
are four mwata (snakes) in the central panel.
of the sikusaku facing forwards; supported on
The red pigment is kaimalaka and the black
its back is a second frigate bird, upside down
The buribwari always catches its prey, it
pigment (burnt coconut husks) is koisalu.
and facing the rear and supported on the tip
does not simply strike here and there
of its beak is a third frigate bird. Opposite this
hoping to take a sh. That is why the
from Boagis (Misima speakers). Along the
third contorted frigate bird is another bird in
buribwari [on the dogina prow board]
bottom of the carved panel, two snakes
spiral form, perhaps an eagle.
always lands rst in kula because it will
MPNr 36, a tabuya or water breaker, is also
In contrast to the boi, Campbell says of
Vakutans say that When Dobuans see the

buribwari [on the kula canoe prow] they
will want to throw their kula shell valuables at the crew because his magic is so
strong. [Campbell 2002: 99]
As one informant pointed out:
never fail to get all the vaiguwa and mwari
(mwata) each hold an eagle (tubulib-wala) in
Shirley Campbell (2002: 91-109) provides
its mouth, one facing to the front and one to
interpretations of the signicance of the vari-
the rear. These eagles also appear at the top,
ous creatures represented on the carved canoe
facing front and rear, each supporting the
components. Bearing in mind that the terms
sawila (Gerritss sausawila); it is merely said to
beak of a frigate bird (kuludauta), each of
Gerrits recorded are for languages different
be lucky. But mwata the snake is associated
which in turn support a grasshopper
from that of the Trobriand Islands, and that the
with power, particularly the power of shed-
(nipawa). The long vertical spiral terminates
signicance of the creatures represented also
ding old skin for new, attractive and young
in the head of a boi (generic for seabird but
may differ somewhat, Campbells interpreta-
skin, a trick that enabled mythic heroes to
specically a heron). Along the rim at the ver-
tions are nevertheless indicative here.
attract kula shell valuables (ibid.: 105).
tical front and at the curving rear of the
For example, boi, which she identies as
[shell valuables].
Little is understood about the sandpiper
These few examples demonstrate how
tabuya are a series of tiny sandpipers (sau-
the egret (Egretta alba) suggests wisdom
characteristics of the various creatures are
sawila). Scattered elsewhere among the
that is attainable by human actors, especially
selected and combined to create a system of
curving motifs are representations of boi (sea
through performance of magic, which the
meaning relevant to the male enterprise of
bird/heron), nipawa (grasshopper), and weku
egret is believed to carry out to ensure suc-
securing kula shell valuables (ibid.: 109).
(protective type of bird). Boi and weku are
cess in shing (2002: 98). Ulli Beier (1974: 39)
protective in that if a canoe sinks, these birds
reports the comments of Chief Narabutal
motifs on canoe components is not surpris-
circle above it and then y off to the nearest
about this bird:
ing given their usefulness as indicators of the
land. The sailors then know in which direction

to swim to shore.
MPNr 37, the sikusaku, is from Gawa
The ancestors began all their carving from
The prevalence of sea birds as carved
presence of schools of sh and their impor-
the boi. They said, We have seen all the
tance for navigation in times of emergencies.
birds but none has the same grace. The
Malinowski reports (1922: 225-26) that stars
(Muyuw speakers). It is tied to the vertical
crane [sic] is complete in rest or in motion.
are not so important for navigation but the
uncarved projection of the tabuya. In some
Whether he bends forward or tilts his
Trobriand Islanders (and presumably other
areas, the sikusaku is called maan, mana, or
head backwards, whether he is standing
Massim sailors) can set course by the stars if
mani. The two birds facing each other at the
or sitting, whether he is resting or ying,
necessary.
centrated fashion and to unite into larger
longitudinal row of pairs of posts, and in the
settlement groups to protect themselves and
bigger houses there was a series of four posts
For most of the time that people have inhab-
their resources. Over time, rituals and cere-
across the width (Fig. 20). The walls and roof
ited New Guinea and its nearby islands, they
monies would have become more elaborate,
were fabricated as one surface from numer-
have undoubtedly subsisted by hunting, sh-
the paraphernalia associated with such activ-
ous light curved vertical ribs fastened to a
ing and gathering. Such a lifestyle is unlikely
ities more sophisticated, and special
series of horizontal longitudinal battens. On
to have demanded more than the use of rock
buildings would have been constructed to
top of this framework were afxed the
shelters and the simplest of built structures
segregate the secret/sacred activities of the
thatching tiles prefabricated by folding nipa
to protect from rain and, at higher altitudes,
initiated men from women and the uniniti-
palm leaves over a short length of palm leaf
from cold winds. Perhaps the type of shelter
ated. In the Papuan Gulf, especially amongst
stem. A oor of attened palm bark was laid
they built would have been a simple lean-to
the Namau and the Elema, and in the Sepik-
on a platform supported above high tide
with a leaf roof, like that of the Borneo
Ramu region, these structures rivalled in
level by numerous short posts driven into the
nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes (Sellato 1994:
magnicence and scale the vernacular archi-
mud. A row of cubicles or spaces (larava) was
66) or the simple walled platform covered
tecture found elsewhere in the world.
located down each side of the building; each
ARCHITECTURE
with a slanting roof noted by van Baal (1966:
cubicle was used by the men of a descent
46-8) for the Marind-anim of south-east
Papuan Gulf
[West] Papua. Hunting parties in the moun-
Papuan Gulf mens houses were not embel-
and storage of sacred boards (Namau: kwoi;
tains of central New Guinea still use
lished with carved and painted structural
Elema: hohao), the skulls of wild pigs and
earth-oor, lean-to huts.
components or with intricately painted
crocodiles, shields, weapons, masks, hand
New Guinea horticulture no doubt devel-
faades such as those of the Sepik region. But
drums, the occasional human skull, and other
oped gradually from harvesting wild crops of
they housed an impressive quantity and vari-
vegetables, and tree fruits and nuts. Sago
ety of portable objects such as shields, hand
would have been extracted from wild palms
drums, gures, masks and ancestral boards. It
before the advantages of propagation
is therefore appropriate to provide an over-
became evident. In the highlands, New Guin-
view of these houses and of the activities
eans were developing horticultural skills
they housed, as a context for appreciating
around 9000 years ago, probably planting
the Papuan Gulf Masterpieces exhibits dealt
taro and yams as staples. Experiments with
with elsewhere in this book.
the propagation of banana, sugarcane, and
The Namau ravi and Elema eravo (Fig. 20)
various fruit and nut trees may also have
are documented by the research and photo-
been under way (Haberle 1993: 119-20;
graphs of Albert Buell Lewis (Welsch 1998, I:
Spriggs 1993a; Yen 1993: 90). Archaeologists
475, 477-80) and Francis Edgar Williams
have noted the abandonment around this
(1924, 1940), and by the marvellous photo-
time of certain rock shelters. Some have sug-
graphs of Ernest Sterne Usher (Pike and Craig
gested the possibility that a shift to
1999: 248-49) and Frank Hurley (Specht and
agriculture meant less reliance on hunting
Fields 1984: 167, 171, 175, 183). Among the
and gathering in the forest as well as a shift
Namau, these structures were up to 200
to village settlement, hence abandonment of
metres long and 20 metres high at the front
rock shelters, though the evidence is incon-
(somewhat smaller among the Elema),
clusive (Spriggs 1993b: 189).
decreasing in width and height to about 3
In due course people began to settle into

villages to exploit resources in a more con-
group as a sleeping area and for the display
metres at the rear (ibid.: 174); they were basically a funnel-like vault supported by a
Fig. 20. Photo of Purari ravi by E.S. Usher, 1915, South

Australian Museum archives, AA835, D3.
ritual and personal property (Young and
in the ravi, their spirits may sometimes
remarkable formal similarity between the
Clark 2001: 80).
leave the building to haunt the rivers with
kaiaimunu and the cult houses of Kambot on
which each (like its larava) is associated.
the Keram River (Kaufmann 1975, Plate 148
Each is also associated with a stated ani-
compared to Plates 81, 82).
This type of mens house was found also

among the Era River people, although they
speak a language of a different sub-Phylum
to their Purari-speaking eastern neighbours.
The rooine sloped from a high front to a
low rear where a screened enclosure housed
mal, [F.E. Williams reports sh or crocodile

Young and Clark 2001: 79] which is its
canoe. But above all, they are extraordinarily potent beings, expressing their will
through dreams and thunder, who should
Hurleys description of the wickerwork

gures as masks (Specht and Fields 1984:
180), and the opening in their base that supports this interpretation, appears to be
the large wickerwork, gaped-mouth
be placated with offerings of food from
inconsistent with Newtons recounting of
kaiaimunu, in which the sacred bullroarers
day to day.
their use.
were kept (Newton 1961, Illust. 27, and Fig.
every male goes through Pairama,
On 29 April 1908, the Lieutenant-
initiation to the kaiaimunu. This begins
Governor of Papua, Hubert Murray, took two
with the seclusion of the young boys in
kaiaimunu from the ravi of Koivia and Karara
of even height with a horizontal ridge, more
the ravi, where the older men feed them
at the village of Ukiaravi in the Purari Delta.
like a long tunnel than a funnel. Notably, on
well and entertain them with songs. After
He wrote in his Introduction to F.E. Williamss
Urama Island, racks of human skulls were part
some months of this, the whole group
The Natives of the Purari Delta (1924: iv-v):
21 this book).
West of Era River, the mens houses were
of the display of sacred boards, there called
goes off to the bush to gather cane. Then

the old kaiaimunu are brought out of hid-
I think I was responsible for the rst of
ing and placed in their respective larava.
these gures (and, so far as I know, the
A boy is lifted onto each gure, the frail
only ones) that ever left the Delta I
wickerwork collapsing under his weight.
took them to Port Moresby but, when I
ters of human skulls (Newton 1961: 56-7;
The boys help the men to build new kai-
went on leave shortly afterwards, they fell
Specht and Fields 1984: 147). On the
aimunu [see Young and Clark 2001: 83],
into unsympathetic hands and were so
bullroarer-shaped gope boards, the image of
thus revivifying and renewing the power
roughly treated that one was quite ruined
a spindly humanoid body with large head
and energy of the patron beings. After this
and the other very much damaged.
and concentric circle eyes suggests a foetus
the boys are carried about the ravi in the
in the womb.
monsters mouths.
gope (Specht and Fields 1984: 159, 161). Still

farther west, on Goaribari Island, the Kerewa
agiba function as suspension hooks for clus-
At the rear of the Namau ravi was a parti-
It is tempting to see this as a symbolic
He sent this latter one (Fig. 21), with other

material for the Papuan Ofcial Collection, to
tioned space in which were kept the sacred
devouring of the young initiate, which is
The Australian Museum in Sydney but the
bullroarers and the woven cane kaiaimunu
what Wirz concluded (1937: 408), and is con-
collection was later transferred to the Aus-
masks (ibid.: 181). Newton (1961: 22-3) writes:
sistent with the custom of shoving slain
tralian Institute of Anatomy in Canberra. The
enemies into the kaiaimunu. But Williams
institutes PNG ethnographic collections
They are huge four-legged beasts with gap-
was at pains to point out that there was
subsequently were transferred to the
ing jaws, constructed of wickerwork up
never any suggestion that the child was
National Museum of Australia, where they
being devoured by the monster (Young and
remain to this day (Craig 1991, 1993), await-
Clark 2001: 83). Otherwise one could think of
ing a revival of repatriation negotiations.
these monsters as the equivalent of the
Thus the kaiaimunu might one day be
devouring crocodiles of the lower and mid-
returned to PNG.
to twelve feet long and seven feet high

When new, the beasts are decked out with
red seed eyes, feathers and crotons. Generally speaking they are left quite alone
Only the old men dare approach them.
The wickerwork beasts are not vaguely
dle Sepik cultures, as shown in Speisers 1930
The high entrance of the mens houses
possessed of imunu, They are the
photograph at Kambrambo (reproduced in
facilitated the exit and entrance of the tall
actual imunu every larava (in theory at
Kaufmann 1975, Plate 86) showing a croco-
oval masks (Namau: aiaimunu; Elema: hevehe)
least) has an individual kaiaimunu with
dile monster mask devouring an initiate.
which, when worn by a performer, reached
its own name. While the kaiaimunu live
Such a correlation is supported by the
almost 7 metres in height (Specht and Fields
Fig. 21. Sacred woven rattan gure (kaiaimunu)

from Ukiaravi village, Namau speakers, Purari Delta
(Murray 1912, Plate facing p. 219).
1984: 174-77, 182-85; Young and Clark 2001:

207-9, 215-18, and Fig. 22 this book). These
masks represented sea spirits, and another
much smaller, conical mask (kovave) represented spirits of the bush (Williams 1940,
Plate 16). The kovave were used in the initiation of boys into the cult of the bush spirits
whereas the hevehe were part of a much
more elaborate cycle of ceremonies involving
the whole community. The hevehe ceremonies were reported in detail by Williams (1940)
but summary versions may be found in Newton (1961) and Mamiya and Sumnik (1982).
The Elema eharo masks were performed
in association with the hevehe ceremonies,
but unlike the tall hevehe masks, the eharo
were not considered sacred. They portrayed
mythological characters, often in a comical
fashion, and in the 20th century became
merely gures for entertainment, sometimes
representing characteristics of contemporary
culture such as hurricane lamps (Specht
1988: 34) and European boats (Young and
Clark 2001: 201).
Under pressure from outside inuences,
the great ceremonies were abandoned prior
to and during the period of World War II (see
F.E. Williams in Schwimmer 1976: 331-92; but
see also Kiki 1968: 48-52) and the last of the
great houses burnt down, never to be
replaced (Kiki 1968: 45).
Sepik-Ramu region
On the northern side of New Guinea, the
Sepik haus tambaran (spirit house in Pidgin
English), both on the river and in the Prince
Alexander Mountains to the north, fared better than those of the Papuan Gulf. Some are
still in existence today, though not quite as
magnicent as those of the early 20th cen-
Fig. 22. Hevehe masks coming out of the eravo,

Orokolo, eastern Papuan Gulf. Photo: F.E. Williams,
February 1932 (Williams 1940, Plate 54; original
negative in South Australian Museum archives,
AA335, negative Nr 166).
tury. The Papuan Gulf mens houses were

impressive as structures but all the carved
Fig. 25. Main post of taab cult house named

Wotinkarau, under construction at Wokomot hamlet
of Big Murik village, Murik speakers, Murik Lakes.
Photos: B. Craig, M4: 7-9; 25 September 1983.
Fig. 23. Newly-completed taab cult house named

Bungabwar, at Janainamot hamlet of Big Murik
village, Murik speakers, Murik Lakes. Photo: B. Craig,
C32: 16; 21 November 1981.
and painted works at oval boards, sculp-
a transverse roofed porch and almost face
tures, masks and the like were portable
the ground (Hauser-Schublin 1989a, Plates
items. In the Sepik-Ramu region, on the other
66, 75, 78, 80, 83, 84, 106-11; Ruff 1984: 12-
hand, the posts, beams, ridge poles and gable
14, 22-9, 40-3; Ruff and Ruff 1990, Figs 5, 15;
supports of the houses are often richly
Swadling et al. 1988, Plates 170, 172-73, 197,
carved as sculptures in their own right and
198). The centre posts may be carved with
some houses have large painted faades, and
representations of ancestral beings, masks
carved and painted lintels and other sculp-
and animal totems (Fig. 25 and Craig 1987,
tures, as integral components.
Plate 36).
There is a rich variety of architecture in
The interior used to be decorated with
the Sepik-Ramu region (Craig 1975, 1980,
painted panels and feather mosaics (Sthr
1987; Hauser-Schublin 1989a; Lutkehaus et
1987, Plates 48-50). Lipset (1997: 179-80)
al. 1990, Chapters 43-5, 52; Newton 1971; Ruff
writes of this type of house at Murik Lakes:
1984; Schuster 1969; Swadling et al. 1988) but

here only that represented by objects in the
Masterpieces Exhibition will be mentioned.
The Iatmul and Abelam cult buildings are

classed as feminine bodies. The Murik
taab is no woman but a beautiful spiritman (brag). Intimations of womanhood
Murik Lakes
his body. The cult house has a penis, but
24) at Murik Lakes was said to have origi-
he also has skirts (dag) Upon entering
nated on Muschu Island and is also found on
the hall, men climb up a ladder and brush
Manam Island, on the Keram River, and on the
through the fringe like children, they say,
lower Sepik upstream from Angoram. This is
crawling underneath the skirts of their
rectangular with one oor level, and a hori-
mother Hidden deep beneath these
zontal or only slightly saddle-backed ridge.

The ornamented projecting gables at each
end (sometimes only one end) overhang
are nevertheless found upon and within
The type of cult house called taab (Figs 23,
skirts live the canoe-bodies of the cults

most sacred spirits [the karkar spears].
Further, in the context of male initiation,
Fig. 24. Cult house (taab) named Bungabwar, at

Janainamot hamlet of Big Murik village, Murik
speakers, Murik Lakes. Plan and side elevation by
Wallace Ruff (Ruff 1984).
MPNr 12. Carved post and detail, Mendam village,

Murik Lakes, Murik speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 615 cm x 23 cm diameter. 81.26.177 [original
registration number lost but identied as E.16257,
purchased from Barry Hoare and registered 28
February 1975].
Lipset concedes that the taab is the symbolic

womb of a pregnant woman as well as a
birth house (1997: 161).
Another version of the Murik cult house,
called kamasan (Figs 26, 27), has a oor plan
that is a long rectangle with one or two
pointed ends. The horizontally-ridged gabled
roof follows the same shape as the oor plan
(Ruff 1984: 8-11, 17-21; 32-6; Ruff and Ruff
1990, Figs 14, 17). This type of house is also
found at Watam Lagoon, the lower and middle Ramu, and in the lower Sepik and
Porapora region downstream from Angoram
(Hauser-Schublin 1989a, Plates 87, 89-100;
Hltker 1966; Swadling et al. 1988, Plates
176-82).
Only in the mens cult houses (taab and
kamasan at Murik Lakes) are the posts carved
with images (Ruff 1984: 10, 11). On the lower
Sepik, two posts may be carved but at Murik
Lakes it is only the rear post, its centre man
(wabii nor). At each end of the roof beam a
serpents head (wakun kombatok) is carved
and painted red (Lipset 1997: 180).
The taab and kamasan cult houses are
given personal names, as are the masks, gures and many other objects related to the
mens cult. One of the most popular names is
Sendam and in 1982 no less than three cult
houses in Murik villages bore his name (ibid.
194). In 1981, I recorded six brag masks
named Sendam at Murik villages, for example, Fig. 28, and, in 1983, one at Marbuk on
the lower Sepik. At Watam there was, in 1983,
the life-sized gure Sendam (see Fig. 66 this
book), pair to Jore in the Masterpieces
Exhibition.
Sendam is a highly signicant gure in
Murik legend. He is the spirit-man some
credit with the invention of organized warfare, the moiety system and wife-lending in
the [mens] cult (ibid.: 192). Sendam came to
Fig. 26. Cult house (kamasan) named Sendam at

Mendam village, Murik speakers, Murik Lakes. Photo:
B. Craig C33: 25; 22 November 1981.
Fig. 28 (bottom). Mask (brag) named Sendam,

Mendam village, Murik speakers, Murik Lakes.
Bought by Pai-is from Watam, early 19th century.
This is the oldest mask known in the Murik Lakes
region. Photo: B. Craig, M33: 15; 22 November 1981.
natural for men it has to be learned.
two gures are those of brag spirits rather
Murik from Samap, 10 kilometres along the

coast beyond the western end of Murik Lakes.
His mother was a wild pig and his father a
villager. Lipset (ibid.: 192-93) recounts Sendams subsequent adventures:
the men of the fathers village hunt [his
mother] down. In retaliation, Sendam
destroys everything and everyone in it
(save his sister and her children) and then
leaves for the Murik coast where he nds
men ghting each other without form or
even weapons. He introduces spears and
spearthrowers to them and teaches them
how to ght each other in opposed pairs,
a principle of dual organization some say
he also applied to the male cult moieties.
After making his gifts of weapons
and dualism to Murik warriors, Sendam
went on towards the Sepik River, where
the village today called Kopar was under
7
attack by two sea-eagle spirits, who were
husband and wife. Climbing the tree in
which they nested for the night, Sendam
killed the couple just at the very moment
they were making love in their mosquito
basket In return for rescuing them, the
village men wanted to celebrate and
honor Sendam with a great feast. But the
hero refused their offer. He only wanted
women. Each man brought his wife to the
cult house and the spirit-man had intercourse with them, one by one
Lipset recounts further episodes that
No information was recorded regarding
than ancestors (Beier and Aris 1975: 21). The
involve Sendam manipulating circumstances
the post in the Masterpieces Exhibition
masks and gures all seem to be different,
to gain access to other mens wives. The pur-
(MPNr 12). It probably was carved for sale as
suggesting that particular named masks and
pose of this was to institute the practice of
it is not a functional house post, lacking the
ancestors or spirits are being represented.
wife-lending in the context of the cult of the
cradle-shaped top end required for support-
The birds carved between the gures and the
karkar spears. The function of this custom
ing the ridge pole (Ruff and Ruff 1990, Fig.
masks are most likely what Lipset calls
was to provide the opportunity for men (the
14). Both sides are carved in similar fashion.
canoe-bodies in which the brag travel about
husbands) to rise above mere jealous posses-
The faces certainly represent brag masks,
in nature (1997: 137).
siveness, to be released from emotional
inhabited by male guardian war spirits. At
dependence on women (the mother-wife),
least two of the male gures may represent
Lower Ramu River
and to become fearless warriors. Being able
named ancestors descendant one from the
The museums register states that MPNr 14
to engage in a battle of life-or-death is not
other, although the long noses of the lower
is a post from Bosmun, but the style of the

Fig. 27. Cult house (kamasan) named Sendam at

Mendam village, Murik speakers, Murik Lakes. Plan
and side elevation by Wallace Ruff (Ruff 1984).
MPNr 14. Carved post, Mikarew area, Ruboni Range,

Mikarew speakers, Madang Province. Wood. 340 cm
x 35 cm diameter. E.15287. Purchased from Rudi
Caesar and registered 17 September 1974.
Fig. 29. Simon Novep of Kambot village, Kambot

speakers, with gure named Dama and one of his
paintings. Photo: B. Craig M22: 35;17 October 1982.
carved head on each side at the base of

the post does not match Bosmun style (cf.,
Christensen 1975: 49; Hltker 1966). Dirk
Smidt has attributed it to Mikarew, 8 kilometres east of the lower Ramu in the Ruboni
Range. He visited there in 1973, noting several such posts and purchasing two for the
museum. He writes (pers. comm. 15 March
2004) that such posts are called dupena
kunim and are carved for the mens ceremonial house, which is constructed in
association with initiation and end-of-mourning rituals. Each post has a personal name
that is also the name of the two faces on
the lower part of the post. It is not known
whether the name is of an ancestor or perhaps a bush spirit. Sometimes the posts
have representations of various animals
carved onto them. The bulging shape at the
top of the post represents a clay cooking
pot (munem). Pots used to be made by the
Fig. 30. Paintings by Simon Novep. Left to right:

Konyim, a tree spirit (Dennett and Dennett 1975:
39); wife of Dawena; Dawena (Dennett and Dennett
1975: 77); Wain (Dennett and Dennett 1975: 33-4);
wife of Wain. Photo: B. Craig C30: 36; 18 November
1981.
Mikarew people before the Catholic mission
MPNr 4. Cult house faade, Kambot village, Keram River, Kambot speakers, East Sepik Province. Sago spathes,
wood, rattan. 2.74 m high x 1.7 m wide at base. 81.26.121 [original registration number lost but identied as
E.10269, collected by Dirk Smidt in 1971, registered 18 May 1972]. Published in Smidt 1981: 21-2 and Illusts
11-14; TPNGPMAG 1974b: 36; TPNGPMAG 1976a, Plate p. 29 (left of centre).
was built on the place where the clay was

mined; since then they have had to trade
pots from Bosmun.
Below the two faces at the base of the
Mikarew post (MPNr 14), the human gure is
carved in low relief, male on one side and
female on the other. The name of this post
was not recorded by Rudi Caesar.
Keram River
The painted mens cult house faade from
Kambot on the Keram River (MPNr 4) was
commissioned by Dirk Smidt for the museum
in June 1971. It was painted over four days
by Simon Novep (Fig. 29), who drew the outlines of the gures, leaving other men to ll
in the colours (Smidt 1976, 1981, and pers.
comm. 17 March 2004). Simon Novep was the
most well-known and competent artist of the
1960s-1980s in the Keram River area (Fig. 30,
and compare MPNr 4 with Craig 1987, Plate
74 and Dennett and Dennett 1975: 25, 28, 32,
36-9).
This faade was used as the model for the
painted faade of the building at the
entrance to the National Museum (Fig. 31 and
TNMAG 1980, front cover).
The central gure in the Masterpieces
painting is Mopul or Mobul. Novep told Helen
Dennett that the central gure in the faade
painting is always Mopul, never his brother
Wain (Helen Dennett, pers. comm. 9 February
2004). This is further conrmed by the title of
Josene Huppertzs book (1981) and in her
text.
Smidt (pers. comm. 17 March 2004) states
that the bird-headed gure on Mopuls left is
a warrior named Bew; he holds a ghting
club (saleng). The female gure on Mopuls
right is Angong, Mopuls sister. The birds
above Mopuls shoulders are cassowaries
(bandema). Above the cassowaries, the
Fig. 31. Faade of the entrance building at PNG

National Museum and Art Gallery, Waigani, showing
reproduction of Simon Novep painting. Photo:
B. Craig, September 1981.
animal on Mobuls right side is a wallaby

(kowe) and on his left side is a lizard (lan),
probably the Varanus lizard whose skin is
used for hand drums. Above Mopuls head is
his dog (lunduma), which kills the lizard and
wallaby to provide food for Mopul. Above the
two cassowaries, stars (gunouma) give Mopul
light at night. Mopuls headdress (pombwan)
incorporates the tail feathers of a cockerel,
and sh bones at the centre (the remains of
his meal). Ornaments of crescent pearl shell
and oval melo shell (Cymbium?) hang round
Mopuls neck and on his chest; ornaments
incorporating dogs teeth, cowries and nassa
shells are worn on his forehead and at his
waist; he wears three types of armbands and
his loincloth is painted with a face design. On
his abdomen, the curvilinear design represents his intestines (yanbe). The zigzags on
his shoulders and rows of small circles on his
thighs are the scarication marks of the fully
initiated man.
Huppertz8 has published a series of photographs of Kambot cult house faades:
s THElRSTPHOTOGRAPH(UPPERTZ
Plate 10) is a reproduction of the one
taken in 1929 by K.P. Schmidt of the
Crane Expedition (see Shurcliff 1930,
Plate opp. p. 234; Webb 1995, Fig. 8); a
photograph of the interior of the cult
house also was published by Shurcliff
(1930, Plate opp. p. 236);
s THESECOND(UPPERTZ0LATE ISA
1950s photograph by Peter Beltjens,
demonstrating that the faade had been
replaced, at least once but probably
more than once, since the Crane Expedition;
s THETHIRD(UPPERTZ0LATE ISA
photograph taken by Henry Lehner in
1965, showing a replacement faade just
before its erection;
Fig. 32. Drawing by Wallace Ruff of cult house

named Bonjo, and its faade, at Kambot village,
Kambot speakers, Keram River (Ruff and Ruff 1990,
Fig. 5).
s AFOURTHPHOTOGRAPH(UPPERTZ
these faades is similar, with a large male g-
Plate 14), taken by John Kovac in the
ure standing in the centre anked by two
1970s, is of the faade on the cult house
smaller persons, usually female, there are
Bonjo (Craig 1981: 147) that was painted
some interesting differences in the motifs
around 1970 and was still in place in
that are analysed by Huppertz. The style of
1981 (cf., Ruff and Ruff 1990, Fig. 5;
each is also signicantly different. Her series
Swadling et al. 1988, Plate 197, image
of ve photographs of paintings of a cult
left-right reversed) but was taken down
house faade ranging over almost half a cen-
in 1982 or 1983 because it was too
tury is unique in the record of New Guineas
damaged by rain. Huppertz suggests that
cultural heritage.
this painting (Fig. 32) was done by Simon
Dennett and Dennett (1975: 33-4) have
Novep (1991: 93). It was there when
published the story of Mopul and his older
Smidt commissioned the museums
brother Wain, as told by Simon Novep:9
painting from Novep in 1971 and

survived until 1982.
s lNALLY(UPPERTZAND0LATE
Mopul and his elder brother Wain lived near
illustrates a faade painted for John
Angoram at a place called Mangrama where
Kovac in 1974 by Zacharias Wepenang to
they built a haus tambaran [mens cult house].
send to a museum in Europe.
Wains wife, angered because Mopul, who
Although the iconography of each of
The story of Mopul and Wain
was unmarried, ignored her constant efforts
to attract him, smeared some red sap on her
he recognised the rhythms as those made by
where the bamboo had been. Sisili was
head and told her husband that she had
his brother. He set out to nd Mopul and on
charmed by his appearance and claimed him
been injured during a struggle with Mopul
reaching Busima was overjoyed to nd him
as her husband but Yiripi, as the elder sister,
when he had tried to force his attentions on
still alive. Wain noticed a ne canoe there and
claimed prior right.
her. In fear of reprisal, Mopul hid in the haus
asked Mopul to make a similar one for him.
tambaran.
Mopul said that it had been laboriously
carrying white clay, which they used to boil
Wain took a spear and went to the haus
At that point the girls parents came home
carved out by shell. This was a lie as he had
and eat. Wain threw the clay away in disgust
tambaran, loudly demanding retribution
brought a stone axe with him when he ed
saying that he would get them something
from his brother. Mopuls friends, who had
from Mangrama. He promised to make a
more palatable. He ordered them to line up
hidden with him, advised him to lie low till
canoe if Wain would fetch a stone axe from
their pots, baskets, canoes and any other
Wains temper had cooled. But Wains rage
up river. Wain set, out leaving his wife behind.
receptacles they could nd. Uttering a spell
continued and he demanded that blood be
All that night Mopul worked on a new
spilt to avenge the insult to his wife. Consid-
canoe, making it very thin in parts. Here and
ing bush. It came as a long white snake and
ering it the best solution, Mopul passively
there he made holes and caulked them over
lled the containers to overowing. They
presented himself to be speared in the leg.
with mud. Next morning Mopul left with his
then ate to their hearts content.
Wain drew prepared sago from the surround-
Fearing that there would be further trou-
mother and sister for a nearby island. Wains
In a few days, the store of sago had n-
ble, Mopul told his mother, sister and friends
wife wished to accompany them but Mopul
ished and the people asked Wain for more.
to return to their houses. He sensed that Wain
insisted that she stay there to await Wains
He told the girls to go into the bush and call
would set the haus tambaran on re. Mopul
return.
out. The sago snake would heed their calls
ung a bone knife at the main post and it
Wain soon came back and was puzzled by
and come to the village. But they did not fol-
split. He squeezed through the crevice, went
Mopuls sudden departure. His wife showed
low his instructions and crept silently
down the hollow centre and left the building.
him the new canoe and he decided to go
through the bush. One of the girls saw what
He collected some animal bones and placed
back to Mangrama. They paddled off but
she thought was a snake. She struck out at it
them at the spot he normally occupied in the
soon the canoe sank. Wain swam about look-
but too late recognised it as the snake of
haus tambaran. Then he hid in a hole to await
ing for his wife but could not nd her.
sago. It retreated into a tree and Wain, upon
developments.
Eventually he gave up the search and struck
hearing their account of what had happened,
out for the shore.
lamented their foolishness. From then on,
Just as he had feared, Wain set re to the

building and it burned to the ground. In the
On the bank he saw two girls who were
sago [has] had to be prepared by the labori-
ruins, Wain came across the supposed
shing for eels. Their names were Sisili and
remains of his brother and was struck with
Yiripi. He swam ashore without being noticed
Wain married the two girls and after a
bitter remorse. Mopul waited for nightfall and
and hid inside a length of bamboo which he
time Yiripi gave birth to a son who was called
crept to his mothers house. They collected
caused to fall in front of the girls. Sisili
Tai. Meanwhile, Mopul had built a house on a
their possessions and got into a canoe. As it
decided to take the bamboo to her father for
small island where he lived by himself. Mopul
pulled away, Mopul ung a coconut at Wains
spearheads but Yiripi said it was too heavy.
disapproved of Wains having two wives and
house. Wain woke and, believing the noise to
Sisili carried it for a while but then cast it into
as Tai grew older, appeared in dreams and
be made by Mopuls spirit, ran outside. He
the undergrowth by the side of the track. It
ordered Tai to tell his father to send Sisili
saw no one.
rolled towards them of its own accord so Sis-
away. This Tai did but his constant requests so
ili, recognising its magical properties,
angered Wain that he killed Tai. As they were
Pora Pora area called Busima. Mopul built a
struggled with it back to the village. She put
burying the boy, the people noticed two g-
haus tambaran there and carved a garamut
it on a platform above the re. As they were
ures approaching the spot in a canoe. When
drum for it.
resting, Wain threw a betel nut at each girl.
they came closer, the people saw that they
Looking up in surprise, they saw a man sitting
were Mopul and Tai. Mopul asked for a
Downstream they went to a place in the
The sound of the drum reached Wain and
ous process used nowadays.
Fig. 33. Drawing by Wallace Ruff of mens cult house

Molgaivi, Tongwindjamb village, Kwoma speakers,
Washkuk Hills (Ruff and Ruff 1990, Fig. 7).
coconut. He drank the milk, made magic with
walls and gables. Also, all the major posts,
murderous, cannibalistic character that is
the shell, and rendered Tai and himself invisi-
beams and nials are extravagantly carved
embodied as a spirit in the front post made
ble. The villagers were struck with fear and
and painted with gures depicting clan spir-
of nyembi timber. Bowden thus argues that,
ed. They then established a new settlement
its and episodes in clan myths (Figs 33-6). The
through the signicance of the types of tim-
at Kambot and their descendants have lived
underside of the roof is often completely
ber used in the construction of the cult
there to this day.
lined with sago spathes10 painted with
house, and through the yam harvest rituals
designs in red, yellow and white on a black
conducted within it,
Washkuk Hills, Ambunti area
ground, representing totemic species of
Roughly halfway up the Sepik River, the
plants and animals. Ross Bowden writes
ators of human beings and yams and as
Washkuk Hills relieve the monotony of the
(1990: 482):
killers. These two ideas are actually related
men represent themselves both as cre-
lower and middle Sepik oodplain. The
Totems (sabo) and spirits (sikilowas), like
in Kwoma thought, since it is by killing
government station of Ambunti has been
myths, are owned by particular clans,
enemies in battle that men are believed
established there. The culture of the peo-
and only members of the clans that own
to acquire the capacity to plant and grow
ple living in this area is signicantly different
them may carve or paint representations
yams.
to that of the Sepik mainstream people,
of them.
with yam cultivation featuring prominently.
The structural components of the Kwoma
It is in these cult houses that the sacred

slit-gongs are kept and where the yena, mija
These people locate their ancestral origin in
cult house (korombo) are made of two types
and nowkwi gures are set up in conjunction
the north, at the eastern end of the Torricelli
of timber (Bowden 1990: 483-84; 1992: 80-3).
with the yam harvest rituals, analysed in
Mountains.
The horizontal ridge pole, nials and side
detail by Bowden (1983).
A rooine similar to that of the double-
beams are made of mes and the vertical posts
The motif on the two ridge poles in
pointed kamasan of Murik Lakes is a feature
are made of the hardwood nyembi. The mes
MPNrs 208, 209 is the same as that on the
of the Kwoma, Nukuma, Warasei and Yasyin
timber is associated with yam-planting as it is
nials of the Wosera, Sawos and Iatmul cult
cult houses of the Washkuk Hills and of the
from this timber that the yam-planting stick
houses a bird perched above a human face
Sanchi and Namblo rivers near Ambunti
is made. In a certain story the stick functions
or gure. The carved and painted faces
(Bowden 1983: 44-51, Plates 2-4; Hauser-
as a penis and impregnates a female snake
beneath this motif represent clan water spir-
Schublin 1989a, Plates 175-79; Newton 1971,
that gives birth to a human male child. This
its (sikilowas).
Illusts 131-40; Ruff and Ruff 1990, Fig. 7; Swa-
boy is subsequently killed and reincarnated
dling et al. 1988, Plates 225-26, 228-30). But
as a giant mes tree. When a woman steps over
Middle Sepik River
these buildings consist of a roof only, taper-
its roots, she automatically becomes preg-
Essentially the one type of cult house existed
ing at both ends and lacking raised oors,
nant. Another myth gives the mens house a
in all the Iatmul villages along the middle
Fig. 34. Finial of mens cult house, Bangwis village,

Kwoma speakers, Washkuk Hills. Photo: B. Craig
BM27: 27; 7 January 1973.
Fig. 35. Mens cult house, Bangwis village, Kwoma

speakers, Washkuk Hills. Photo: B. Craig BM27: 24;
7 January 1973.
Fig. 36. Interior of Ambunti Court House, built in the

style of a mens cult house. Photo: B. Craig C9: 35;
29 October 1981.
MPNr 208. Ridge pole, Washkuk hills, Ambunti area,

Kwoma speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 500 cm.
x 25 cm. diameter. E.7292. Registered 10 February
1971.
MPNr 209. Ridge pole, Washkuk hills, Ambunti area,

Kwoma speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 263 cm.
x 28 cm. diameter. E.7291. Registered 10 February
1971.
Fig. 37. Mens cult house, Paiyembit (Paiambit),

Palimbei village, Iatmul speakers, middle Sepik
(cf., Ruff and Ruff 1990, Fig. 9). Photo: B. Craig C16: 3;
4 November 1981.
Sepik, the lower reaches of the Karawari
utes, water drums and mud-beaters, and
vertically rather than near horizontal, and as a
and Blackwater rivers, at Chambri Lake, and
the upper oor levels once displayed painted
consequence having a distinctly saddle-
to the north among the Sawos (Fig. 37; also
sago-spathe skull racks (Kelm 1966a, Plate
backed ridge line. As is the case for the taab,
Hauser-Schublin 1989a, Plates 121, 124-27,
237; Sthr 1987, Plate 28). Of all these types
there is often, but not always, a transversely-
133-34, 137-42, 137-49, 156-65 and Swa-
of objects, only the slit-gongs remain in any
roofed porch at each end.
dling et al. 1988, Plates 206-14, 217-24, 227).
number, most of the other objects having
Many of these cult houses remain to this
been purchased by museums and art dealers.
day. They used to contain a large number of
The middle Sepik cult house (Iatmul:
These houses are characterised by a postand-beam method of construction, which

employs a central row of tall posts
carved and painted objects such as debating
ngego) may be seen as a variation of the
supporting the ridge beam, two rows of
stools, suspension hooks, human and ani-
Murik Lakes taab cult house rectangular
shorter posts supporting the roofs side
mal totem representations, slit-gongs, sacred
oor plan and peaked gables, but rising
beams, and two rows of short posts

supporting the raised oor beams. Thus the
Plate 209). Sometimes there are two of these
ooring is structurally independent of the
gable support posts at each end of the cult
rest of the building. The tops of the posts are
house (Coifer 1990, Fig. 3). The gable sup-
notched to cradle the beams and elaborate
port post is carved from the buttress roots of
rattan bindings provide strong but exible
a tree, which form the legs and arms of a
fastening of the other components, impor-
spread-legged female gure.11 Among the
tant in an area subject to earth tremors. The
Sawos, this gure is called vavi. Schindlbeck
main posts of the mens houses are carved
(1985) has provided detailed information on
with faces or gures representing certain
Sawos gable support posts and their signi-
ancestors and their adventures, and bear
cance (see below).
their proper names. Animal and geometric
At the top of the gable support post at
motifs represent clan totems. Hauser-Schub-
each end of the cult house is a nial carved as
lin (1983: 46, footnote 14) reports that a myth
an eagle clutching a woman in its talons (Fig.
relates that the mens house used to be sup-
38; also Craig 1987, Plate 30; Swadling et al.
ported not by wooden posts but by
1988, Plate 219). Wassmann (1991: 15) asserts
ancestors that took their place and sup-
that, at the Iatmul village of Kandingei, The
ported the house with their bodies.
eagle is held to be a symbol of the aggres-
A gable support post is placed high up on

a crossbeam at each end of the house thus
creating the saddle-back roof form (Swadling
siveness and the warlike strength and

boldness (ko) of the village.
The gables and walls are elaborately dec-
et al. 1988, Plate 216, but normally hidden
orated with leaf shingles trimmed and cut
from view, as in the Tolembi mens house in
into patterns in various shades of brown, and
Fig. 38. Finial of mens cult house, Shotmeri-yogwi

at Shotmeri village, Iatmul speakers, middle Sepik.
Photo: B. Craig C14: 34; 3 November 1981.
Fig. 39 (opposite page top). Mens cult house

Paimbit, Tolembi Nr 1, Sawos speakers, middle Sepik.
Photo: B. Craig C3: 25; 11 September 1982.
Fig. 40. Family house, Tambanum village, Iatmul

speakers, middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig C20: 21;
10 November 1981.
large triangular aps hang from the raised

oor (Fig. 39).
There is often a large gable mask made of
carved and painted wood (for example,
MPNrs 21, 22), painted basketry or other
materials, representing the named female
spirit of the house (Fig. 40).12 These masks
had a protective function (Craig 1987, Plates
16, 61; Sthr 1987, Plate 19; Swadling et al.
1988, Plates 211, 217, 220, 222-24). Coifer
(1990: 494) reports:
Sometimes the whole gable looks like a
human face, with the opening for the
door taking the place of the mouth. The
names of the decorative elements of the
gable conrm this anthropomorphism: pu
(breast), dama (nose), nimbi (teeth), kundi
(mouth), menii (eyes), dama-livit (decorative nose).
Below the gable mask there may be a row

of small windows, each displaying nowadays
a carved and painted head, substitutes for
over-modelled and painted enemy skulls
(Webb 1995, Fig. 5).
The most famous of the Sepik River cult
houses is Wolimbit in the Iatmul village of
Kanganaman (Figs 41-4 and Craig 1987,
Plates 17-22). Perhaps the largest cult house
ever built in the Sepik, it has probably been in
existence for well over 100 years and one of
its centre posts (named Sagasagu) has a history stretching back before the foundation of
Kanganaman village itself. Wolimbit was photographed by Shurcliff in 1929 (Webb 1995,
Fig. 5) and by Speiser and Bateson in the
early 1930s (Bateson 1958, Plate VIIa; HauserSchublin 1989a, Plate 143; Swadling et al.
1988, Plate 215).
Around 1947-48, the house was rebuilt,
re-using a few of the old posts. By 1956, all
the faade, porch roong, the walls, and the
large triangular aps hanging from the raised
MPNr 22. Gable mask, Yentchanmangua village,

middle Sepik, Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 108 x 41 cm. E.346.1. One of seven large
masks collected by Dadi Wirz in 1955 and registered
7 December 1956. Published in a photograph of
an exhibition in the PNG Museum around 1965
(TPNGMAG 1966, Plate opp. p. 26, bottom left).
MPNr 21. Gable mask, middle Sepik, Iatmul

speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, rafa remnants
along nose. 83 x 46 cm. E.511. Registered 24
September 1958. Published in a photograph of
an exhibition in the PNG Museum around 1965
(TPNGMAG 1966, Plate opp. p. 24, left of centre) and
in TPNGMAG 1967, Plate 4.
MPNr 18 (right). Cult house gable nial, attributed

to Kanganaman village, middle Sepik, Iatmul
speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 220 x 33
cm. 81.26.127 [original registration number lost
but identied as most likely E.1348, registered 9
February 1966 but noted as in museum before that
date].
oor, were gone (Kaufmann 1975, Plates 95,
1975. He measured the house at 34 metres
96; see also Hauser-Schublin 1989a, Plate
long, 8 metres wide and 17 metres high to
144; Swadling et al. 1988, Plate 216). A n-
the peak of the nials. In 1980 an earthquake
ial and gable support post, removed from
caused severe damage. Wallace Ruff exam-
Wolimbit cult house at Kanganaman for
ined the building in 1981 and produced a
replacement, was brought to the attention
comprehensive report of the damage and
of the President of the Museums Board of
options for repairing the house (Ruff 1981).
Trustees, Sir Alan Mann, in a letter written
The National Museum provided some fund-
at Ambunti by Douglas Newton on 19 June
ing to assist with the carving of replacement
1964 (National Museum archives). In a let-
posts (Craig 1987, Plate 21). The two gable
ter from the Museum of Primitive Art, dated 6
nials were acquired for the museum in 1981
October 1964, Newton responded to a letter
and are presently in storage. Wolimbit has
from Mann dated 26 June 1964 stating, I was
since been rebuilt.
most happy to have been of any assistance
The largest Kanganaman post (MPNr 10),
to the Museum in the matter of the carv-
named Masagumban, was purchased by the
ings at Kanganaman. Presumably, the nial in
museum in January 1974 and transported on
MPNr 18 was the one referred to in this cor-
a raft of river canoes to Angoram on 17 Jan-
respondence but as it has lost its registration
uary 1974. In due course it arrived in Port
number, it can only be inferred that it is the
Moresby but because of its size was put into
item registered E.1348 in 1966. There are no
storage pending construction of the new
other candidates in the register, up until the
museum building at Waigani. It would appear
end of 1969. It seems that its companion n-
that it was never registered, a situation that
ial may be the one bought by Jean Guiart
was remedied in 1981. This, like the other
from Kanganaman in 1965 for the Muse
post (MPNr 11), formed part of the structure
National des arts dAfrique et Ocanie in Paris
of Wolimbit. It was positioned in one of the
(Meyer 1995, Plate 213). However, the caption
rows of posts along the sides of the building
does not specify that it came from Wolimbit
and supported one end of a roof side beam.
cult house.
Clan ancestors and other mythical beings
In 1961, Eike Haberland collected four
are represented on the post, including Masa-
posts from a Kanganaman cult house on
gumban, the full gure carving on one side
behalf of the Frobenius Institut and Museum
of the post, who was the founder of the clan
fr Vlkerkunde, Frankfurt am Main (Haber-
that owned the post. The little frog-like g-
land and Schuster 1964: 52-3). But these were
ure on the side opposite the representation
from Munsimbit cult house, not Wolimbit.13
of Masagumban is identical to the little gure
On 30 November 1967, Wolimbit cult
carved at the base of the Kanganaman nial
house and all the artefacts in and underneath
(MPNr 18). In museum correspondence, the
it were declared and gazetted as National
post was noted as approximately 28 feet (8.6
Cultural Property. Perhaps around 1970, some
metres) long; approximately 1.45 metres of
posts were replaced and in 1972 and 1974,
the base is buried into the oor of the exhi-
two old ones were acquired for the PNG
bition space.
Museum (MPNrs 10, 11). Holden published

the rst detailed architectural drawings in
The smaller of the two Kanganaman posts

is the oldest. It supported one of the
MPNr 10. House post (and details), personal name

Masagumban; Kanganaman village, middle Sepik,
Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. c. 7.15
m x 60 cm diameter. 81.26.123 [purchased by the
museum in January 1974 but apparently never
registered].
MPNr 11. House post (and details), personal name

Masam; Kanganaman village, middle Sepik, Iatmul
speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. c. 4.8 m x 43
cm diameter. E.10192. Collected by Dirk Smidt and
registered 5 May 1972.
Fig. 41. Southern entrance to mens cult house

Wolimbit at Kanganaman village, Iatmul speakers,
middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig C9: 20; 28 October
1981.
horizontal transverse beams of the upper

oor and was located right beside one of the
major corner posts of the building supporting the roof side beams. Its name is Masam,
the name of one of the two clans that owned
the post. Masam is a mythical clan founder
whose image is carved onto the post.
Because of its deterioration, around 1971 it
was replaced by a new post and bought the
following year for the National Museum. In
the museum register it is noted as 20 feet 7
inches (6.27 metres) long; approximately 1.47
metres of the base is buried into the oor of
the exhibition space.
The post from Marap Nr 2 (MPNr 15), a
Sawos village about 12 kilometres north of
the Sepik village of Yentschan, probably supported the side beam of the roof of the cult
house. It is only half the height of its Kanganaman counterpart, but Sawos cult houses
tend to be much lower to the ground than
the riverside Iatmul houses, which have to be
built up high because of annual ooding. The
gure on the Marap post no doubt depicts a
clans founding ancestor but the name was
not recorded by its collector, Barry Hoare.
The nial MPNr 18 is attributed to Kanganaman village because the eagle has its
wings at its sides, not outstretched, and that
design is copyright to Kanganaman. The froglike gure incised beneath the feet of the
woman may refer to the frog as a totem. In
Kandingei, the frog belongs to Wango clan
(Wassmann 1991: 219); this may also be the
case in Kanganaman, where I recorded a clan
named Wanigo. The sawsh incised on one
side also may be a clan totem; the sawsh is
the totem of Yambune clan at Kandingei but
it might be the totem for some other clan at
Kanganaman.
There are many versions of the story of
the woman held by the eagle, as portrayed
Fig. 42. Two gable support posts, southern end of

Wolimbit, Kanganaman village, Iatmul speakers,
middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig C14: 3; 1 November
1981.
on the nials of Iatmul cult houses. An

abridgement of the lengthy story recorded at
Kandingei by Wassmann (1991: 192-95) is as
follows:
There were once two sisters, Kanda and
Kula. They went off in their canoe to go shing. After a while, Kula wanted to go and
relieve herself and she asked Kanda to take
her to a nearby oating grass island. While
Kula was relieving herself, Kanda took off,
abandoning Kula on the island. Kula became
frightened and wept.
After a while, a little sh came swimming
along and Kula said: Oh good sh, swim
down and tell your father, the water spirit and
crocodile Tandemi, to come up and set me
free. The sh swam down and told his father
that there was a very pretty young woman
on a grass island who had asked for help. The
crocodile father was angry. You liar! he
shouted, and struck the sh, who lay there
and wept bitterly.
Another sh came by and again Kula
asked it to take a message to its father, the
crocodile. He did so and again the father
yelled You liar! and struck the sh so that it
wept. This happened over and over again,
with other sh, a craysh and an eel, until at
last the eldest child, a crocodile, decided to
investigate. He adorned himself and swam up
to see this woman. When he surfaced, Kula
was frightened and asked him if he was the
father crocodile. He said No, and Kula asked
him to go down and ask his father to come
and fetch her.
The eldest swam down and reported,
Father, my little brothers were not lying; they
were telling the truth. There really is a very
pretty woman up there. She wants you to go
and fetch her. The father dropped what he
was doing at once, put on his adornments,
took his crocodile frame of rattan and slipped
Fig. 43. Eaves post (right) and oor support post

(left), south-east corner of Wolimbit, Kanganaman
village, Iatmul speakers, middle Sepik. Photo:
B. Craig C10: 28; 30 October 1981.
into it. Now he was a big crocodile, a mighty

thing; he swam to the surface and splashed
around a little. Kula became afraid and
called out, Are you going to eat me up? Tandemi opened his jaws and said, You called
for me and now I have come. I am not a crocodile; I am a human being, Tandemi
[Samangwak clan]. I have come to take you
down to my place. He then revealed himself
as a man by briey removing his rattan crocodile frame.
He told her to sit on his shoulders but she
protested that she would drown. No, the
water is only on top. Below there is no more
water; theres a village there. Thats where we
two will go. They sank into the water and
reached the village. Its name is Wanandi or
Meimbanandi. She became his wife.
After a while, Kula became pregnant; then
she gave birth to two eggs. Tandemi told her
to put them in a clay pot. After a while, the
eggs broke open and two little birds came
out. The elder, Mingre [Wango clan] pushed
the lid aside and perched on the rim of the
pot; the younger, Ndambali [Wango clan] also
perched on the rim. The two cried Aaaa, iiii,
aaaaa, iiii, klaklaklakla, aaaaa, iiii! Then Kula
and Tandemi came running and spoke their
names. The two eagles then rose and ew
around the village. Then Kula called the name
of the wani tree [Samangwak clan]. At that,
the two young eagles ew up through the
water and found a large wani tree where they
built a platform. There they lurked and very
soon there was not a man, woman or child
left in the area; they had pecked the heads
off all of them and eaten them. They brought
their victims up to their platform and ate
them there. This went on for some time.
They then decided to fetch their mother
and ew back down to the underwater village. The elder brother, Mingre, seized her by
Fig. 44. Middle centre post of Wolimbit,

Kanganaman village, Iatmul speakers, middle Sepik
and orators stool Kiganmeri. Photo: B. Craig C9: 12;
28 October 1981.
the head and the younger, Ndambali, seized
reference to the large saltwater embayment
her by the feet, and the mother cried out in
that existed in that area several thousand
fear. The two ew up through the water, up to
years ago (Swadling et al. 1988: 14-15; Swa-
the wani tree and laid her on the platform.
dling et al 1991).
Then they killed her, tore her to pieces, ate
The gable support post MPNr 19 is from
her arms, her legs, her belly and her head;
Tolembi, a village towards the western side of
they ate everything except her skull. Her skull
Sawos territory. The Iatmul and Sawos regard
fell down near the wani tree.
their mens houses as female. Schindlbeck
There is much more to the story, how two
(1985) informs us that the Sawos mens house
brothers (one of whom is named as Mangi-
Mindjembit, which existed in primeval times,
saun see MPNr 123) tricked the eagles and
is referred to as mother and that the mens
were able to kill them, but the brothers were
houses in other Sawos and Iatmul villages are
in turn killed by their own children.
regarded as her daughters. In the myth of the
Another version of this story, associated
building of this rst mens house by the
with a carving kept at Kararau (Fig. 45 and
woman Solambundivi (ibid.: 370-71), it was
Craig 1987, Plate 31), has the woman, Gun-
her younger brother Mondiawan who carved
namak (Mbagat-ngowi, Kwala-nambu),
the rst gable support post (vavi) with the
mating with the crocodile and giving birth to
likeness of a woman with spread legs, arms
a snake (kinjin) and an eel (ang-guri). The
stretched out to her knees, at its base
story goes on to tell how Gunnamak carved
(Fig. 46).
out the course of the Sepik, which owed
The Sawos gable nial (tapmui-vavi) por-
from the large inland lake called Mebenbit. It
trays an eagle on top of a male gure. Sawos
is possible that this mythical lake is a
and most western Iatmul portray a male
Fig. 45. Figure of Gun-namak (Mbagat-ngowi, Kwalanambu) at Kararau village, Iatmul speakers, middle
Sepik. Photo: B. Craig C16: 30; 5 November 1981.
MPNr 19. Cult house gable support post, female

gure, Tolembi village, middle Sepik, Sawos
speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 342 x 131
x 108 cm. E.16046. Purchased from Barry Hoare
and registered 10 February 1975. Published by
Schindlbeck (1985: 381, 390).
Fig. 46. Gable support post named Ambiawoli, north

end of mens cult house Sombi, Nangusap village,
Sawos speakers, middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig M9: 19;
15 September 1982.
gure on the nial whereas central Iatmul

portray a female gure. In all cases, the base
of the nial is carved as the lower half of a
hand drum and its hollowed-out section sits
over the top of the gable support post. This
nial is said by the Sawos to be the brother
of the female gure that forms the base of
the gable support post (vavi-ambu).
The word vavi can refer to the woman at
the base of the gable support post, to the
bird of the gable nial or to the sacred utes.
Some say that utes were, in primordial
times, played by women in a ute house (sai)
in the forest; but men came along and killed
the women and took away their utes. Others
say that the sound of the ute is the voice of
the dead soul of a mythical woman. Related
to this is the statement that the sound of the
utes in the mens house is the voice of vavi
and it is she who makes the circular cuts
MPNr 15. House post, Marap Nr 2 village, middle

Sepik, Sawos speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
3.57 m x 38 cm. E.10449. Donated by Barry Hoare
and registered 19 October 1972. Published in
TPNGPMAG 1976a, Plate p. iv (with incorrect
registration number) and Plate p. 29 (centre).
around the nipples of the boys at their
mens house at Tolembi (Fig. 47; also Craig
initiation.
1987, Plate 61 and Swadling et al. 1988, Plate
Women were the original beings and
211). It is possible that the central female g-
therefore had the social primacy normally
ure represents the same woman, vavi, that is
due to the older brother. Olimandji of
at the base of the gable support post, and the
Gaikarobi said:
sh and crocodiles are totems of particular
A woman is the older brother. She speaks

with certainty. She opens her vulva when
clans.
These gable carvings are obviously
we want to have intercourse. She gives
related in form to the larger and more elabo-
birth to us, she raises us and she swallows
rate lintels of the cult houses of the Prince
us again. She is the head of us all and she
Alexander Mountains to the north (Craig
decides when we have to die. [Schindl-
1987, Plates 54-6; Koch 1968, Plates 23-8).
beck 1985: 369]
The Sawos think of death as going to the

vulva-pit. The spread-legged female gure
above each entrance of the mens house is
portrayed with an open vulva, thus reminding the men of where they have come from
and where they will be going. A vavi is also
named in many of the songs about warfare
and headhunting. The Sawos say that the
enemy was brought back to the village and
the body cut up. Blood was smeared on the
posts of the mens house, the sitting platforms, the stools, the slit-gongs and over
everyone inside the house. They say that vavi
drank the blood of the enemy (ibid.: 377).
Without blood, nothing is there. Only when
the blood of an enemy is honoured in this
way is the spirit of that person recruited for
the benet of the community.
MPNr 158, said to be from the Iatmul village of Korogo, is a lintel-like carving of a
spread-legged female gure anked by sh.
The signicance of this iconography is not
known but perhaps the woman represents
Kula and the sh are two of the sons of the
crocodile Tandemi. A similar carving, with a
central female gure anked on each side by
four smaller, headless female gures and a
crocodile head at each end, appears underneath the gable mask of the Man-gembit
Fig. 47. Gable masks and lintel on mens cult house

Man-gembit, Tolembi village, Sawos speakers,
middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig C2: 37; 11 September
1982.
MPNr 158. Female gure anked by sh, Korogo

village, middle Sepik, Iatmul speakers, East Sepik
Province. Wood. 177 x 16 cm. E.8053. Purchased from
Wayne Heathcote and registered 8 June 1971.
Fig. 48. Mens cult house, Wingei village, Abelam

speakers, Prince Alexander Mountains. Photo:
B. Craig C10: 19; 16 June 1981.
especially the competitive growing of long

yams by men. A carved and painted lintel
depicting a row of faces or gures (for example, MPNrs 6, 7) is secured at the base of the
painted faade (Craig 1987, Plates 54-6; Forge
1973a, Plate 2; Hauser-Schublin 1989b: 20,
132; Koch 1968, Plates 4, 26-31). Carved and
painted images of snakes, hornbills and other
animals may be displayed on and/or near
the lintel.
In cubicles inside the korombo are the
carvings of the nggwalndu (see MPNrs 17,
185, 186), which are kept secret from the
women and uninitiated boys. The interior
walls and ceilings of the cubicles, in which
the carved and painted ritual objects are displayed, are lined with painted palm spathes
(Hauser-Schublin 1989b: 160; Losche 1982:
52-3). A large corpus of carved, painted and
ephemeral works is produced for various
stages of male initiation (Hauser-Schublin
1989b: 79, 148).
Hauser-Schublin (1989a: 612) explains
that the cult house is regarded as the temporary dwelling for the nggwalndu. The secret
Prince Alexander Mountains
Abelam
carvings do not so much represent the
The type of cult house to be found north of
The Abelam faade and lintel in MPNrs 1 and
nggwalndu as provide a physical abode for
the Sawos among the Kwanga, Arapesh,
2, collected by Roy Mackay, most likely came
them after they have been enticed from their
Abelam and Boiken (Swadling et al. 1988,
from the same cult house at Kalabu Nr 2. The
normal habitat outside village territory by
Plates 183-96) is radically different to the
Abelam call their cult house korombo. The
the screams of pigs being singed to death
Middle Sepik type, though Hauser-Schublin
external face of the gable is covered with
(ibid.: 610-11). Forge (1973a: 189) analyses the
(1989a: 615ff.) makes a case for its evolution
paintings on sago spathe, with red the dom-
imagery in a different way and argues that
from that type. It has an earth oor, a trape-
inant colour (Fig. 48 and Losche 1982: 50-1).
zoid or triangular plan, a ridge pole sloping
The design usually depicts rows of faces or
dramatically from the richly decorated front
gures representing nggwalndu. These super-
in Abelam terms is natural, over male cre-
gable to the ground at the rear, forming a
natural beings are not, according to some
ativity which is cultural in that male access
three-sided pyramid on a triangular base.
researchers, ancestors but spirits normally
to supernatural power is through ritual.
The external face of the gable is covered with
residing outside clan territory, each having
Ritual from which the rival female power,
paintings on sago spathe, with red the dom-
an interest in the welfare of a particular clan
inant colour. The Masterpieces Exhibition has
(Hauser-Schublin 1989a: 612). Their powers
mainly sexuality and maternity, must be

14
excluded.
achitectural items representing the Abelam,
can be invoked through yam cult ritual and
Kwanga and Boiken.
male initiation to benet human endeavours,
what the nggwalndu faces are expressing

is the primacy of female creativity, which
He says that the representation is not of

anything in the natural or spirit world, rather
MPNrs 1 & 2. Cult house faade and lintel, Kalabu

Nr 2 village, Maprik, Abelam speakers, East Sepik
Province. Sago spathes, wood, rattan. c. 5.5 x 3.8 m.
E.4696-8. Collected by R.D. Mackay and registered
14 January (lintel) and 15 January (faade) 1970.
MPNr 6. Lintel (tikit) and details, Maprik area,

Abelam speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 426 x
55 cm. E.16031. Purchased from Wayne Heathcote
and registered 10 February 1975.
MPNr 7. Lintel (tikit) and details, Maprik area,

Abelam speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 465 x
43 cm. 81.26.175 [original registration number lost].
This lintel has been cut short, accounting for three
heads on one side and ve on the other.
Fig. 49. Roof in the form of bird wings, Maprik

Council House, Abelam speakers, Prince Alexander
Mountains. Photo: B. Craig C1: 26; 21 October 1981.
it is about the relationship between things

(ibid.). This, as a general principle, is arguably
true of much (if not all) Sepik art.
Hauser-Schublin (1989a: 613) believes
that the korombo represents the mythical
cassowary woman, the culture heroine who
built the rst cult house. In another interpretation, the roof can be seen as the wings of a
bird (Fig. 49), as in the narrative of Kwatbil
(Losche 1999: 219).
In this story, women were unable to give
birth in the normal way so when it was evident that a woman had a baby in her belly,
the men killed her, cut her open, took out the
child and ate the woman. One day a pregnant
woman was sitting on the plaza in front of
the korombo. Suddenly she was covered up
by the bird Kwatbil who gave her a magic
spell to assist in giving birth to her child.
Kwatbil disappeared and the woman found
that she was sitting inside the korombo. She
then gave birth to her baby in the normal
fashion. Now women recite the spell when
they are in labour to aid them in giving birth.
Today the korombo is Kwatbil. The sides of
the korombo are his folded wings. Presumably Kwatbil is the personal name of this
mythical male bird, which may be a hornbill
(paal) according to Hauser-Schublin (pers.
comm. 12 March 2004).
There is no necessary contradiction in the
cult house being thought of as a female cassowary and a male mythical bird called
Kwatbil (possibly a hornbill). Hauser-Schublin reports that, in other contexts, the cult
house alludes to a primeval sacred boar, or to
the bowerbird and the beautifully decorated
house he builds in order to impress the
females.
The hornbill nial (for example, MPNr 169)
seems to occur only among the southern
Abelam. A nial similar to the one in the
MPNr 169. Hornbill as cult house nial or faade

decoration, Wosera, Maprik area, Abelam speakers,
East Sepik Province. Wood. 117 x 14 cm. E.9044.
Bought from South Pacic Artefacts, Port Moresby,
and registered 24 February 1972.
Fig. 50. Initiates wearing waken headdresses outside

the mens cult house, Sunuhu Nr 2 village, Kwanga
speakers, Prince Alexander Mountains. Photo:
Dr G. Gerrits, Transparency Nr 6967, May 1973.
Kwanga
(TPNGPMAG 1976a, Plates pp. 44, 46). The
The twelve painted spathes that constitute
twelve paintings on display have been ran-
Masterpieces Exhibition, but consisting of
MPNr 5 are part of a collection of 232 paint-
domly chosen and assembled without regard
two birds side-by-side, is shown on a Wosera
ings and carvings comprising the entire
for their original location in the cult house.
cult house photographed by Rene Gardi in
contents of a cult house purchased on behalf
Sunuhu Nr 2 is about 17 kilometres south-
1956 (Hauser-Schublin 1989a, Plate 201) and
of the National Museum by Dirk Smidt, with
west of Maprik. The people speak Kwanga, a
there appears to be a bird as nial on the
the advice and assistance of Dr G. Gerrits, at
language more closely related to that of the
Wosera cult house at Tjamangai photo-
Sunuhu Nr 2 village and registered E.15296
Kwoma than to that of the Abelam, but their
graphed by Richard Thurwald in 1913 (ibid.,
to E.15527 from 17 September 1974 to 4
culture is more recognisably Abelam than
Plate 189). It is possible that the nial carved
October 1974. The external faade of the
Kwoma. The mens cult houses look more-or-
as a hornbill bird refers to the myth of
cult house was not purchased. Some of the
less like those of the Abelam, with the
Kwatbil.
collection was photographed at Sunuhu
painted faade, carved and painted lintel, and
MPNr 5. Twelve sago spathe paintings, Sunuhu

Nr 2 village, Kwanga speakers, East Sepik Province.
Display 4.2 m long x 2.4 m high. For collection and
registration information, see text.
Fig. 51. Sketch by Dr G. Gerrits of side elevation

and oor plan of mens cult house at Sunuhu
Nr 2 village, Kwanga speakers, Prince Alexander
Mountains, 5 May 1976.
Fig. 52. Inside the mens cult house, Wall A,

Room 1, Sunuhu Nr 2 village, Kwanga speakers,
Prince Alexander Mountains. Photo: Dr G. Gerrits,
Transparency Nr 7014, June 1973.
interior spaces lined with painted spathes
that projected into the gure. This gure rep-
the faces, and the bordering triangles in alter-
and large painted wood gures.
resented Umahapa Febomanki, a masalai
nating colours, represent string bag designs
(nature spirit) from nearby Worombu Creek.
(wanikowe). White circles with central black
Dr G. Gerrits provided information on the

Sunuhu cult house (Fig. 50) in a letter to Dirk
Dr G. Gerrits (pers. comm. 25 March 2004)
dots are the valuable shell rings (mau). These
Smidt dated 5 May 1976. Figure 51 is a sketch
has provided the following information
three paintings are all typical of Ugutagwa, a
plan of the cult house, indicating its size and
about the paintings on display:
village about 7 kilometres south-west of
the layout of the interior rooms. The cult
Top row, left to right:
house is called korombo; the painted faade
E.15410, painted by Topo of Ugutagwa;
is called bai; the initiation set-up inside,

including the carved gures, is kware; the
from left wall of Room 1.

E.15359, painted by Simboueni who
painted spathes inside (Fig. 52) are maubin-
followed an Ugutagwa design; from mid-
gaye. Inside was a tomb-like feature
right of Wall A, Room 1.
consisting of a reclining gure made of
E.15343, painted by Wapinglar who
painted palm spathes, not unlike an ancient
followed an Ugutagwa design; from left wall
Egyptian mummys cofn (Fig. 53). This gure
of Room 1.
was made to speak to the initiates. A few
Sunuhu.
Middle row, left to right:
E.15368, painted by Simboini; from left
wall of Room 1.
E.15386, painted by Sipayeni; from right
side of tunnel.
E.15401; from left side of tunnel.
E.15328, painted by Simboini; from left
side of tunnel.
The face-like designs on these three
E.15332; from right side of tunnel.
senior men, concealed in a secret room, made
paintings represent namtawapi, the centi-
E.15404; from right wall of Room 1.
sounds with bamboo voice-modifying tubes
pede. The cross-hatched panels surrounding
Gerrits obtained information for three of
Fig. 53. The tomb inside the mens cult house,

projecting from bottom right of Wall B, Room
5, Sunuhu Nr 2 village, Kwanga speakers, Prince
Alexander Mountains. Photo: Dr G. Gerrits,
Transparency Nr 7034, June 1973.
these six paintings (which would be applica-
ates wearing waken headdresses are the
circular ornaments (mambukula) attached on
ble also to two of the others). All ve are
main motif on the painted faade of the
each side of the waken headdress at its base,
typical for Sunuhu. The central design con-
mens ceremonial house.
enclosed by a lozenge shape called ugwalape
sists of a head, apparently wearing an
Bottom row, left to right:
(buttery wings). The parallel white lines ll-
initiates waken headdress (see Fig. 50), with
E.15396, painted by Sipayeni; from rear
ing the rest of the space again refers to string
tiny body wearing shell, dogs teeth and pig
left corner of Room 1.
tusk ornaments on the chest. E.15368 was
E.15391; from left wall of Room 1.
said by Simboini to be a self-portrait. The
E.15436, painted by Amilowen; from rear
small gures at the bottom of E.15386 and at
wall of Room 1.
net bags.
Thus the non-anthropomorphic elements
of the designs link images of the wealth of
the community (shell rings, string net bags,
the top of E.15328 are children of the central
Gerrits obtained information for two of
gures. Around the head of the central gure
these paintings. E.15396 (and by inference
initiation (the anthropomorphic images) and
are alternating rings of colour, black repre-
E.15391) represents a row of the large shell
revelation of the power of the nature spirits
senting hair, red representing red beads, a
rings (wiwa) used as chest ornaments or tied
represented by the carved gures called
white zigzag line representing spiderweb,
to the wrist. String net bags are suggested
kware.
short white strokes representing dogs teeth,
along each edge and the parallel multicol-
solid white representing feathers. In Fig. 50,
oured lines at the right end represent
Boiken
these features may be seen on the initiates
cordyline leaves that often are attached to
Boiken cult houses are similar to those of
and echoed in the details of the painted
armlets or cover the buttocks as a dance dec-
the Kwanga, Arapesh and Abelam. Roscoe
image on their headdresses. Images of initi-
oration. E.15436 represents a row of the
(1995a: 3) believes that the Boiken ka
dogs teeth, pigs tusks, and so on) with male
MPNr 8. Lintel (pau) and details, Yangoru area, Boiken speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 4.47 m x 31 cm.
81.26.122 [original registration number lost]. Twenty human gures, variously male and female, holding
hands, with a bird between some pairs of gures. A large sideways head and upper torso at the left end and a
hornbill at the right end. Purchased from Wayne Heathcote some time during 1974 or 1975 (conjecture based
on a photograph from Heathcote in les at the National Museum) but could not be positively identied in
the register.
MPNr 9. Lintel (pau) and detail, Yangoru area, Boiken speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 3.15 m x 32 cm.
E.10447. Purchased from Bruce Lawes and registered 19 October 1972. Twelve human gures, variously male
and female, holding hands, with eleven birds alternately perched between them; human heads alternate
with the gures at leg level. A large sideways face with two birds heads at the left end and a face with one
bird head at the right end.
Fig. 54a (opposite page). Mens cult house (telefolip)

at Telefolip village, Telefol speakers , Telefomin,
central New Guinea. Photo: B. Craig BC23: 29; July
1964.
nimbia clearly was derived from the Abe-
display of the Abelam (Hauser-Schublin
that constructed it, both its ancestral compo-
lam korombo it has the same tetrahedral
1989b, Plate 167).
nent and its living embodiment.
shape, the same thatched dorsal anks and

intricately painted, cantilevered faade. It
Roscoe writes (1995b: 73):
The various parts of the cult house and its
wala spirits are considered potent
forward-leaning faade suggest a protective
beings causing thunder, lightning, and
and yet menacing bird-of-prey but there are
base of the painted faade, featuring a row
violent winds to sweep across the night
other associations as well. The building is
of carved and painted heads, like the Abelam
the term wala is metaphorically
thought of as the soul of the headman
lintels, or a row of linked gures interspersed
extended to any bush agency believed to
(hwapomia) who organised its construction.
with totemic birds (MPNrs 8, 9). At the peak
be hazardous to humans To call artistic
Thus the structure represents the hwapomias
of the gable is a carved totemic bird (Hauser-
creations such as initiation displays wala,
head the thatched roof is his hair, the
Schublin 1989a, Plates 234-35). The human
then, is to recognize that they incarnate
faade his face, the gable his nose, the lintel
heads or gures carved on the lintel are said
power and menace.
also has a carved horizontal lintel (pau) at the
to represent enemies who have fallen to the
A totem is a representation of a particular
his teeth, the entrance his mouth and the rattan chain dangling from the peak of the
spears of the tuahring (clan or sub-clan) that
male wala spirit residing in a tuahrings terri-
gable is his necklace bag. Another interpreta-
built the cult house (Roscoe 1995a: 11).
tory. When someone dies, their spirit goes to
tion visualises the cult house as his whole
the feature in the landscape in which their
body the gable is his head, the ridge pole
the outside of the building endure for some
totemic wala dwells and becomes that wala.
his spine, the purlins his ribs, the faade his
time. But at the celebration of the newly-
Thus the totemic wala is the union of all the
thorax, and the roof and base his back and
completed building, there is an ephemeral
tuahrings ancestral spirits. (Perhaps there is a
legs (Roscoe 1995a: 14-16). A successful cult
display inside consisting of numerous large
similar belief among the Abelam; hence the
house elicits feelings of pride and triumph in
wamayuwa and kilayuwa shell rings laid out
confusion over whether the nggwalndu are
its builders, fear in children, and humiliation
on beds of white menja leaves, sometimes
ancestral or bush spirits.)The cult house,
and envy among members of rival clans.
around a dramatic efgy of a wala spirit
when completed, becomes this wala spirit
(ibid.: 5). This is similar to the puti initiation
and at the same time represents the tuahring
The carved and painted components of
Fig. 54b. Inside mens cult house (telefolip) at

Telefolip village, Telefol speakers, Telefomin, central
New Guinea. Photo: B. Craig BC17: 11; 27 August
1963.
Central New Guinea
human relics, sacred artefacts such as old
dolol because of the particular method of
The Telefolmin and related Mountain-Ok
shields, stone-headed clubs and adzes, and
making the external wall cladding Craig
groups of central New Guinea have a hier-
where certain rituals are performed (Craig
1984, 14th and 17th unnumbered plates and
archy of houses in their villages, and in the
1988: 24-30; 1990).
Craig 1988, Fig. 15), was reputed to contain
region as a whole. Each settlement consists
In the village of Telefolip, a few kilometres
the skulls of Afek and her brother Umoim.
of one or more family houses (woman-
south of the government administration cen-
Men from surrounding Telefol villages, and
house unang-am) and at least one mens
tre of Telefomin, there was a special cult
even from other -min groups, attended some
house (yolam). For a large village of around
house that was considered to be the
of the more important rituals performed
a dozen unangam or more, there are usu-
supreme cult house for the whole Mountain-
there.
ally three mens houses the hornbill-house
Ok area, as it was believed to have been built
(kabel-am) where any male may sleep, the
originally by Afek, the Old Woman, the found-
contents were declared and gazetted as
little-house (katip-am) where only the few
ing ancestress of all the -min tribes
National Cultural Property on 30 July 1982,
old men sleep, and the cult house (house-
(Brumbaugh 1990; Jorgensen 1990). This
the collapsing structure was burnt by Chris-
mother am-ogen) that contains animal and
house (Fig. 54), called the telefolip (or am-
tian fundamentalists in late 2001, destroying
Despite the fact that the telefolip and its
MPNr 3. Houseboard (amitung), Telefolip village,

Telefomin, Telefol speakers, West Sepik Province.
Wood. 306 x 65 cm. 79.1.95. Registered 24 April
1979. Collected by Barry Craig 28 June 1972 on
behalf of the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board,
Canberra, and subsequently gifted to the PNG
Museum by the Australian government.
Fig. 55. Top: Burnt out and overgrown site of the

telefolip at Telefolip village. Telefol speakers, central
New Guinea. Photo: B. Craig C15: 7; 3 June 2002.
Below: Skull fallen from burnt out telefolip. Photo:
B. Craig C15: 10; 3 June 2002.
the sacred contents (Fig. 55). This criminal act

of desecration15 appears to have raised little
or no concern at ofcial local or provincial
levels and the museum does not have the
resources to investigate the matter.
The destruction of traditional cultural
material is not conned to Telefomin. As
Steven Frost informed me (pers. comm. 28
June 2002):
In Telefomin I was told the group of outsiders responsible for the destruction is
Joshua Oppression [Operation?], a cult
which is being directed by two white guys
in Hagen [They] also convinced the residents of Imigabip to take all their old
things and put them into the haus tambaran and torch it. They are working on
trying to destroy what is left elsewhere
now.
Ossie Fountain (pers. comm. 8 August

2002), a missionary of more temperate
nature, commented on the above:
As I understand it, Operation Joshua,
rather than being a cult is a network of
pentecostal/charismatic Christians who
Fig. 56. Bisanips house at Telefolip village, Telefol

speakers, Telefomin, central New Guinea. Photo:
B. Craig M17: 16; 30 January 1967 (see also Craig
1988, Fig.12).
believe that the problems of PNG are
destroyed under pressure from such fanatical
during the Telefolmin push against the Ili-
related to a battle in the spiritual realm
expatriates and their local collaborators.
kimin. At the time this board was purchased,
between good and evil forces they
Another house in the village of Telefolip
the house was owned by a woman named
have ambitions of active involvement in
also was special; this was the unangam built
many parts of the country but they saw
on the site of what was believed to be the
This house was burnt down, along with
Telefomin as one of the key points of
rst house (a family house) built by Afek at
the sacred relics kept in it, at the same time as
Telefolip (Fig. 56). One of the hearth posts in
the telefolip and its relics were destroyed, in
this house was believed to be at the entrance
late 2001.
attack.
This behaviour exposes some expressions

of Christianity as a vehicle for the exercise of
of the road to the underworld for those who
power by some human beings over others
have died. Umoim, Afeks brother, had trav-
rather than, as claimed, for the demonstration
elled along this road when he died. The
of the power of Gods love. It is fortunate that
amitung or house board MPNr 3 is the one
there is a national museum to preserve at
from that house. It was carved by Unmoiyim
least something of the material cultural herit-
and others c.1870 (six generations ago) with
age that otherwise would have been
stone tools at Inantikin in the Elip Valley
Bisanip.
MPNr16. House pole (Masil) with detailed view,

Aromot Island, Siassi Islands, Siassi speakers, Morobe
Province. Wood. 765 x 22 cm. 81.26.125 [original
registration number lost but identied as E.16258,
purchased from Barry Hoare, and registered 28
February 1975].
Siassi Islands
The Siassi Islands were at the hub of the maritime trading system that operated in the
Huon Gulf, to and from the Tami Islands,
along the coast of the Huon Peninsula and
across the Vitiaz Strait to Umboi and West
New Britain (Brookeld and Hart 1971, Fig.
13.5). All the peoples involved are speakers of Austronesian languages and it is not
surprising that there are many cultural similarities. Sometimes it is difcult to determine
whether a particular object is from the Siassi
Islands or from the Tami Islands.
There is some evidence that this pole,
MPNr 16, reported to be from Aromot Island
in the Siassi group, was purchased from Morris Young of Lae rather than from Barry Hoare
of Madang.
Fr Anthony Mulderink (pers. comm. 13
April 2004) of the Catholic Church in Lae, has
been kind enough to provide information
about this pole based on photographs sent
to him and his knowledge of Siassi Islands
culture. He has suggested that the name
Masil may be an incorrect transcription of
Mesel, a male Kilenge name sometimes used
on Aromot Island. It is also possible that the
name Masil has been transcribed into the
register incorrectly and should read nasil,
which is the Siassi term for the central, carved
post of the ceremonial house (bar) erected by
a village kin group (rumai) for circumcision
rites.
This pole is too high for the now-extinct
traditional ceremonial house. It may have
been carved for use as a nasil for a contemporary public structure such as a church, or it
may have been carved as a likeness of the
carved ceremonial pole (gungun dige) that
stood beside the ceremonial house.
At the top of this pole is the face of Aikos,
MPNr 20. Yam house plank (tataba) made by

Musulikoli of Liluta village, Trobriand Islands, Kilivila
speakers, Milne Bay Province. Wood. 173 x 27 cm.
E.7798. Collected by Dr G. Gerrits in September 1968
and registered 15 April 1971.
the father of the nakamutmut spirits. Aikos is
relatives will dance As nakamutmut mask.
from the men. Look at the protruding
a Kilenge word used also on Aromot and
While the dancing takes place, A has to feed B
tongue, she warns.
Mandok islands. Aikos enters the village car-
and his relatives, and provide tobacco and
rying a wooden club, to frighten or punish
betel nut. When A decides to send his mask
disobedient people or to whip the young ini-
away, there will be a nal performance at the
tiates. He wears a conical helmet mask
end of which B receives from A many baskets
topped with a wooden ball (saruwa) and a
of food for his family and his clan. Some time
central feather plume (sar) surrounded by
later, B challenges A to dance his mask and
cassowary feathers (muimui). This mask is
after the nal dance performance, he
equivalent to the Kilenge mask recorded by
attempts to give A more baskets of food than
Dark (1974: 42 and Illust. 121) as the nagiltung
he received from A in the previous round of
type in the category nataptavo, and another
dance ceremonies. This type of competitive
mask he photographed at Umboi (ibid.: Illust.
food presentation is often an important
73).
aspect of ceremonies in PNG (see Smidt and
Beneath Aikos are three rounded shapes

probably representing baskets (arei) carried
on the head of the male gure beneath them.
Eoe 1999: 133-34 for an example in the lower

Ramu River area).
The bottom gure on the pole is a woman
This gure wears a bark cloth mal or apron.
wearing a bre skirt and carrying baskets on
Next below this male gure is the four-sided
her head. She holds a snake (mot) in front of
face of a mariam, an ancestral ghost not
her. The snake is a veiled reference to the
recently deceased. Mariam ghosts make peo-
penis but is rare in Siassi Island carving, the
ple uneasy as they can cause trouble.
lizard being more commonly represented.
Circumcision of the boys is said to have been
Beneath this woman is a cylindrical object;
performed by a particular mariam ghost
around it are two rows of oval shapes called
called naboyou.
pon atulu (turtle eggs).
Beneath the four-faced mariam ghost is
At the bottom of the pole is a mariam
Trobriand Islands
In the Trobriand Islands, only the chiefs
house (ligisa Fig. 57; also Lawton 1999,
Figs 3, 9; Young 1998, Plates 16, 17) and the
yam storage hut (bwaima Fig. 58; also Lawton 1999, Fig. 4; Weiner 1988, Photo 25) are
decorated with carved and painted boards.
Lawton (1999: 106) provides a glossary of
the terms for the various decorations of
these houses. He informs us that the curving side gable boards are called kaivalapula,
the board at the base of the gable triangle is
called kaibilabeta, and below this is a board
with similar designs called the tataba (MPNr
20). Below the tataba are suspended several
rows of egg-cowries (Ovulum ovum shells);
the number of rows indicates the owners
social rank. Lawton says (ibid.):
When a chief dies, the tataba complete
with buna shells will decorate his grave for
some years. The chief may give his support to some public event by loaning his
tataba, which would be hung on public
another male gure (like the one above), and
(ancestor) face wearing the equivalent of the
beneath that gure is a female gure wear-
Yabim (Finschhafen) oa-balan headdress
ing a bre skirt and carrying baskets on her
(Bodrogi 1961: 157-59). This face, which is a
head. The baskets may indicate the exchange
common motif on wooden bowls, canoe bail-
in special gardens by a man are not kept and
of food in a competition for prestige. Person
ers, hand drums and other wooden objects,
eaten by him but presented to his sister and
A challenges B to dance with As nakamutmut
has a protruding tongue, indicating ready for
they are stored in his sisters husbands yam
mask. B accepts and for a year or two, when-
sex. During a dance festival a mother might
house. But even his sister and her husband
ever there is a festive occasion, B and his clan
tell her daughter to take care and stay away
avoid eating these yams. Weiner explains
display.
In the Trobriand Islands, the yams grown
Fig. 57. House of Paramount Chief Vanoi in

Omarakana village, Kiriwina Island, Kilivila speakers,
Trobriand Islands. Photo: Dr G. Gerrits TC 31-6-20a,
August 1971; in photographic collection of, and
with permission from, the Queensland Museum,
Brisbane.
(1988: 86) that A yam house is like a bank

account; when full, a man is wealthy and
powerful. Yams can be stored for four or ve
months, she says, and
During that time, yams not necessary for
food are used to purchase arm shells; red
Chama-shell necklaces and ear-rings;
betel nuts; pigs; chickens; and other locally
produced goods such as wooden bowls,
combs, armbands, oor mats, and lime
pots. Even some kinds of magic spells may
be bought from others by payment in
yams.
Yams are also essential for distribution at

funeral ceremonies and marriages. Food for
daily consumption is provided by taro and
other crops from ordinary gardens. Yams are
a prestige crop, a sign of wealth and a form of
currency. They are usually eaten only after
having been received at a ceremony or as
payment for something.
Fig 58 (opposite page). Yam house of Chief Maluwa

of Olivilevi, Kiriwina Island, Kilivila speakers,
Trobriand Islands. Photo: Dr G. Gerrits TC 16-3-13,
August 1970; in photographic collection of, and
with permission from, the Queensland Museum,
Brisbane.
MPNr 23. Gate post carving (matalakalaka/

matanangas), Tabar Island, Tabar speakers, New
Ireland Province. Wood. 135 x 30 cm diameter.
Acquired from M. Benoir and Langules. E.10294.
Registered 25 May 1972. Published in TPNGPMAG
1974a, Plate opp. p. v.
MPNr 24. Gate post carving (matalakalaka/

matanangas), Tabar Island, Tabar speakers, New
Ireland Province. Wood. 120 x 20 cm diameter.
Acquired from M. Benoir and Langules. E.10293.
Registered 25 May 1972. Published in TPNGPMAG
1974a, Plate opp. p. v.
New Ireland
In northern New Ireland and the nearby
Tabar Islands, the funerary ceremonies and
the associated masks, carved gures and
other paraphernalia are called malagan
(malangan/ malanggan). Sometimes, special
malagan buildings inside the mens sacred
enclosure (rongar) are decorated with carved
and painted vertical panels (Kaufmann 1975,
Plates 30-2; Lincoln 1987: 94-5). But it is not
clear whether these are part of a permanent
structure or, like other malagan carvings set
up in display huts, used only for the duration
of the ceremonies.
As an entrance to the Tabar Islands rongar
enclosure around the mens house (amir), a
tree-fork (called matanangas or eye of the
demon) shaped like the letter V or Y, is
embedded in the coral stone wall (about a
metre thick and a metre or so high) surrounding the sacred enclosure (Sthr 1987,
Plate 164). This space is used for feasts associated with malagan mortuary rites and for
burial of the clan dead (for this arrangement
among the Barok of central New Ireland, see
Wagner 1986: 148-59; 1987: 58-9 and certain
unnumbered photographs between pp. 40
and 41). The two arms of the tree-fork may be
carved as anthropomorphic images (Fig. 59;
Wagner 1986: 149). The tree is an important
image in New Ireland culture; the fruit and
branches suggest nurture, and the roots are
associated with the burial of clan ancestors
(Wagner 1987, Fig. 24).
Matanangas may be carved with images
of sh, sharks, snakes, crocodiles or human
beings. They are believed to prevent evil spirits from entering the mens house or its
courtyard. Women are not permitted to enter.
Live captives from raids were slaughtered on
the matanangas, their esh eaten and their
Fig. 59. Drawing of gate posts by Elisabeth KramerBannow in Sthr 1987, Plate 164.
bones burnt and scattered on the path leading up to the matanangas.

The two posts in the Masterpieces Exhibition (MPNrs 23, 24), along with four stone
carvings, were conscated from Jean Benoir
and Pierre Langules, along with other material they attempted to export without a
permit (Craig 1996: 167-74).
MPNr 63. Suspension hook as female gure,

Tolembi village, Sawos speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood, sago bre skirt. 90 x 54 cm. E.16423. Seized in
1972, donated by Customs in 1974 and registered
24 March 1975. Published in TPNGPMAG 1976a,
Plate p. 32 and Smidt 1975: 73.
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
Household items in the Masterpieces Exhibition include suspension hooks, clay pots,
wooden bowls and headrests. A much more
representative exhibition of domestic items
is to be found in the Independence Gallery.
SUSPENSION HOOKS
In the middle Sepik area, suspension hooks
(MPNrs 63-7) are carved for domestic use (to
hang string bags, and bundles of food and
possessions out of the reach of rats, dogs and
children) and for magical purposes. Some
suspension hooks are quite large, virtually
life-size. They represent important clan ancestors, have personal names, assist in hunting
and warfare, and in warding off illness. The
spirit in the hook is offered food, areca nuts
and/or tobacco and asked by its guardian
to advise on the results of intended hunting
expeditions or raids. On returning, offerings
again are made to the spirit. It is believed
that the spirit accompanies the hunters or
warriors.
Without information from the original
owners, it is impossible to know the identity
and function of the spirit inhabiting a particular suspension hook. The inclusion of some
in this category of domestic items and others
in the hunting and warfare category is arbitrary, reecting the poor t between
English-language categories and those of the
local people.
MPNr 64. Suspension hook, Chambri Lake, Chambri

speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 157 x 23 cm.
E.510. Registered 24 September 1958.
MPNr 65. Suspension hook, Kanganaman village,
Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 68 x
16 cm. E.8085. Collected by Robert Mitton and
registered 11 June 1971.
MPNr 67. Suspension hook, personal name

Samban, Kanganaman village, Iatmul speakers,
Purchased from Wayne Heathcote and registered
17 February 1975. Gazetted National Cultural
Property 10 February 1972.
MPNr 66. Suspension hook, Kanganaman village,

Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 73 x 20
cm. E.16218. Purchased from Wayne Heathcote and
registered 13 February 1975.
MPNr 73. Cooking pot, Boitalu village, Kiriwina Island, Trobriand Islands, Kilivila speakers, Milne Bay Province.
Clay. 44 cm high x 62 cm diameter. E.7877. Donated by collector Dr G. Gerrits and registered 17 May 1971.
Almost certainly made at Nabwageta in the Amphlett Islands (cf., May and Tuckson 2000, Fig. 4.13) where this
type of cooking pot, large enough to prepare food for feasts, is called nokuno.
MPNr 72. Cooking pot (gur aniang), Zumin village, Markham valley, Adzera speakers, Morobe Province.
Clay. 17 cm. high x 31 cm. diameter. E.16818. Collected by and purchased from Ms Gabrielle Johnston and
registered 30 June 1975. 23 x 15 cm. This type of pot, with modelled gures or heads acting as handles, is
used for cooking meat (May and Tuckson 2000: 138, Fig. 6.17).
CLAY POTS AND BOWLS

Pottery-making traditions have a limited distribution in PNG and the Solomon Islands.
Pottery is made along the coast and coastal
ranges of northern New Guinea, the Sepik,
Ramu and Markham valleys, the north and
south coasts of south-eastern New Guinea,
the islands off the south-east end of New
Guinea, the Admiralty Islands and the northern Solomons. There is only one site in the
highlands (May and Tuckson 2000, Map 4).
This distribution suggests to some archaeologists that pottery-making was associated
with colonisation by Austronesian-speaking peoples. It may have been out of their
pottery making traditions that Lapita pottery developed in the Bismarck Archipelago
around 3300 or so years ago (Spriggs 1995:
115-16; 1997: 67-73; Summerhayes 2000:
233-34).
In PNG, clay vessels are used for cooking,
storing and serving food. There are basically
two methods of making clay pots by coiling
painted after ring, as in the middle Sepik
pottery was made by women as there is evi-
and Prince Alexander Mountains to the north.
dence that Lapita potters used paddle-and-
The coiling technique is mainly used by
anvil and slab-building techniques (Glen
and by paddle-and-anvil. In the coiling tech-
potters who are male, located inland and are
Summerhayes, pers. comm. via Pamela Swa-
nique, the walls of the vessel are built up with
non-Austronesian speakers, though there are
dling, 12 February 2004). In other words, one
long rolls of clay. In the paddle-and-anvil
exceptions to this generalisation. The paddle-
could speculate that the male coiling tradi-
technique, a ball of clay is forced into a rough
and-anvil technique is used exclusively in
tion may already have existed on the New
shape then further shaped and thinned by
coastal and small island communities by
Guinea mainland when Austronesian female
beating from the outside with a piece of at
women, mainly Austronesian speakers. The
potters arrived in the Bismarck Archipelago.
wood against a hard object such as a smooth
pots made by women using the paddle-and-
stone held on the inside. There are various
anvil technique are round-based, full-bellied
important items of maritime trade. Perhaps
ways of starting and nishing pots and some-
and typically female in form. Most are light
the most famous was the hiri trading system
times techniques are combined.16
and thin-walled; the coiled vessels tend to
(now extinct) that moved pots and shell valu-
be thick-walled, heavy and often
ables from the southern central coast of
a smooth pebble, shell or seed or may be
crudely made (May and Tuckson 2000: 6-7).
Papua in exchange for sago and canoe hulls
decorated while still damp or leather-hard,
May and Tuckson suggest that on the basis of
from the Papuan Gulf (Seligman 1910: 96-
before ring, by applied techniques, or by
language and geographical distribution, the
115). Mailu pots similarly were traded inland
pressing or cutting designs into the surface.
coastal female traditions are more recent
and along the southern coast of Papua (Irwin
Pots are left to dry out then red in an open
than those of the inland, mostly male, potters.
1985: 15-18).
bonre reaching temperatures of around 650
These correlations are set out in their Map 3
to 900C. Ceremonial pots and bowls may be
(ibid.: 15). It is possible, even likely, that Lapita
Pots may be burnished by polishing with
Pots were, and in some places still are,
In the Massim area the coast and islands

at the eastern end of New Guinea the kula
MPNr 70. Cooking pot (avar), Guman hamlet, Bauk

village, Gogol River, Bau speakers, Madang Province.
Clay. 40 cm high x 28 cm diameter. E.11026.
Collected by and purchased from Ms Gabrielle
Johnston, Auckland University, and registered
4 April 1973.
and its extensions move pots especially from

the Amphlett Islands (MPNr 73) to the Trobriand and Woodlark islands in the north and to
Milne Bay in the south.
In the Markham Valley, among the
Austronesian-speaking Adzera, pots are
made by the men using the coiling technique
but nished with the paddle-and-anvil. They
then decorate the pots with special tools
(May and Tuckson 2000, Figs 6.7-6.10), and
one type by modelling (ibid., Figs 6.16, 6.17,
6.20; MPNr 72). The animals modelled on
opposite sides of the rim of the pot serve as
handles. This type of vessel is named gur aniang (= pot [for] meat). Adzera pots were a
valuable item of trade among surrounding
villages and were used for bride price payments. Nowadays they are popular in the
tourist market. The Adzera are known also for
their ceramic hand drums (simpup gur), made
by joining two plain pots with a cylindrical
shaft of clay (ibid.: 138-39 and Figs 6.18, 6.19).
Pots made by Austronesian-speaking
women at Sio, on the north-east coast of the
Huon Peninsula, are traded by Siassi Island
sailors north across the Vitiaz Strait to Umboi
Island and West New Britain, westwards along
the New Guinea coast towards Madang, and
southwards along the coast of the Huon
Peninsula as far as the Tami Islands (Harding
1967; May and Tuckson 2000: 151). The sailors
of Bilbil and Yabob islands, immediately
south of Madang, trade their womens paddle-and-anvil pots north along the coast as
far as Manam Island and east as far as Sio.
Inland of Madang, along the Gogol River and
in the hills to the north and south, men make
coiled pots. Bau cooking pots (MPNr 70) are
used in bride-price transactions along with
wooden bowls, and are traded almost as far
north as the Ramu, but do not compete with
the coastal pots of Bilbil and Yabob.
MPNr 68 (top). Serving bowl (khomongu),

Toanumbu village, Boiken speakers, East Sepik
Province. Clay. 12 cm high x 31 cm diameter.
E.11308. Bought from collector Margaret Tuckson
and registered 19 July 1973.
MPNr 71 (below). Pot (papi), painted, Sunuhu village, Maprik area, Kwanga speakers, East Sepik Province. Clay.
20 cm high x 18 cm diameter. E.11491. Bought from collector Dr G. Gerritts and registered 30 August 1973.
Although this pot was collected at Sunuhu, it is not of the Kwanga type and may have been imported from
the Wosera area to the east, where these pots are called kwam. The Kwanga papi are used by men as serving
bowls in the cult house.
MPNr 69 Serving bowl (kamana), Koiwat villages,

Sawos speakers, East Sepik Province. Clay, 10 cm
high x 32 cm diameter. E.11277. Bought from
collector Margaret Tuckson and registered 12 July
1973.
As in the Madang region, pots made by

paddle-and-anvil are part of maritime trade
along the north coast of the Sepik provinces
and coiled pots are traded to the coast from
inland villages in the Prince Alexander and
Torricelli mountains. The men of the Boiken
(MPNr 68), Abelam, and Kwanga (MPNr 71),
especially, make large and small serving
bowls for ceremonial occasions, incised, chipcarved and painted with curvilinear designs.
For some groups, the designs represent bush
spirits associated with the potters clan territories; for others, they are said merely to
represent particular features of plants and
animals.
The lower Sepik area is provided with
pots from villages along the Keram, called the
Tpferuss (Pottery River) by the Germans.
Dimiri, Marawat and Yaul near the Yuat River
is also an important pottery-making centre
for the area upstream of Angoram. On the
north side of the Sepik, serving bowls, chipcarved and painted with all-over curvilinear
head, representing Yuman, is the human face
designs, are produced at Koiwat (MPNr 69),
depicted on the Aibom sago storage pots.
an eastern Sawos village about 12 kilometres
Another name for Yuman is Kolimangge, and
north of Timbunke. These pots are traded
Meintu is reckoned variously as the son,
north to the Boiken and south to villages
brother or creator of Kolimangge. Meintu is
along the Sepik.
identied as a cannibal eagle and a pig and
Aibom at Chambri Lake is a major sup-
appears on the pottery as a bush spirit, a pig
plier of pots to middle Sepik villages. The
and an eagle (ibid.). One type of pot that fea-
large hearths (gugumbe), feast pots (kombio),
tures the eagle is the cult house gable
food bowls (ntshangguigo) and the sago stor-
decoration (May and Tuckson 2000, Fig. 9.45),
age pots (au) with sculpted and painted
which substitutes for the Iatmul carved
human and animal faces (MPNr 74), are espe-
wooden nial (MPNr 18).
cially prized. In one story reported by May

and Tuckson (2000: 239), the culture heroine
Yuman made pots that became her children
created by her own hands without a father.
Subsequently she suffered indignities and
rape, and disappeared. The ancestors tried to
make a mask to represent her face but failed,
so they over-modelled an enemy skull. This
MPNr 74. Sago storage pot (au), Aibom village,

Chambri Lake, Chambri speakers, East Sepik
Province. Clay. 67 cm high x 53 cm diameter. E.7914.
Donated by Island Carvings, Lae, and registered
27 April 1971.
MPNr 78 (top). Food bowl, red ochred, Bosmun

village, Lower Ramu River, Bosmun speakers,
Madang Province. Wood. 65 x 18 cm. E.98.2. One of
three wooden bowls registered 17 March 1954. The
heads at each end of this bowl perhaps represent
water spirits in the form of a crocodile, although
one has a recurved snout.
MPNr 79 (below). Food bowl (nambiel), Wangam

(Wongan) village, Kopar speakers, East Sepik
Province. Wood. 56 x 21 cm. E.5539. Collected by Dr
G. Gerrits from owner Kum and registered 7 May
1970.
WOOD BOWLS
decorated bowls are used to serve food at
twenties. Tami, or now Siassi, bowls were
important ceremonies. Wood bowls, masks,
traded west into Astrolabe Bay and east as
Wood bowls are rare or non-existent in high-
canoes, slit-gongs and the spearmans shield
far as the Vitu Islands.
land cultures where the basic staple taro
in the lower Sepik-Ramu area, are all
or sweet potato is baked in the ashes of
scooped-out forms and it is not surprising
carved is called kwila in Pidgin English and is
a re, although some groups (such as the
that certain signicant designs are shared by
an ironwood tree (Afzalea or Intsia bijuga).
Mountain-Ok) have shallow wood platters
these objects (MPNrs 78, 79).
for preparing a taro mash topped with red
Tami and Siassi bowls (MPNrs 76, 77) form
The wood from which the bowls are
The design at each end of the Siassi bowl,

MPNr 77, represents a human head wearing
pandanus sauce. Wood bowls are more likely
a signicant part of bride-price exchanges
the tri-partite oa-balan headdress (Bodrogi
to be found where cooked sago or yam is
and are used on ceremonial occasions to
1961: 157-59). The gure at the centre of each
served with a garnish of vegetables, meat,
serve a mash of taro mixed with coconut
side of the bowl represents a sh a species
sh or the like, as among riverine, coastal or
milk. They are also an important maritime
of skate, according to Biros notes (Bodrogi
island cultures.
trade item. According to Bodrogi (1961: 99),
1961: 102) with the yabo spiral pig-tusk
the wood bowls of north-east New Guinea
motif17 at the tip of each n and beneath the
shallow or deep, and are usually decorated
are made only by the Tami Islanders. How-
oval dentated form at the centre.
with sculpted forms or incised and painted
ever, Dark (1974: 46) states:
Bowls may be circular or oval-shaped,
A human gure, represented in a squat-
designs. These designs may incorporate
The Tami islanders used to have a monop-
ting position without torso, is carved at each
images signicant in the ritual life of the peo-
oly on bowl carving which gradually was
end of the Tami bowl, MPNr 76, to serve as
ple, particularly where the more elaborately
taken over by the Siassi islanders in the
handles. A snake is represented along each
MPNr 77. Food bowl (and detail), Siassi Islands,

Siassi speakers, Morobe Province. Wood. 102 x 45
cm. E.15628. Purchased from Morris Young and
registered 12 November 1974. Eric Coote (pers.
comm. October 2009) believes this bowl, considering
the iconography, is more likely Tami than Siassi, even
if it was collected in the Siassi Islands.
MPNr 76 (top). Food bowl, Tamigitu village,

mainland Tami speakers, Morobe Province. Wood.
45 x 29 cm. 81.73.15. Said to have been made
by Awel, c.1890. Donated by Village Arts and
registered 1 December 1981.
side of the bowl. This may be a reference to

the selam snake that lives in the sea but
emerges to wander about the land changing
its appearance. It seduces young men by
assuming the form of a girl and seduces the
girls by assuming the form of a young man;
its victims waste away and die (Bodrogi 1961:
69). The gures may be goam or nguam (the
ancestral balum spirit), or may represent the
two brothers of the widespread story known
on Tami as that of Gidging and Gimoling, and
in Madang as that of Kilibob and Manub
(Bodrogi 1953: 119-27; Mennis 1979; Pomponio 1994).
Admiralty Islands wood bowls are of three
types (Ohnemus 1998: 201-11). There are the
bowls that range from circular to oval in
shape, with or without some sort of stubby
legs, with or without carved motifs around
the rim, but with no handles. Then there are
bowls carved in the form of an animal, such
as a crocodile, turtle, dog, pig or bird. Finally
there are the bowls with handles, of which
the great feast bowls over a metre in diameter and displaying two delicately carved
spiral handles like prows of a canoe, are the
most magnicent (Kaufmann et al. 2002: 13435; Wardwell 1994: 112-13). Much speculation
National Museum in the spirit of responding
on the signicance of these spiral motifs
to Sir Michael Somares plea for the return of
range from correlations with the South-East
important items of PNGs cultural heritage.
Asian ship of the dead to spiral tails of possums, thought to be a totem animal. It is
possible too that they are clan insignia and
differences in the detail of the handles represent different clans.
The National Museum has no example of
these great feast bowls with the openwork
spiral handles. The inclusion of a recentlycarved model of such a bowl (MPNr 75),
presented to Sir Michael Somare during an
ofcial occasion, amounts to a plea for an
overseas museum to present one to the
MPNr 75 (below). Model of food bowl, Manus

Island, Manus Province. Wood. 39 x 14 cm. 79.38.19.
Gift to Sir Michael Somare. Registered 16 October
1979.
MPNr 81 (top). Headrest, Bosmun? village, lower

Ramu River, Bosmun speakers, Madang Province.
Wood. 53 x 12 cm. E.16268. Purchased from Barry
Hoare and registered 28 February 1975.
MPNr 82 (below). Headrest, Kaimari village, Purari

Delta, Purari speakers, Gulf Province. Wood. 75 x 38
cm. E.16403. Seized in 1972, donated by Customs
in 1974 and registered 24 March 1975. Published in
Smidt 1975: 19, 20; Nr 14.
HEADRESTS
Apart from the normal convenience of having a pillow when sleeping on ones side,
many people, particularly men, have elaborate hairstyles, and the headrest is a practical
device for preventing damage to them.18 The
simplest pillow or headrest is a short length
of large-diameter bamboo or sago leaf midrib. More elaborate is the carved wooden
horizontal component supported by two
pieces of thick rattan bent and bound at
each end to form two pairs of legs, or whole
headrests are carved from a single piece of
wood, such as those found in East Sepik Province (for example, Kelm 1966a, Plates 474-88,
1966b, Plates 76-80 and 1968, Plates 263-67,
269-71; Mead 1970, Fig. 45). Some people,
such as those around Collingwood Bay in Oro
Province, carve a short headrest from a single block of wood. Others (such as the Adzera
of the Markham Valley and the peoples of the
Papuan Gulf ) nd a suitably shaped branch
or root and carve three-legged headrests.
Sometimes the same forms are used as stools
(in Newton 1961, compare stool, Illust. 142,
and neck rest, Illust. 216). Headrests often
incorporate carved gural elements, usually
human or animal heads representing ancestral or mythical heroes, various spirits, or
animal totems.
The head near each end of the Bosmun
headrest (MPNr 81) almost certainly represents a male brag spirit, possibly from the
bush, depending on the identication of the
animal head at each end (which could be
that of a snake, given the undulating form
underneath the horizontal part of the headrest). Smidt and Eoe (1999: 118) inform us:
spirits associated with the bush usually
play an important role in the context of
hunting. These spirits may show the prey
to the hunters of their own group while
MPNr 83. Headrest, Kaiapit village, Markham Valley,

Adzera speakers, Morobe Province. Wood. 38 x 21
cm. 78.1.2. Donated by J. Perkings and registered
13 February 1978.
making it invisible to outsiders, and they

make sure that the prey does not run
away and will be surely hit.
It is possible that the use of these motifs

on headrests provides the sleeping hunter
with dreams that indicate the best time and
place to seek his prey.
The Adzera are Austronesian speakers living in the middle to upper Markham Valley,
and are best known for their pottery (May
and Tuckson 2000: 130-40). They also make a
headrest characterised by a gure, often
without genitalia, leaning forward on two
arms but with only one leg. The head is usually turned upwards (MPNr 83) although
sometimes looks downwards or sideways.
Gunn (1985) discusses an example in the
Northern Territory Museum, comparing it to
ten other published examples. Schmitz (1959)
reports that these objects are both headrests
and stools. Gunn summarises (1985: 139-40):
rage among the gods, that whole districts
children were the rst people The can-
were depopulated. In the end the survi-
nibalism of men is no other than the
vors decided to leave the country [But
symbolical re-enactment in the cult of this

19
creative event in primordial times.
there was] an old woman they could not
During the night prior to a headhunting
take with them Thus she remained
raid the warriors would sleep prone with
behind alone, and hid herself as well as
the nape of the neck resting on the back
she could in a cave, that the giant might
of the artefact, in effect using it as a head-
not nd her
Schmitz suggests that in the cannibal cult

of human times, the victim who is eaten plays
the part of that primordial giant, and the
The old woman cut her nger one
actual killers take the part of the twins (ibid.:
successful warrior would sit upon the
day with a taro leaf. She let the blood run
149). He notes that the protruding tongue (a
three-legged object apart from his
out into two hollows in the earth, and
common feature of the head carved on the
companions, and would eat pig-meat
covered them over with leaves. The next
headrest) is a characteristic of carvings repre-
while his fellows ate the esh of the
day already two boys had formed from
senting this primordial man-eater who is
human victim.
the blood, a pair of twins. One, they say,
himself killed and eaten.
rest. Upon return from a fruitful raid, the
Schmitz (1959) relates the face on the

headrest/stool to that of the carved gure in
the mens house representing Mugus, a male,
cannibalistic sky-god. Elsewhere he reports
(1963: 64):
was right-handed and the other lefthanded In a marvellously short time

the children grew up to be strong men.
The mother taught them to ght, and
requested them to kill the man-eating
giant After an atrocious ght the giant
Headrests of the Papuan Gulf (MPNr 82)

are generally from the area between Goaribari Island in the west to the Purari Delta in the
east. They, like the Adzera headrests, are often
three-legged with a head jutting upwards
In the dreamtime, the life of the gods was
was killed, cut up and eaten. The gods
above the front two legs (or arms) (cf., Meyer
constantly threatened by a giant who
who had ed returned and took part in
2004: 24). These forms are related to the simi-
devoured everything he could get hold of.
the meal of victory, the rst cannibalistic
lar imunu carvings strange, active gures
Sometimes he appeared in human form,
communal meal in this world, and from
carved from twisted branches or roots of
sometimes as a monstrous boar whose
now on the world of men could develop
trees, suggesting habitation by nature spirits
tusks curved round So terribly did he
undisturbed. The twins married, and their
(Newton 1961: 62-3).
GARDENING AND FERTILITY FIGURES
believed to be similar to that of the Kwoma.

Yena, minja and nowkwi carvings of the
ally is restricted to men who are homicides

and the fathers of many children. Only such
Success in gardening, the protection of crops
Kwoma have personal names and are used at
men are permitted to carry the large wooden
from thieves, the general fertility of plants,
three different ceremonies celebrating the
shields instead of the animal-hide shields car-
trees and women, are concerns that many
growth and harvest of yams. Yena (yina) is a
ried by the younger men (Newton 1971: 88).
New Guinea societies address through com-
large wood head carved with a neck-like
One or two nowkwi are displayed, decorated
munal rituals, often involving the use of
stake (MPNrs 171-73). Several yena are dis-
with shell ornaments, in front, or on top, of a
carved objects, sometimes displayed publicly
played during the yena ceremony, highly
basket of yams. The display includes large
and sometimes restricted to the mens cult
ornamented with shells and feathers, sur-
net bags of food and betel (areca) nuts, which
house. Often such rituals were considered
rounding a basket of yams (Bowden 1983,
are later distributed to the women to ensure
also to be effective in healing illnesses.
Plates 16, 17, 20, 21; Kaufmann 1968, Plate 39;
their success in shing. The dancing and sing-
Newton 1971, Illust. 153). The yena ceremony
ing of the initiates is accompanied by the
Washkuk Hills, Ambunti area
takes place immediately after rst harvest
sounds of slit-gongs, utes, and trumpets of
In the hills and swamps west and north-west
and the singing and dancing is accompanied
conch shell and wood. But the most impor-
of Ambunti, several groups of peoples share
by the sounds of slit-gongs and utes. This
tant instrument is the water drum, an
a culture that is different to that of the main-
continues all day and night, during which the
upturned canoe suspended from a platform
stream Sepik. The Kwoma in the Washkuk
women are kept well clear of the cult house.
over a trench of water with its rim touching
Hills are the better known, with the closely
Minja (mindja, mija) is a long canoe-
related Nukuma in the swamps around the
shaped board with a yena-like head at the
held and guided by several men, to simulate
Namblo River to the north of them. The
top end and usually with a series of loops,
the sound of the footsteps of the two danc-
Yasyin are in the hills on the south side of the
representing a snake, issuing from or below
ing nowkwi female gures. Aggressive
Sepik and their swamp-dwelling cousins, the
the mouth and reaching the base of the g-
mayhem and minor destruction of house-
Warasei, live around the Sanchi to the north-
ure. Minja (MPNrs 174-77) embody male
hold effects occurs during the nowkwi
west (Newton 1971, map); both groups speak
water spirits that are believed to promote the
ceremony and this is attributed to Nankwi,
the Mayo language and were antagonistic
growth of yams. They are displayed in pairs,
the spirit represented by the nowkwi
to the Kwoma and Nukuma. All these groups
highly ornamented like the yena, against a bi-
carvings.
say they migrated from the hills farther to
conical heap of newly-harvested yams,
the north perhaps from the Bongos-Nuku
immediately following the yena ceremony
Kwoma men are asked What are yena? they
region of the Torricelli Mountains where peo-
(Bowden 1983, Plate 24; Kaufmann 1968,
assert three things: that they are spirits
ple speak related languages. Bowden (1997)
Plate 40; Newton 1971, Illust. 176). There is a
(sikilowas), that they have great power (ow),
outlines oral traditions recounting the move-
day and night of singing and dancing accom-
and that they are responsible for the continu-
ments of these peoples over the past few
panied by slit-gongs, bullroarers, and
ing fertility of the yam gardens. The same
centuries.
bamboo trumpets. For some of the time, the
applies to the minja gures. However, nowkwi
women are permitted to join in the dancing
is not considered by the Kwoma to be a yam
in front of the cult house.
ceremony but to be concerned with man kill-
Like their northern and north-eastern

neighbours, the Kwoma, Nukuma, Yasyin and
Warasei are primarily yam cultivators and
Nowkwi (nogwi) are female gures,
the surface. This is beaten with a long pole,
Bowden (1983: 88) reports that when
ing and was restricted to homicides. Nowkwi
their ceremonials are carried out in connec-
around life-size (MPNrs 178-83). They are
gures represent powerful female spirits
tion with male initiation and stages of yam
used in the most secret of all the yam harvest
owned by the clan (or clans) sponsoring the
cultivation and harvesting (Bowden 1983;
ceremonies, though strictly speaking not to
ceremony; they are also seen as sisters of the
Kaufmann 1968; Newton 1971: 82-109). Only
do with yams so much as with man killing.
men of the clan, the women, that is, who
the Kwoma have been intensively studied
This ceremony takes place a few weeks after
have been given away in marriage to men in
but the cultures of the other groups are
the yena and minja ceremonies and tradition-
other groups (ibid.: 77).

MPNr 171. Yam cult gure (yena), Sanchi River,

Kwoma speakers (Nukuma dialect), East Sepik
Province. Wood. 112 x 24 cm. E.16369. Seized in
24 March 1975.
MPNr 172. Yam cult gure (yena), Namblo River,

Mayo speakers (Warasai dialect), East Sepik
24 March 1975.
MPNr 173. Yam cult gure (yena), Asawurr village,

Namblo River, Mayo speakers (Warasai dialect), East
Sepik Province. Wood. 129 x 25 cm. E.16373. Seized
in 1972, donated by Customs in 1974 and registered
24 March 1975.
MPNr 174 (left). Yam cult gure (minja), personal name Yamonau (male); Tongwindjamb village, Kwoma
speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 200 x 37 cm. 79.1.541. Carved by Nouksu c.1900, and passed down
20
from son to son through Faiambai, then Eigwasi, Walaman, Uyeiwongku (Mangkahua), Abunendzungu,
and nally to Gutok. Bought by Barry Craig from Gutok, 27 April 1973, on behalf of the Commonwealth Art
Advisory Board, Canberra; subsequently gifted to the PNG Museum by the Australian government, and
registered 24 October 1979.
The gures are completely naked with

bright red vulvas and thick pubic hair (a mark
of female beauty), and carry womens net
bags full of food. Taken as a whole the display presents a striking and unambiguous
image of fecundity and abundance in both
the natural and social worlds (ibid).
Bowden (1983: 115-16) notes that the
yena and minja sculptures are painted predominantly black and provided with the
decorations appropriate to homicides
those who, through killing, have acquired the
power to plant and grow yams. Thus in the
series of yena, minja and nowkwi ceremonies,
the twin themes of nurture and hostility, procreation and killing are given expression,
with the men taking both roles in the realm
of culture, nevertheless tacitly acknowledging but competing with the role of women as
procreators and nurturers in the realm of
nature.
The minja, MPNr 174, was purchased from
Gutok of Tongwindjamb village (Fig. 60). Its
personal name is Yamonau and it is male. It
Fig. 60. Gutok of Tongwindjamb village, Kwoma
speakers, Washkuk Hills, and his minja gure at
Ambunti. Photo: B. Craig, BM24: 26; 31 December
1972.
was carved with stone tools, before the Germans came to the Sepik, by Nouksu, then
inherited by Faiambai, then by Eigwasi, then
by Walaman, then by Uyeiwongku, then by
Abunendzungu, then by Gutok. The hooks
along either side of the gure are its spears;
the spiral forms along the centre (abasambaluka) represent the curled abdomen of the
buttery that congregates on the pith of
sago that has been cut from the trunk of the
palm. The gure is normally painted in several colours and coloured owers and plants
decorate the hooks. Black cassowary feathers,
and the white feathers of the hen, cockatoo
and egret, are attached to the gures head. It
is kept hidden from women and the
uninitiated, and among other functions,
assists in hunting and formerly in warfare.
MPNr 175 (left). Yam cult gure (minja), Yaungget

village, Namblo River, Mayo speakers (Warasai
dialect), East Sepik Province. Wood. 156 x 29 cm.
E.16378. Seized in 1972, donated by Customs in
1974 and registered 24 March 1975.
MPNr 176 (right). Yam cult gure (minja), Kwoma

11 February 1975.
MPNr 177 is a minja gure purchased

from Bi of Brugenauwi, who had purchased it
from Wendaba of Nagri, a Nukuma village in
the swamps about 12 kilometres west of the
Washkuk Hills (Fig. 61). It was carved by
Wendabas father, Abun-gambo and used in
ceremonies to aid in hunting and yam fertility. Newton (1971, Illusts 136-39) has
published four photographs of paintings,
representing minja gures, on the ceiling of a
mens cult house at Nagri in 1967. Newton
reports that the Kwoma regard the minja gures as representations of water spirits that
live in lakes, which are sometimes seen just
below the surface of the water (ibid.: 87).
They may also be considered as sky spirits,
perhaps because the sky is so clearly
reected on the surface of the lakes. It is
likely that the Nukuma had similar beliefs.
MPNr 180 is a female nowkwi gure purchased from Gutok of Tongwindjamb village
(Fig. 62). Its personal name is Hambawali. It
was carved with stone and steel tools during
the time of the German administration by
Kweiomboi, and inherited subsequently by
Waloman, then Mang-gapauwa, then Openeijungun, then Gutok. Gutok had carved a
replacement for this gure and wanted to sell
the original. He said Neliapalen is the name of
the ceremony in which this gure was used.
Apart from the benecial effect on yam
growth, the ceremony was meant to ensure
success for the women when they went shing (Newton 1971: 89).
MPNr 177. Yam cult gure (minja), Nagri village, Kwoma speakers (Nukuma dialect), East Sepik Province.
Wood. 125 x 40 cm. 79.1.619. Carved by Abungambo, father of Wendabe of Nagri village, and subsequently
sold by Wendabe to Bi of Brugenauwi. Bought by Barry Craig from Bi, 12 January 1973, on behalf of the
Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, Canberra; subsequently gifted to the PNG Museum by the Australian
government, and registered 23 October 1979.
Fig. 61. Left to right: minja, nowkwi and yena for

sale at Ambunti, 12 January 1973. Minja gure
from Nagri village, Nukuma speakers, at left. Photo:
B. Craig BK13: 3; 12 January 1973.
Fig. 62 (opposite page, right). Gutok of

Tongwindjamb village, Kwoma speakers, Washkuk
Hills, and his nowkwi gure at Ambunti. Photo:
B. Craig, BM24: 2; 30 December 1972.
MPNr 178 (below left). Yam cult gure, female

(nowkwi), Urambanj village, Kwoma speakers, East
Sepik Province. Wood, cowries. 111 x 23 cm. E.16238.
Purchased from Wayne Heathcote and registered
17 February 1975.
MPNr 179 (below right). Yam cult gure, female

(nowkwi), Urambanj village, Kwoma speakers, East
Sepik Province. Wood. 99 x 22 cm. E.16239. Probably
the same carver as for Masterpieces Nr 178.
Purchased from Wayne Heathcote and registered 17
February 1975.
MPNr 180 (opposite page, left). Yam cult gure,

female (nowkwi), personal name Hambawali,
Tongwindjamb village, Kwoma speakers, East Sepik
Province. Wood, human hair. 163 x 34 cm. 79.1.590.
Carved by Kweiamboi before 1914 and passed
down through four generations to Gutok. Used in
nowkwi ceremony called Neliapalen. Bought by
Barry Craig from Gutok, 27 April 1973, on behalf of
the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, Canberra;
subsequently gifted to the PNG Museum by the
Australian government and registered 24 October
1979.
MPNr 181. Yam cult gure, female (nowkwi), Yasyin

village, Mayo speakers (Yasyin dialect), East Sepik
24 March 1975. Published in TPNGPMAG 1974a,
Plate opp. p. 12.
MPNr 182. Yam cult gure, female (nowkwi),

Muruwa or Yaungget village, Namblo River, Mayo
speakers (Warasai dialect), East Sepik Province.
Wood. 106 x 22 cm. E.16382. Seized in 1972, donated
by Customs in 1974 and registered 24 March 1975.
MPNr 183 (right). Yam cult gure female (nowkwi), Sanchi River, Kwoma speakers (Nukuma dialect), East
Sepik Province. Wood. 152 x 24 cm. 81.26.118 [original registration number lost]. Probably purchased from
Wayne Heathcote c. 1975 and said to be from Kwaka, Nukumu-Abletak area.
MPNr 80. Pot modelled as head, Washkuk, Kwoma?

speakers, East Sepik Province. Clay. 35 cm x 14 cm
diameter. E.16182. Purchased from Barry Hoare and
In addition to the carved wood gures,

the Kwoma and Nukuma make head-like pots
that are sculpted and painted, and used in
the yena ceremony to decorate subsidiary
piles of yams (Newton 1971: 85, Illust. 177).
Some of these pots-as-heads have a hole in
the bottom to allow them to be supported
on a stick. These representations of spirits
(sikilawas), via the medium of modelled, chipcarved and painted pottery, are made only by
men who have been through the third stage
of initiation, at about thirty-ve years of age
(Kaufmann 1972: 215; May and Tuckson 2000:
219). MPNr 80 is most likely a Nukuma pot,
judging from the style of the face (cf., May
and Tuckson 2000, Figs 9.16-17), but much of
what is known about the Kwoma is most
likely true also for their northern neighbours,
the Nukuma.
Kaufmann reports that informants give
several different stories of the signicance of
these clay heads for the Kwoma but summarises with the formula, pot=head=yam=the
spirits of ages past (Kaufmann 1972: 182).
Bowden (1983: 106) further elaborates on the
signicance of the head in Kwoma imagery by
stating that the head derives its signicance,
visually and ritually, from the fact that it simultaneously symbolises masculine sexuality and
fertility on the one hand, and homicidal
aggression on the other. He recounts the
incredible story of the adventures of Yowjasus
severed head to establish these connections
(ibid.: 106-10). It is therefore possible that,
apart from other meanings, the pottery yena is
a reference to Yowjasus head or the equivalent in Nukuma mythology. An episode of this
story, where Yowjasus head attaches itself to
the wattles (breasts) of a female cassowary,
was carved at one end of a horizontal beam of
the Council House (modelled on a cult house)
at Ambunti (Fig. 63).
Fig. 63. Carved representation of Yowjasus head

attached to the wattles of a female cassowary.
Council House, Ambunti. Photo: B. Craig BK13: 11;
21 January 1973.
Prince Alexander Mountains

Abelam
the success of long-yam growing.

The nggwalndu (MPNrs 17, 185, 186) are
There are several stages of male initiation

and, at the fourth, the nggwalndu and other
male gures up to 5 metres long, the carving
gures and paintings are prepared and dis-
According to Forge (1966), among the
style characterised by minimal differentiation
played to initiates who submit to a variety of
Abelam of the coastal range to the north of
of the parts of the body (Hauser-Schublin
ordeals. Both initiators and initiates are
the middle Sepik, myth is virtually irrelevant
1989b). The face is usually rendered with a
painted and decorated so that they resemble
to their art, unlike the situation among the
horizontal brow line and small eyes set close
the carvings and they then emerge into the
Kwoma and Nukuma who recount several
to the long, slightly swelling ridge of the nose.
cleared space in front of the cult house and
mythical episodes that are relevant to their
The gures are generally painted all over with
present themselves to the women. Initiation
carvings. The major gure sculpture of the
red (the most powerfully charged pigment)
is the opportunity for men to gain magical
Abelam are the carvings of nggwalndu, clan
and the other colours, rather than carving, are
power that will help them to become suc-
spirits that are not ancestors but spirits
used to indicate ornamental details.
cessful growers of long yams (Losche 1982).
normally residing outside village territory,

having an interest in the welfare of a
particular clan (Hauser-Schublin 1989a: 612).
Forge (1973a: 174) says that painting is

a sacred activity [which] under ritual
Forge has said (1973a: 189), Woman as prime

creator and man as nourisher come clearly
conditions becomes the means by which
out of Abelam art. These themes are
Like the ancestors of other Sepik peoples,
the benets of [a] ceremony are trans-
remarkably like those of Kwoma and Nukuma
they are responsible for the health and size
ferred to the initiates, to the village as a
art, with which other links also may be found.
of pigs and for human welfare and fertility,
whole, and to the villages of those who
in addition to their special role in promoting
have assisted and attend the ceremony.
MPNr 17 (left). Male gure (nggwalndu), Maprik

area, Abelam speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
376 x 35 cm. E.7284. Registered 10 February 1971.
MPNr 185 (below). Male gure (nggwalndu),

Maprik area, Abelam speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 116 x 17 cm. E.8845. Purchased from Barry
Hoare, Sepik Primitive Arts, Madang and registered
29 December 1971.
MPNr 186 (right). Male gure (nggwalndu), Maprik

area, Abelam speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
lost but identied almost certainly as E.4669,
personal name Biangarum, Malba Nr 2 village.
Purchased by Roy Mackay on behalf of the museum
from Gabrasepa Mungalgul, and registered
14 January 1970].
Boiken
The Boiken speak several dialects and are
scattered from the Sepik plains northwards
across the mountains and down to the coast
and offshore islands in the vicinity of Wewak.
They share many cultural characteristics with
their Abelam and Arapesh neighbours to the
west.
MPNr 187 is signicantly different from
the other Boiken gures in the exhibition
(MPNrs 188-92). However, it is quite like a gure in the Masco collection (Wardwell 1994:
40-1), having the same style of painting on
the face, cockatoo-like beaks where the
shoulders should be, and a similar torso. The
Masco piece is provenanced to Southern
these gures suggests that there are several
as the prerequisite for bearing and suck-
styles of carving, each characteristic of a par-
ling many offspring. It furnished
ticular group of Boiken and/or of particular
motivation and ability for long, arduous
carvers, but unfortunately the exact place
work in the elds and prodigious culinary
where each of these gures was made is not

known.
Little information has been recorded
is said to come from Kumun (just west of Yangoru), which is a Boiken village (although the
caption wrongly states Arapesh). It is therefore likely that all three pieces are West
Boiken, as the ceremonies in which they were
gures, thereby emphasising the comple-
called malingatcha and had individual names.
mentary roles of men and women in
He outlines three grades of initiation
maintaining the prosperity of the community
sumbwi, kwuli and suwero. It was during the
as a whole.
second grade (kwuli) that the male initiates

(in their late twenties or so), after the incision
of their penes to remove bad blood,
were shown the malingatcha carvings,
which, newly painted and decorated, were
displayed in the hut next to the stilt house
or, if the weather was ne, against one of
its outer walls. Each initiate in turn was
instructed to stand before the array,
informed him of their identity wangi-
in the Masterpieces Exhibition must come
wandauwa, the kwuli wala or tambaran
from elsewhere.
and listed a series of taboos that must

be observed for several months hence on
pieces Exhibition appear to be female but a
pain of serious risk to health. [Roscoe
survey of other such gures supports
1990: 406]
The function of these carved gures may
9) that they were carved as pairs, male and
be considered to be the effect they had on
female. Of twenty-one offered for auction at
the initiates. Roscoe (1995: 58) states:
Sothebys in Sydney (1993, Lots 245-50), and

111-18, 120, 122-24, 130, 131), ten were
clearly female, six were male and the gender
Male initiation was believed to confer

motivation and ability in battle, oratory,
the pursuit and manipulation of shell
wealth and pigs, and those aspects of
of ve could not be determined from the
food production, such as hunting, garden-
photographs. The female gure Lot 112
ing, and sago processing, that were mens
(Myers 1975) looks like a pair to the male?
work. Female initiation motivated women
gure MPNr 192 and appears to have been
to bear and rear children, and conferred
carved by the same man. Inspection of all
on them the full-bodied gure esteemed
Thus it seems appropriate that there
1990: 402). Paul Roscoe notes they were
where the ritual guardians of the carvings
at a gallery in New York (Myers 1975, Lots 109,
groups at heart.
used were last held in the 1940s (Roscoe
the eastern Abelam. The other Boiken gures
Roscoes information (1990: 412, endnotes 5,
of their husbands and husbands kin
should be both male and female malingatcha
Yangoru Boiken and have been inuenced by
Most of the Boiken gures in the Master-
down in marriage with the best interests
about the cult gures from the Yangoru
Abelam or Boiken. A gure with a face

painted in a similar way (Myers 1975, Nr 110)
production, and it inspired them to settle
MPNr 187. Figure with lizard-like body, Yangoru

area, Boiken speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
103 x 19 cm. E.1373. Acquired from Bruce Lawes and
registered 15 March 1966.
MPNr 188. Female gure, Yangoru area, Boiken

E.16232. Purchased from Wayne Heathcote and


MPNr 191. Female gure, Mount Turu, Yangoru

area, Boiken speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
68 x 13 cm. E.14182. Donated by Bruce Lawes and
registered 25 April 1974.
MPNr 192. Male? gure, Yangoru area, Boiken

81.26.117 [original registration number lost].
Fig. 64. Kuku in situ, Isago village, Aramia River,

Gogodala speakers, Western Province. Photo:
A.L. Crawford, 1975.
MPNr 184. Guardian gure for garden (kuku),

Iyobo sub-clan insignia, Isago village, Aramia River,
Gogodala speakers, Western Province. Wood. 136
x 23 cm. 76.47.1. Collected by A.L. Crawford and
J.A. Baldwin and registered in 1976. Published in
Crawford 1981: 141 and catalogue Nr 227.
The Aramia-Fly River Gogodala

The Gogodala live on the oodplain of the
Aramia River that ows eastwards into the
Bamu River, and on the north bank of the
Fly River estuary, at the western end of the
Papuan Gulf. Canoes were essential for
transport in the watery environment of the
Gogodala, and a mans canoe was identied with his sub-clan totem. The spirits of
these totems (limo) were portrayed by particular painted designs called gawa tao. Such
a design was far more than a symbol of the
sub-clan or canoe to which a man belonged
it embodied the spiritual force or ugu of his
canoe, and
was instrumental in controlling most
happenings. The ugu, through the
medium of an efgy known as a kuku, had
essential tasks to perform: to dispel an evil
spirit or sickness from the village; to
ensure healthy coconut palms; and to
prohibit the unlawful harvesting of garden produce, especially that of a dead
man. A kuku usually took the form of a
simple limbless gure carved from hardwood with the gawa tao painted on the
torso. They were positioned upright in
gardens normally at the top of a slope
looking out across the tranquil waters of
the lagoon, or in close proximity to the
village amongst the coconut palms. One
as a guardian (Fig. 64). It was believed it
usually stood at the foot of the steps lead-
would cause illness or even death to anyone
ing up to the komo [central hall] entrance
who stole coconuts or other crops from the
of the longhouse to guard against evil
garden.
spirits. [Crawford 1981: 50 and Figs 91, 106,

189]
The gure in the Masterpieces Exhibition

(MPNr 184) was the last kuku of Isago village.
Most were destroyed in a Mission-inspired
bonre in the late 1930s. This gure was
made by Beya in the 1950s and erected at the
summit of a sloping garden where it served
MPNr 193. Human gure (iubini), Imipiaka village, Waka Enga, Enga speakers, Enga Province. Rattan. 90 x
57 cm. E.2171. Collected by Patrol Ofcer W.R. Patterson of Mendi; donated and registered 19 July 1967.
Published in Neich 1975: 45, 49-50, Fig. 11.
The Highlands Enga and Huli

Yupin or iubini are human gures between
0.5 and 1 metre high, usually male, constructed of rattan and/or vines by men using
basketry techniques. They have been collected from the area bounded approximately
by Porgera, Laiagam and Kandep, in Enga
Province but also from the vicinity of Margarima in the north of the Southern Highlands
Province. The people of these locations speak
Ipili, Enga and Huli languages. Roger Neich
(1975) published a thorough survey of them,
including in his account extensive quotations
from Reverend H.M. Reah who was living at
Laiagam, Patrol Ofcer W.R. Paterson who
was based at Margarima, and E.R. Lockyer
who was Forestry Ofcer at Mendi, about 40
kilometres south-east of Margarima. Both gures in the Masterpieces Exhibition (MPNrs
193 and 194) are included in Neichs survey
and a third gure (E.15582, in the National
Museums storage) is mentioned. Since then
another three or four have been added to the
collections. One of these (E.16442) was published as part of the Seized Collections of
1972 (Smidt 1975: 42) and is remarkably like
the Wambli and Laiagam gures published
by Neich (1975, Figs 1 and 6 respectively).
These gures are regarded as highly
sacred and kept secret from women and children. Reah reported (Neich 1975: 34-6) that
each clan has a spirit house where sacred
female stones and prehistoric stone mortars
are kept. The basketry gures are hidden in
various locations but brought to the spirit
house for rituals, one of which involves the
male gure copulating with the female
stones.
All believed that the spirits of their
departed dead resided in [these] gure[s]
If the spirits were not appeased by
MPNr 194. Human gure, male (yupin/taama), Yaruna village, Magarima area, Huli speakers, Southern
Highlands Province. Vine, rattan, gourd and human hair. Face painted red and yellow.
68 cm high x 82 cm circumference at the head and 79 cm at the chest. E.16497. Purchased by E.R. Lockyer
from Margarima Local Government Council, donated to the National Museum of New Zealand, subsequently
repatriated to the PNG National Museum on 20 August 1974; registered 25 June 1975. Published in
TPNGPMAG 1976b: 11, top left and in Neich 1975: 50-2, Figs 12, 13.
offerings of pork etc., then these spirits

would come forth and harm the clan as a
whole by spoiling the food supply and
would be detrimental to the health of the
community Pig grease or blood was
often rubbed on the Yupin [which] would
be referred to in a drought, or when the
children were sick, etc. Yupins were supposed to punish people for misdeeds and
for ignoring good tribal habits The
keepers [of the yupin] received all kinds of
rewards or pay from people, such as pigs,
axes, mother of pearl shells etc.
Usually, the yupin are not made locally but

bought from other locations. Reah stated:
If the man making the Yupin had occult
powers then he could ask and get a high
price for it. His pay could be as follows; ten
full grown pigs, a large quantity of shell
necklaces of very high value, salt, axes, pig
grease, sugar cane, taro, sweet potato and
many other items.
One of the gures in the Masterpieces

Exhibition (MPNr 193) comes from the Waka
(south-western) Enga of the Waga River valley, at the headwaters of the Kikori River; the
other (MPNr 194) comes from the eastern
Huli near Margarima, farther down the Waga
Valley, south of the Waka Enga.
According to informants, the Waka Enga
gure collected by W.R. Paterson (MPNr 193)
was made in the 1940s or 1950s by Borone of
Imipiaka.
The gure was then purchased from Borone by the Wirimbi group in a big pig and
kina (pearl shell) transaction The gure
was kept in a cave and brought out only
when required.
Paterson bought the gure from the

Wirimbi. He was told (Neich 1975: 49):
The gure is known as Iubini and is said
to have a spirit within named Aimene.
Aimene is representative of the great
initiation, usually three boys are put through
spirit known as Tatagali-Wabe [who]
at one time. A multi-level house is built in the
was responsible for seeing to the general
village and the boys sit in it for four days and
well-being of the people, ie. it fell within
cannot talk to anyone. On the rst day, the
his capabilities to ensure that the kau-kau

(sweet potato) produced, that the pigs
became plenty in number and that the
women bore children A major festival
to Tatagali-Wabe would be held at inter-
pigs are prepared; on the second day, vegetables are prepared; on the third day, the pigs
are killed; on the fourth day, the boys come
out of the house after eating pork. During
vals of approximately six to seven years or
this time the gure remains in the cult house
whenever the seasons were going badly
separate from the initiation house, except for
On the feasting occasions people with
the night before the pig kill when it is carried
pigs would bring them to the festival site,
around the village as described above. The
those without pigs would bring kina
boys still cannot talk to anyone, until the
[pearl shells] with which to buy pigs.
fourth night is over. They then return to the
When pig was killed and cooked, pieces of
communal sleeping house. Taama build up
pig would be passed by the mouth of the
so much power that the men become afraid
Iubini, this being symbolic to the spirit

Tatagali-Wabe eating a share of the pig
[On other occasions] pigs would be killed
and portions offered to Tatagali-Wabe on
behalf of some person from within the
group who was sick
of them. They then put them out in the bush

to rot as they become too powerful to use.
Neich has traced the variations in the
names, function and signicance of these
basketry gures throughout the area of their
occurrence and concludes (ibid.: 53):
Neich (1975: 50-2), reports information

from Lockyer about the Huli gure (E.16497)
that came to the Margarima Council House
from nearby Yaruna:
Ordinarily, the gure is called Taama, but
when used in the pig-killing ceremony its
name changes to Amena. Two or three
men made the gure from bush vines and
cane strips gathered from the virgin forest. Taama is normally kept in a specially
built, medium-sized bush materials haus
tambaran in the village. The night before
a pig-kill no-one sleeps and the men carry
the gure around the village all night.
When the sun comes up he is put into his
house. Then the pigs are killed and the
singsing begins.
Women cannot touch or even look at the

gure. The Taama gure is also used during
the four-day initiation seclusion of boys. For
the gures and their originally associated beliefs need not be diffused together
as an integral unit. The Waka possibly
adopted the idea and techniques of making the gures from the Enga or Ipili to
the north, and applied the widespread
Enga name to them, but associated
them with modied Huli beliefs.
Fig. 65. Murik spider design (mabranarogo) (after

Beier and Aris 1975: 20).
HUNTING AND WARFARE

In the Masterpieces Exhibition there are two
types of object that have to do with hunting
and warfare. First there are the carved gures
and plaques that serve as habitations for spirits whose assistance may be enlisted for
success in hunting and warfare. The second
type of object has to do specically with the
Lower Sepik River
eyes and the mouth until last. The moment
technique of warfare, and this is the war
At Murik Lakes, carving skills are believed
when he carves these openings is the
shield. War shields were used almost every-
to have originated with two culture heroes,
moment when he bestows life on the image
where in New Guinea and New Britain,
Andena and Dibadiba who came down the
(Beier and Aris 1975: 22). Masks are always
displaying a variety of materials, shapes, sizes,
Sepik River in a canoe. They taught the peo-
painted after carving, usually with red ochre,
handle-types, and carved and painted
ple to make sago and how to carve masks
and are decorated with shells and leaves for
designs. There is available a comprehensive
and canoes (Beier and Aris 1975: 17):
use in ceremonies. When the masks are
survey of war shields in Melanesia (Beran and
All the important art forms brag [masks],
Craig 2005).
kandimbong [gures], namon [canoe

masthead gures] and canoe heads
HUNTING AND WARFARE FIGURES

The Masterpieces Exhibition includes many
examples of this type of carving, most being
from the Sepik-Ramu region with just a few
from villages of the Papuan Gulf. To acti-
danced, there may be a quite large and elaborate superstructure of feathers and other
materials that almost obscure the wooden
were derived from them. Only the ritual
mask itself (cf., Berg 1992, esp. Plates 14, 31;
karkar spears are supposed to have a dif-
Smidt and Eoe 1999, Figs 13.8-13.12).
ferent origin.
The men who learned the art of carving
Traditionally, Murik design elements are

used in quite specic ways for specic
from Andena and Dibadiba became the
objects. Beier and Aris (1975: 17), for example,
rst moanabinarogo [carvers]. The craft is
inform us:
passed on only in their families From
vate the power of these gures, a ritual is
his teacher [father or uncle] the young
All important masks have the spider
performed that might involve offerings of
carver will absorb a style, which is referred
design occurring on them somewhere.
tobacco, betel nut and various foods, even
to as darin or hand A carver is free,
The spider is the perfect designer. The ne,
blood. Upon successful completion of the
once he has learned what he can from his
precise lines of its web and the intricacy
hunt, or attack on an enemy settlement, a
immediate relative, to apprentice himself
of the design it produces symbolize the
portion of the quarry may be prepared and
to another carver from the same village
kind of perfection the carver himself is
presented to the spirit of the carving as
and to learn some variants of the style he
aiming at. [Fig. 65]
thanks and to encourage future assistance.
has acquired.
Although it is known that rituals have
Morakau, a Murik master carver, told Ulli
Carved anthropomorphic gures are of

two types: those having relatively naturalistic
been performed to transfer to replacement
Beier that power (maneng) is invested into a
human noses and those with long, beak-like
carvings the spirits inhabiting some of these
carving by incantations (timit) and the use of
noses. The nimbero kandimbong, half to full
objects, such as Mangisaun (MPNr 123), in
magic leaves. The former are learnt during
life-size, are carved with human, naturalistic
many instances these rituals may not have
initiation and supplemented with special
noses and represent male clan ancestors. Two
been performed. Respect for these objects as
ones learnt from the master carver; the magic
such gures, MPNrs 111 and 112, have been
museum exhibits therefore is not simply
leaves are particular to individuals, everyone
published by Beier and Aris (1975, Figs 10, 11).
based on regard for the carvers skills but for
having his own formula. The incantations are
The young male initiates are shown these
the continuing presence of spirits within
recited continuously while the carver works.
gures, even sleep with them (Barlow
them.
When carving a brag, the artist leaves the
1995: 97), so that they may absorb the

MPNr 111. Male gure (kandimbong), personal

name Marara, Darapap village, Murik Lakes, Murik
speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, rattan. 94 x 17
cm. E.16186. Seized in 1972, donated by Customs in
1974 and registered 12 February 1975. Published
in Beier and Aris 1975: 24 and Fig. 11; Smidt 1975:
54-55; TPNGPMAG 1974a, Plate opp. p. 23.
MPNr 112. Male gure (kandimbong), personal

name Gila, Darapap village, Murik Lakes, Murik
speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, rattan, shell
and human hair. 99 x 19 cm. E.16187. Purchased
from Barry Hoare and registered 12 February 1975.
Published in Beier and Aris 1975: 23-4 and Fig. 10.
inhabiting spirits virility and gain magical

knowledge about seduction. Beier and Aris
(1975: 24) state that the kandimbong depicts
a clan ancestor and culture hero and has
oracular powers:
When the carving is nished, its potency
has to be established with a kind of ritual
experiment. A spear is placed next to the
kandimbong, and a young boy is asked to
walk close to the gure. If the kandimbong
has meneng, or magic power, the spear
will suddenly tilt towards the boy. The boy
will then fall into a trance and the kandimbong will speak through the boy.
The kandimbong retains the power of
speaking through various people, and
when it appears to the owner in dreams it
sings and speaks to him.
The female equivalent of kandimbong gures (Specht 1988: 40, Plate 1) are presented
to girls at initiation and, as is the case during
the initiation of the young men, they sleep
with these female gures to absorb seduction and beautication magic (Barlow
1995: 106).
MPNr 111 has a scarication design
(taganap sigia) on the upper torso, said to
represent a crab. In 1983, I was told that this
kandimbongs name is Marara and informants
conrmed that it was carved at Darapap.
MPNr 112 has the same scarication design
but also a wig of human hair, a string of shell
rings around its neck and several shell rings
are attached to its arms and legs by woven
rattan bands. A bark cloth belt holds a bark
loincloth in place. In 1983 I was told that this
gures name is Gila, is from Mendam, and
was carved by Kanaba of Jangimot, a member of the current generation of old men.
Both these gures appear to have been
carved by the same man, that is, Kanaba.
Other types of Murik gures also feature
MPNr 114. Male gure, personal name Jore; Watam

village, Watam speakers, Watam Lagoon, East Sepik
Province. Wood. 166 x 26 cm. E.16417. Purchased
by Wayne Heathcote from Babo Saun of Watam
but seized as an illegal export in 1972 and donated
by Customs in 1974; registered 24 March 1975.
Published in Smidt 1975: 55.
Fig. 66. Male gure named Sendam, Watam village,

Watam speakers, Watam Lagoon. Photo: B. Craig,
C5: 27; 27 September 1983.
the human, rather than bird-like, nose (for

example, Kelm 1968, Plates 28, 84). Murik
paddle-canoe prows combine animal and
human elements (Craig 1987, Plate 41). At
Kopar and Watam, east of Murik, small gures
are kept in baskets as village guardians (ibid.,
Plate 46).
Sendam, the pair to Jore (MPNr 114), was
still kept in Watam in 1983 (Fig. 66 and Craig
1987, Plate 79), though much deteriorated.
Both Jore and Sendam were carved so long
ago (even before Watam village was
founded) that the name of the carver has
been forgotten. The spirits in these gures
were asked for assistance in warfare and
were presented with enemy heads after successful raids.
Long, beak-like noses are to be found on
the brag (spirit masks) and namon (masthead gures), gures and heads carved on
the sacred karkar spears, nials of slit-gongs
and canoe paddles, war shields, wooden food
and betel-nut pestles, handles of hand drums,
supporting gures of betel-nut mortars,
stools and headrests (Beier and Aris 1975,
Figs 1-9, 12-15; Beier and Somare 1973; Craig
1987, Plates 38-40, 42, 44, 45; Kaufmann 1980,
Plate 54; Kelm 1968, Plate 278; Specht 1988:
42-3). Beier and Aris (1975: 21) report:
Spirit noses resemble the beaks of birds;
for example, the nose of the tarego mask
is always modelled on the beak of an
eagle, while others are said to represent
the beak of the kauren bird or the
kekekaur bird. The kauren nose may also
be described as sakenemp (prawns tail).
Other noses are described as daur
gogongo (long nose) and waunor daur
(spirit nose).
Lipset considers these noses have an

additional signicance. Of the male war spirit
(brag), he states (1997: 135):
MPNr 152. Male? gure, much deteriorated, Keram

River area, Kambot? speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 151 x 20 cm. E.14188. Purchased from Bruce
Lawes and registered 25 April 1974.
Almost identical gures are illustrated in Friede

2005, Cat. Nr 121 and Kjellgren 2007, Cat. Nr 54.
Both are said to have been collected in the Keram
River area.
He is not just a spirit but a spirit-man
the other. It is not surprising then that some
Far from repressed, the glamour of his
language groups (Banaro and Rao) have set-
face (brag sebug) depicted in wooden
tlements on both rivers and others straddle
masks is animated by blatant images of
the middle Ramu and its eastern tributary the
genital desire and aggression. His visage is

dominated by a great phallic, beak nose.
In wooden gurines (kandimbong), the
top of the spirit-mans head often turns
into the face and head of a serpent
Guam (Romkun, Kominimung, Breri and

Igana).
Richard Thurnwald (1916) did research
among the Banaro as long ago as 1913-14,
(wakun kombitok) whose nose reaches
Father Aloys Kasprs published a general
down to his genitals [B]eautifully orna-
ethnographic survey in 1973 based on his
mented his decorations are intended
time in the area (1936-43), and Father John
to seduce women
Zgraggen published a survey of the lan-
Murik carvers are aesthetically sophisticated; Symmetry and proportion are of the
utmost importance and An inventive carver
may be praised for his nonon, or imagination
(Beier and Aris 1975: 22). However, the aesthetic qualities of a carving are irrelevant for
its function. Morakau explained to Ulli Beier
(ibid.):
guages of the whole of the Madang Province

in 1975. Otherwise very little was known
about the area until Dirk Smidt (1990b: 15)
undertook to survey the area and to work
intensively among the Kominimung as a eld
ofcer of the PNG National Museum between
1976 and 1980. Artefact collectors had been
operating in the area some time before but
their scant documentation was unreliable
You can give power to a carving as long
and it was this that motivated Smidt to go to
as you have the right incantations and as
the area (Smidt 1975: 87). Since then, he has
long as you make it the way you want it.

Whether other people like it or not does
not matter.
The power of the namon outrigger canoe
published several papers on the Kominimung

(1983, 1990a, 1990b, 1990c) in which he discusses the production and uses of their war
shields, masks and anthropomorphic gures
mast gure (ibid.: 24, Fig. 12) ensures the
and the signicance of the graphic designs
owner of the canoe is given many pigs by his
carved and painted on them. However, it is
trading partners. Miniature squatting gures
not clear whether, or how much of, this infor-
with the namons exaggerated beak-like nose
mation is applicable to the Romkun and Breri,
are placed in a wooden bowl during a ritual
nearest neighbours of the Kominimung, or to
for the inauguration of a new outrigger
the Banaro and Rao, who are farther away
canoe.
and more distant culturally and linguistically.
Ramu and Keram Rivers
Lower Keram River
The Ramu and Keram rivers are separate river
The provenance of MPNr 152 is uncertain and
systems (the Keram being a southern tribu-
nothing is recorded about its signicance.
tary of the Sepik) but the upper Keram
The style of the carved face is consistent with
meanders just 3 kilometres west of the mid-
lower Keram carving (Kambot speakers). The
dle Ramu. At high water there is no difculty
form of the piece overall is quite like a smaller
in passing by canoe from one river system to
carving in the Museum fr Vlkerkunde in
MPNr 115. Male gure, Wokam village, middle

Ramu, Banaro speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
56 x 10 cm. E.10438. Donated by Rudi Caesar and
registered 11 October, 1972. Published in TPNGMAG
1974b: 20.
MPNr 116 (right). Male gure, upper Keram River,

Banaro? speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, bark
loincloth. 69 x 9 cm. E.16055. Purchased from Barry
Berlin (Kelm 1968, Plate 52), collected by the

New Guinea Company in 1900 in the area
of the mouth of the Sepik. The function of
that gure was not recorded. Similar gures
are found through the Angoram-lower Sepik
area (Kelm 1968: Plates 32-50). In the Angoram area, they are called atei, are said to be
ancestor gures, and are invoked before war
and hunting expeditions (Wardwell 1994: 423). It is possible that MPNr 152 is the remnant
of a gure with similar functions, perhaps
from the lower or middle Keram.
Upper Keram and Middle Ramu Rivers
MPNr 115 has a suspension hole at the top
and stands on the head of an unidentied
animal (perhaps a ying fox), a totem of the
clan to which this gure belongs. The gures
long beak-like nose (similar to the brag
spirit mans nose of the Murik Lakes) joins
the body just above the penis. It is interesting that Smidt reports (1990b: 29) a type of
woven string loin covering worn by Kominimung men engaged in initiation rituals, that
hangs from a belt to cover the penis and
loops back upwards so that the narrow end is
held in the mouth (ibid., Fig. 3.34), analogous
to the carved beak-like nose of many male
wood gures. This type of nose image is common throughout the lower Sepik region, for
example at Kopar, Tsingarin and Karadjundo
(Kelm 1968, Plates 67-9, 70, 76, 90) though
none of those in the Berlin museums catalogue are as nely carved as this one from
the Banaro. A strikingly similar but somewhat
smaller gure in the Museum der Kulturen,
Basel, collected by Speiser at Tambanum on
the middle Sepik in 1930 (Kaufmann 1980,
Kat. Nr 57), is attributed to the lower Sepik.
Virtually nothing is known about the signicance of these gures but it is likely that they
represent male clan spirits (not necessarily
MPNr 153. One-legged gure, Romkun village,

Guam River, middle Ramu area, Romkun speakers,
Madang Province. Wood. 147 x 27 cm. 78.36.1.
Collected by Dirk Smidt 18 September 1972 and
registered 1 September 1978.
ancestral) and have important roles at times

of male initiation.
Dirk Smidt (pers. comm. 19 May 2004)
showed a photograph of a gure, similar to
MPNr 116, to Akasi of the Banaro village of
Ninias (=Minias?). Akasi claimed to recognise
that gure so it is likely that MPNr 116 comes
from the Banaro. It has traces of red paint on
the face and belly, and wears a beaten bark
loincloth21 and a woven rattan band on one
leg. It is possible that this gure is equivalent
to the kandimbong of the Murik Lakes (as it
has a naturalistic nose) and represents a male
clan ancestor. Thurnwald mentions such gures in connection with the initiation of
Banaro boys. Over several months, various
ceremonies are performed to introduce the
initiates to the sacred bamboo utes,
bullroarers, the ritual cleansing by penisbleeding, and to sexual intercourse and
marriage. Thurnwald writes (1916: 265-66):
After three months of connement the
initiates are shown the phenomena of the
world that surrounds them animals,
plants, high water, thunder and lightning
which are presented as spirits in the
shape of wooden idols. They are also
introduced to the goblins of this world
and the spirits of their ancestors The
fathers in the meantime have carved
small human gures (bukmorom, on the
lower Sepik called kandmboan) as a gift
of mutual friendship between the intermarrying gentes [people living in hamlets
each associated with a particular mens
house]. With these gures a particular
charm is performed. The father goes with
the boy into the forest to search for a
water liana This liana is cut and the
water allowed to ow over the gure,
betel nut and betel pepper are laid upon
it, and it is then wrapped up in bark. The
gure is used as a love charm. If the boy
MPNr 154. Male gure, right leg missing, Romkun

village, Guam River, middle Ramu area, Romkun
speakers, Madang Province. Wood. 59 x 14 cm.
E.10440. Donated by Rudi Caesar and registered 11
October 1972.
MPNr 155. Male gure, Romkun village, Guam River,

middle Ramu area, Romkun speakers (but probably
Breri), Madang Province. Wood, rattan. 107 x 14 cm.
E.16419. Seized in 1972 and donated by Customs;
registered 24 March 1975. Published in Smidt 1975:
93, Nr 104.
MPNr 156. Female gure, attributed to Romkun

village, Guam River, middle Ramu area, Romkun
E.14304. Purchased by Fr Zgraggen at Catholic
Mission Kuanga from Breri speakers; later bought
by Dr Christian Kaufmann for the Museum fr
Vlkerkunde, Basel, but restricted from export.
Registered 24 May 1974.
should go into the bush with this, he

would expect to meet a woman. When the
women hear that such a charm has been
executed, one of them complies with
the wish expressed in the charm. This is
the boys initiation into sexual life.
Guam River
It is not unreasonable to assume that the
information published by Dirk Smidt (1990b:
28-9) for the one-legged gures of the
Kominimung is more-or-less applicable to
MPNr 153, a one-legged gure of the Romkun, since the two groups are closely related
in language and culture. However, the Kominimung one-legged gure is represented with
a torso and tiny arms whereas the Romkun
one-leg has a face only, which is symmetrical around both the horizontal and vertical
axes. The three triangular projections immediately below the face at the top of the leg
suggest the three poisonous barbs of the catsh, a clan totem. Dirk Smidt (pers. comm.
15 March 2004) informs me that this interpretation is supported by the projection at
the top of the head, which was said to represent the tail of a sh, most likely the catsh.
He also notes that the hook-like projections
above and below the face were referred to as
birds beaks, probably the hornbill; at the top
of the single leg of the gure, the male spirits penis has been carved; and the diamond
shapes below that are the traces of a water
insect. The name of the carving was said to
be Kwanga.
The Kominimung believe in ancestral spirits called bwongogo; it is likely that the
Romkun have a similar belief. There are male
and female spirits and each one is associated
with a particular clan. These spirits are
believed to be helpful for human activities
such as gardening, hunting, shing, warfare
MPNr 157. Male gure (and detail), attributed to

Romkun village, Guam River, middle Ramu area,
Romkun speakers (but probably Breri), Madang
and initiation or they may obstruct success

if certain rules are broken.
At ceremonial occasions the [bwongogo], who belong to the spirit world, are
brought into the realm of human beings
by means of theatrical performances
which are prepared in the mens house.
The [bwongogo] are made tangible and
visible through the wood carvings and
additional paraphernalia worn or manipulated by initiated male performers. [Smidt
1990b: 28]
Each type of bwongogo is represented by

a specic kind of carving and by specic
musical instruments and songs. The one-legged gures are considered to represent the
most powerful of all the spirits, as it is only
MPNr 154 is rather different to MPNrs
after young men have been through an initi-
155-57 (even though all are noted to be from
ation featuring these gures that they are
Romkun in the museums register) in not hav-
permitted to marry. The one-legged gures
ing multiple hooks above and below the face,
are used to prod or thump the chest or back
in having upraised arms and a differently
of the initiate (ibid., Fig. 3.35), after which the
shaped abdomen. Its Romkun provenance
gures are placed in a special room in the
has been conrmed by the trader Jeff Liver-
mens house. The boys are circumcised and
sidge and his assistant William Siep (Dirk
the glans of the penis is scratched to make it
Smidt, pers. comm. 19 May 2004).
bleed, to remove the female blood with
Of the other three (MPNrs 155-57), two
which they are still contaminated (ibid.: 30).
are male and one is female. Attributions
Some years later the initiates go through
made by Liversidge and Siep favour a Breri
another ritual involving the one-legged g-
provenance (Dirk Smidt, pers. comm. 19 May
ures, they are informed of the choices they
2004) as does Smidt. A fourth, female gure
have for a marriage partner, and they are
(E.16421, not on display), similar to MPNr 156,
then permitted to marry.
has been published by Smidt (1975: 92, Nr
After these ceremonies, some of the g-
103), although with an incorrect village prov-
ures are kept in the mens house. Others are
enance provided by Rudi Caesar. A Breri
taken to family houses where they are kept
provenance is supported also by a gure
on a screened platform hidden from the
from Misingi (Misinki), a Breri village, pub-
women and uninitiated, who must not see
lished by Miller (n.d.: 39, Item 244).
them or they would fall ill. The gures protect
The Breri live on both sides of the Ramu
the house and its inhabitants. They also
south of the Romkun (Zgraggen 1975: 35)
ensure successful hunts, particularly of pigs,
but Kasprs seems to place them both under
and they seem to ensure a sufcient supply
the name Breri (1973, Map 2), as did Smidt
of food in general (Smidt 1990b: 30).
(1975: 89, map and 93, caption for Nr 104)
MPNr 122. Male gure, Dauneng village, Yuat River, Biwat speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 157 x 30 cm.
E.1347 [incorrect number; identied as E.361.1, collected by Dadi Wirz in 1955 and registered 7 December
1956.] Exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW, 20 April - 22 May 1966 (AGNSW 1966, Item 50 illustrated as Plate
17) and published in Meyer 1995: 217.
Fig. 67. Male gure, Dauneng village, Biwat speakers,

lower Yuat. Field photo by Dadi Wirz, late 1955,
courtesy of Dadi Wirz.
before he went to the Ramu and discovered

otherwise. Nor does Kasprs distinguish the
Kominimung. Kasprs reports the name of
the Breri water spirit associated with male
initiation as brobo, a term that could be cognate to the Kominimungs bwongogo.
It is signicant, perhaps, that both male
gures have a handle-like projection at the
top of the head whereas the two female gures lack this. It is possible therefore that the
male gures were used like the Kominimung
bwongogo one-legs (and like the Romkun
one-leg, Nr 153) to prod the backs of the initiates, the gures handle being held in the
raised right hand. The female gures may
represent spirits associated with shing or
gardening, as amongst the Kominimung,
eastern neighbours of the Breri.
Yuat River
Under registration number E.361 are three
carvings, from Dauneng (Ndauenang, Dowaning), Arani (Araning, Araining), and
Antefuga (Antfugoa, Andafugan), all villages
on or near the old course of the lower Yuat
River (see map, Laumann 1952: 899). None of
these gures is securely identied by registration number. MPNr 122 has at present the
registration number E.1347 and MPNr 128
it has to be assumed that the registration
has the registration number E.361.1. How-
numbers were written on tags and somehow
ever, MPNr 128 is a Sawos gure collected by
they were mixed up while preparing the
Oscar Meyer and Bruce Lawes (Meyer 1995:
gures for shipment to Sydney.
257) and by using a photograph I identi-
The Dauneng gure is most likely one of
ed it to be from the village of Yamok (Craig
the type from the lower Yuat villages referred
1982: 27, 29); therefore it cannot be one of
to by Karl Laumann (1951: 810; 1952) as Jagd-
the three gures under E.361. MPNr 122 is
gottheiten (hunting gods), but he notes that
from Dauneng as Dadi Wirz (pers. comm. 16
in Antefgoa there was a hunting god
February 2004) has conrmed that he col-
named Blssoa (Vlsso) that was also a war
lected it there in late 1955, and has supplied
god. Food offerings were made to these g-
a eld photograph to prove it (Fig. 67; see
ures before embarking on such activities, to
also Meyer 1995, Plate 227). Both gures were
ensure their assistance.
sent to the AGNSW for exhibition in 1966 so
MPNr 110 also was sent to the AGNSW for

MPNr 110 (left). Male gure, Arani [Araining], lower Yuat River area, Mekmek speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 186 x 27 cm. 81.26.114 [original registration number lost but identied as E.361.2, recorded as
collected by Dadi Wirz in 1955 and registered 7 December 1956 along with two other gures, each from
the nearby villages of Dauneng and Antefuga]. Exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW, 20 April 22 May 1966
(AGNSW 1966, Item 51).
Fig. 68 (above). Male gure named Tamasua, at

Maramba village, Angoram speakers, lower Yuat.
After Laumann 1951.
exhibition in 1966. In the catalogue of that

exhibition it has the registration number
E.361.2 and is provenanced to Arani. It is
identiable by its catalogue description and,
although it is not illustrated in that catalogue,
AGNSW archival photos of the exhibition
conrm that it was part of the exhibition. Its
registration tag must have been lost after it
was returned to Port Moresby from Sydney. It
was registered in 1956 at the same time as
the gure from Dauneng but Dadi Wirz said
that he did not collect it (pers. comm. 16 February 2004). In the PNG National Archives is a
list of the Dadi Wirz collection. The list
MPNr 113 (opposite page, middle). Male gure, personal name Tamasua; carved at Tambigenum but
collected at Maramba village, Yuat River, Angoram speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, shell eyes, human hair.
210 x 39 cm. 81.26.115 [original registration number lost or never registered]. Published in Laumann 1951,
TPNGPMAG 1967 Plate 1, and TPNGPMAG 1976b: 11, top right.
includes a 2.4-metre gure from Arani and a
unexpectedly died in the eld. The Antefuga
have had his share, the people in the house-
3.8-metre carved crocodile from Arani, but
piece in the Dadi Wirz collection was Vlisso,
hold nished off the food. If the hunt was
not a 1.86-metre gure. The 2.4-metre gure
published by Laumann (1952) and now in the
successful, the livers of the animals were fried,
from Arani (Mulikeban see Laumann
Museum der Kulturen in Basel (Bhler 1963,
put on cooked sago and given to Tamasua.
1954, Tafel 3: 5a-c) was one of those identied
Tafel 2). It is possible that Bhler arranged for
After he had eaten, the cooked livers were
for retention from the Dadi Wirz collection by
the substitution on the grounds of the fragil-
then threaded onto a cord and hung around
the PNG administration. This raises the ques-
ity of Vlisso and the lack of conservation
the gures neck; the family ate the rest of the
tion as to whether Mulikeban was later
facilities in Port Moresby, and that this substi-
food. A stool was always placed among them
substituted by another gure (the one cur-
tution was not noted when the registration
for his spirit to sit on. The gure was not
rently identied as E.361.2). It also casts
of the items took place.
secret-sacred; anyone in the family could see

and touch it.
doubt on this latter gures provenance,
MPNr 113 also has lost its registration
which may have been collected by Alfred
number or was never registered. However, it
Tamasuas conical headpiece probably
Bhler during his 1955/56 Sepik Expedition
is identiable as a hunting spirit called Tama-
represents a hair binder (cf., Kaufmann 1975,
and perhaps from a village other than Arani.
sua by reference to a paper written by Karl
Plate 73) but the odd angle of the head could
Laumann (1951). He came across the gure in
not be explained. The breast piece was said
though less weathered-looking and a little
Maramba village, on the old course of the
by informants to represent a sea shell orna-
taller at 205 cm, in the Museum fr
Yuat River (10 kilometres west of the present
ment, perhaps similar to the series of
Vlkerkunde in Frankfurt am Main (Haber-
river course). According to what he was told,
crescent-shaped mother-of-pearl shells in the
land and Schuster 1964: 30, right). It was
the gure originates from an old village
image of Mobul from Kambot (MPNr 4). The
collected by Meinhard Schuster from
named Tambigenum, a few kilometres south
gure used to have a loin covering of sago
Yuaroma in 1961 during the First Sepik Expe-
of Maramba. Tambigenum was destroyed in a
palm leaves but it has been lost. According to
dition of the Frobenius-Institut (Eva Raabe,
raid by Maramba warriors and the victors
Laumann, the big penis was lopped off with a
pers. comm. 13 February 2004). Schuster
took Tamasua back to Maramba (Fig. 68),
machete in 1943. The large hole in the chest
(pers. comm. 12 May 2004) recorded only that
where it became the property of Tungmali.
was not carved but is a knothole from which
it was an ancestor gure and was unaware of
It was subsequently inherited by his son,
the knot has fallen out after the gure was
MPNr 110. Yuaroma is about 16 kilometres
Mlnga; then by Mlngas son, Assam; then
completed. The shawl-like garment could not
northwards from Arani. Perhaps the Frankfurt
by Assams son, Johannes Mlnga, who was
be explained other than as ornament.
piece was carved to replace MPNr 110 (which
about twenty-seven years old when Lau-
was collected around 1955/56), or the two
mann obtained the information. The people
though different in style, to a piece in the
were carved as a pair and one was better pre-
of Maramba did not know the name of the
Wielgus Collection (Pelrine 1996: 124-25)
served than the other. The answer to this
carver of this gure but they knew the g-
which is stated to have been collected by
question may be somewhere in Bhlers eld-
ures personal name and that it was a
Captain H. Voogdt 1908-9 and later acquired
notes.
benevolent hunting spirit. It was not kept in a
by A.B. Lewis at Singarin during his 1909-13
cult house but in the owners family house. To
expedition for the Field Museum, Chicago.
material retained by the Administration is
enlist Tamasuas co-operation, the gure was
However, this information is incorrect. Robert
that the only carving in the National Museum
rubbed with a mixture of ochre, lime and
Welsch (pers. comm. 4 December 2003)
recorded to be from Antefuga obviously does
coconut oil (a large gure from the Yuat area
states: Wielgus got it all wrong The piece
not come from the lower Yuat, but from the
Bhler 1963, Tafel 2 collected by Dadi Wirz
was never obtained by Lewis at all. It was col-
vicinity of Maprik. This gure matches a brief
in late 1955, appears to have been given this
lected by Voogdt, almost certainly during his
description of a piece in a list (also in the PNG
treatment). A meal of yam boiled in coconut
1908 trip up the Sepik with Dorsey [Field
National Archives) of a collection from that
milk was placed at the foot of the gure. In
Museums Anthropology curator]. The piece
area made by Paul Wirz not long before he
the evening, after Tamasua was thought to
[along with other objects] was sent to
There is a gure identical to this piece,
A further problem involving the Dadi Wirz
This piece is similar in iconography,
Fig. 69. Yan of Asanggumban village, Miyak

speakers, middle Yuat, displaying headhunting bag,
sword-club and bow and arrows. Photo: B. Craig,
C25: 5; 15 November 1981.
Hamburg I believe and later Dorsey arranged
Alfred Bhler collected it during his 1955/56
to buy half of the collection directly from
Sepik Expedition, on advice from Laumann,
Voogdt. The other half was bought from
but it was prevented from being exported.
Umlauf to whom Voogdt had sold it in 1909

or 1910. This Wielgus piece does not conform
number but like MPNr 110, it was in the AGNSW
to Singarin style and it is possible the prove-
exhibition and although not illustrated in the
nance may be in error. It may have been
exhibition catalogue, has been identied by the
collected by Voogdt from farther up the river,
catalogue description and an exhibition archi-
perhaps at Magim (Magem, Magendo), the
val photograph. A PNG Museum index card
highest point represented by his collection
states that the gure is from Maramba, lower
(Welsch 2000, Table 7.1), just upstream from
Yuat River, and that it embodies a spirit child
where the Keram joins the Sepik and there-
named Andi; one of a group of three gures
fore much closer to the Yuat than is Singarin.
together forming a family. Although registered
Indeed, I photographed a similar piece,
with other objects I discovered were collected
named Ambakapa at Magendo in 1981 (Craig
by Dadi Wirz in 1955, he does not recognise it
1981: 135-36, Photos FT038: 19-24). I was
(pers. comm. 16 February 2004).
informed that the gure was used as an

augery for the success of raiding parties.
Another piece remarkably similar in ico-
In his paper on spirit gures of the middle

Yuat River area, Karl Laumann (1954) provides
information about Andi and two other g-
nography is the damaged gure, said to be
ures representing a man and his wife
from the lower Yuat, in the Haus Vlker und
(Fig. 70). The adult male gure was named
Kulturen, St Augustin (Inv. 83.4) published by
Mndbal and the female gure Pandi. The
Menter (2003: 191, Item 49). The main differ-
gures were recorded by Laumann (1954:
ence from the Wielgus piece is the ange-like
37-42) at Maramba in the lower Yuat area, the
headpiece rather than the conical hair cap.
same village in which Tamasua was located.
The shawl-like feature is identical and the
Laumann was told that Mndbal and his
long, narrow breast ornament is similar.
family were Maramba spirits, whereas Tama-
In 1981, I photographed Yan of

Asanggumban (Asangamut) on the middle
sua was looted in warfare from Tambigenum.

Mndbal was represented by a male
Yuat displaying what he described as a head-
gure carved from wood, 199 cm. high; Pandi
hunting bag (Fig. 69 and Craig 1981: 138). This
was a female gure 107 cm. high but lacked a
bag was heavily adorned with feathers cut
head, having instead a peg-like neck onto
into rows of small triangles and down the
which an overmodelled skull had been
centre was a line of pairs of boars tusks, one
placed for a mortuary ceremony (as among
pair for each head taken. It is possible to see
the Iatmul of the middle Sepik). Whereas
in this headhunting bag and its vertical row
Mndbal and Pandi are consistent in style,
of boars tusks the inspiration for the shawl-
Andi is signicantly different and much
like feature and long narrow breast ornament
smaller at only 54 cm high. Mndbal is a
of Tamasua and the other gures noted
spirit who assists in hunting and warfare. He
above.
takes care that there is plenty of wildlife in
It is uncertain how Tamasua came into the

National Museums collections. Perhaps
MPNr 124 also has lost its registration
the bush and sh in the river. As a reward for

his help, he got the livers of hunted animals
Fig. 70. Male gure named Mndbal, female

gure named Pandi and child gure named Andi,
Maramba village, Angoram speakers, lower Yuat.
After Laumann 1954, Tafel 2. A similar gure is
illustrated in Friede 2005, Cat. Nr 136 and is said to
have come from the middle Yuat (Biwat or Mekmek

speakers). Another similar gure (E.46302) in the
Australian Museum, Sydney, was collected at
Kraimbit (Kapriman speakers) 50 kilometres west
of Maramba.
hung on him. When the men went off to ght,

they called his name to get his protection. In
particular, spears thrown at a person
protected by Mndbal broke apart on
impact.
All three gures were kept together in the
family house of the owner, not in a mens
house. The story told to Laumann about
Mndbal and his family is as follows (1954:
37-8, translated by Waltraud Schmidt):
A long time ago a man named Agrobar
lived in Maramba. One evening, he killed
a wild boar in his sago patch. He carried
the dead pig to his village but returned
immediately to the sago patch because
he wanted to catch some marsupial rats
as well. But the Yambrengar came and
took him prisoner.
The Yambrengar are bush spirits who
live in tall forest trees. They were very angry
and said to the man: You have just killed a
pig. Why are you coming back to kill some
marsupial rats? They bent his legs at the
MPNr 124 (left). Female gure holding bird,

Maramba village, Yuat River, Angoram speakers,
East Sepik Province. Wood. 54 x 11 cm. 81.26.116
[original registration number lost but identied
as E.371.1, registered 7 December 1956. Published
in Laumann 1954, Tafel 2, 3d-e; TPNGMAG 1966,
Plate opp. p. 24 (bottom centre), and TPNGPMAG
1974b: 18. Exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW,
20 April 22 May 1966 (AGNSW 1966, Item 78 not
illustrated).
knees, and his arms at the elbows, and

pierced his joints with the thin wing bones
of ying foxes. This way the man was rendered completely helpless.
After that the Yambrengar took their
helpless prisoner to the spirit house. They
handed him over to one of their women
and told her, We rst want to prepare
some sago and then we will kill the prisoner and have him with the sago. Until
then, watch him well. But the woman felt
what the gure had to look like. The
Maramba. The Andoar were living in their
pity for the imprisoned Agrobar. She
carver, whose name is not known, pro-
own half of the village and they did not
removed the bone needles from his joints.
duced the wooden gure according to
mix with the Maramba people. Quite
That way the man could ee and made it
the instructions and Agrobar called it
often there were quarrels between the
back to Maramba.
Mndbal. The child gure Andi was
two groups and, one day, the Andoar
made as well, according to Agrobars
killed, for unknown reasons, a Maramba
instructions.
woman named Pandi. Pandi was the wife
At home, he thought about what had

happened. I will make a spirit gure that
At that time, the people of Andoar
of a Maramba man named Woalm. After
spirit gure should provide me all the
(which today is a well-known village on
the murder, the Andoar people were afraid
time with good hunting. He then
the Yuat River) lived together with the
of blood revenge by the clan of the mur-
explained to a carver in Maramba exactly
Maramba people in the village of
dered woman and they ed towards the
looks exactly like those Yambrengar. This
MPNr 125. Male gure and crocodile, Kambrindo,

lower Sepik, Angoram speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood, human hair. 221 x 21 cm. E.363, registered 7
December 1956. Collected by Dadi Wirz, 1955. Reregistered E.7296 on 10 February 1971.
Yuat River. Later on they settled on the
crocodile. This gure may represent a clan
banks of the Yuat where they founded the
founder who, through his migration to a new
village of Andoar.
site, following his path-making crocodile,
Woalm carved a female gure of wood

in the likeness of his murdered wife and
established a new village or village section

(see Wassmann 1991:179).
called the gure Pandi. He put his wifes

head on the gure. Thats why this gure
Karawari (Korewori) River
hasnt got a head but only a wooden peg,

on which the womans head was placed.
Several months later, the Maramba people performed the usual mortuary
On the Karawari River, the linguistic situation

is complex (Laycock 1973, 1975):
s /NTHEMIDDLE+ARAWARI2IVERANDINTHE
ceremony with a great singsing. After-
swamps to the east, there are the Kara-
wards, the womans head was buried with
wari speakers, and south of them on the
the rest of her body. Since then, the head-
Arafundi, that joins the middle Karawari
less female gure was thought to be the
from the east, there are the Yimas speak-
wife of the war and hunting god
ers; both languages belong with the
Mndbal and was called Pandi.
Pondo Family of Lower Sepik languages;
Although Andi was wearing a female skirt

when Laumann saw it, he states that it is a
male child (1954: 42); however, the gure definitely appears to be female. He was told the
s FARTHERUPTHE!RAFUNDIARETHE!LFENDIO
speakers whose language belongs to the
Arafundi Family of Ramu languages;
s ONTHEUPPER+ARAWARIANDONTHE
gure is portrayed about to eat the bird it
Wogupmeri, that joins the upper Kara-
holds in its hands. Although it is thought of
wari from the west, there are Alamblak
as a spirit child, the child of Mndbal, it
and Sumariup of the Sepik Hill Family of
does not appear to have any other signi-
Middle Sepik languages;
cance for the Maramba people.22

MPNr 125 is from Kambrindo, a little up
The language of Inyai is named Bisorio

by Laycock (1973: 51 or Iniai by Wurm and
the Sepik from the mouth of the Yuat. It was
Hattori (1981, Map 6), a language of theEnga
collected by Dadi Wirz in late 1955 and
sub-family spoken by the Gadio of the upper
although it was registered, it may have lost
Wogupmeri. However, the Inyai speak Ewa
that registration number and was given
or Sumariup, the same language as spoken
another number (E.7296) in 1971. While at
at Latoma. This confusion arose because of
rst glance this gure appears to be carved in
extensive and changing bilinguilism in the
the Iatmul style, it is quite slender and its pos-
region (Haberland and Seyfarth 1974: 402-4:
ture recalls that of Mndbal photographed
Kaufmann 2003: 69-70).
in Maramba by Laumann. The two gures
also share the same two concentric circle
Karawari and Yimas
breast motifs. The Kambrindo gure stands
It appears that MPNr 205, a 6-metre long
on a post on which a crocodile has been
wooden crocodile, was collected by Assist-
carved, similar to the way MPNr 110 and
ant District Ofcer P. Donaldson. Sir Alan Mann,
Frankfurt Museums Yuaroma (Lower Yuat)
President of the Board of Trustees of the PNG
piece are carved standing on a post but with
Museum, had seen it in a carpenters shed near
a human head and arms instead of the
the Sub-District Ofce at Angoram. Mann sent
MPNr 205. Cult crocodile and details, Kundima

village, middle Karawari River, Karawari speakers,
East Sepik Province. Wood. 6.31 x 32 cm. 81.26.178
[original registration number lost but identied as
E.937, registered 7 June 1963].
a letter about it to the District Commissioner
pairs, owned by the villages two founding
and how many heads would be taken. Food
(DC) in Wewak and after some correspond-
clans, kept in the mens cult house and play
and areca nut offerings were made and
ence, Donaldson informed the DC (letter dated
a part in the rites of initiation of the young
trophy heads placed in the crocodiles
17 August 1961):
men. Borut Telban reports (1998: 194):
mouths.
The carved crocodile at Angoram was
The novices who are brought into the
presented to me during a patrol of the
mens house are frightened by the men
Karawari in 1959, on the understanding
who hold the crocodiles and push the
that it would never leave Angoram. I
boys around. Also, the carvings on their
promised the Kundima people that their
[the crocodiles] backs depict all the food
wish would be carried out. According to
prohibited during and after the initiatory
Forge 1960, Illusts 2, 6-9), which have func-
the Kundimas, they had buried this croco-
seclusion: bananas, little birds from the
tions similar to the wooden crocodiles of the
dile for some years as they were afraid
grassland, different kinds of Malay apple
Karawari and also are kept secret from the
that Mission inuence would result in its
fruits, breadfruit seeds, all kinds of frog, a
uninitiated in the cult house.
destruction. At the time of presentation, it
large hornbill. The tail has a small carved
was expressed by the Kundima people
crocodile which represents one of the last
animals are given to the gures to ensure the
that it would be better to have the croco-
foods to be eaten once the initiation cere-
fertility of crops and success in hunting and
dile kept on show at Angoram rather than
mony is completed. Where the tail joins
keep it buried. No payment was asked for
the body [and sometimes where the body
the crocodile
joins the neck] there is a carved gure.
Small offerings of food were made to the
Having only arms but no legs it symbol-
gures to ensure their benevolence and
izes Panggamari, the ghting spirit. This
the prosperity of the group and whole
A photograph taken by Franz Panzenbock

in the early 1960s (Craig 1996, Fig. 4.2) shows
Alamblak
The Alamblak are well known for the large
kamanggabi (also called yipwon, Fig. 71) from
1 to over 3 metres high (Craig 1987, Plate 67;
Meat and liver from successfully hunted
warfare. Forge (1960: 7) writes:
saki, which is said to live in creeks, repre-
village. They were especially consulted
this crocodile outside the Angoram Sub-
sents a dangerous spirit which drives
about any projected raid on the tradi-
District Ofce, so there is no doubt that it is
people to ght, making them fearless and
tional enemies, the decision to attack or
the one on display in the Masterpieces
strong. The designs on both sides of the
not being given by a shaman, who was
Exhibition.
crocodile represents the belly, intestines,
believed to be possessed by the spirit of
In due course, despite the agreement
and lungs At the tip of its snout and on
the Kamanggabi.
made between Donaldson and the Kundima
the carved belt of shells around the neck
The small yipon (= yipwon) are similar in
men, the crocodile was own to Port
of every crocodile, the carvers inscribed a
form to the kamanggabi but only around 15
Moresby. For an account of the collecting of
face of a wunduma (female [ancestral]
cm high. They are carried about by the men
the carved crocodiles of the Karawari, see

Craig 1992: 80-98 and 1996: 137-53.
The Karawari and Yimas are well known
for these magnicent carved wooden croco-
spirit). Through the middle of the head

runs a snake, also prohibited in the novices diet.
The women are told that their sons
in netted string bags as personal hunting

charms (Forge 1960, Illusts 3, 4).23 Both large
and small gures have personal names.
MPNrs 159 and 160 were gazetted as
diles, ranging between 2 and 8 metres long
cicatrisations are the teeth-marks of the
National Cultural Property in 1972 but were
(Bhler 1961; Bhler et al. 1962, Plate p.75;
primeval crocodile that devoured the boys
purchased by the National Museum from
Haberland 1975). These crocodile images
during the ritual and spat them out as young
Wayne Heathcote three years later to prevent
belong to a category of powerful bush spirits
men. This idea is widespread in the Sepik
them from being exported. MPNr 159, per-
called saki and are believed to have come to
River region.
sonal name Nakunan, was carved at a hamlet
the Karawari with the founding ancestors as
Prior to headhunting raids, the gures,
named Makobit that later joined with other
spirit crocodiles (mambo). They are regarded
with poles placed through holes in their
hamlets of Kambratauwi and Bariger to form
as male, generous and protective, and have
sides, were danced by several men and asked
the village of Amongabi. MPNr 160, personal
personal names. They are usually carved in
to indicate where a raid should be directed
name Taumauwi, was carved at the now
Fig. 71. Large yipwon named Togonagon at Chimbut

village, Alamblak speakers, upper Karawari. Carved
by Tambi, father of owner Toni, with steel tools
c. 1940. Photo: B. Craig, C10: 23; 22 September 1982.
Fig. 72. Several carved gures (aripa and yipwon)

for sale at Gamnanenbak (or Sikaiyum) village,
Alamblak speakers, Wogupmeri River. Photo: B. Craig,
C9: 10; 21 September 1982.
MPNr 159. Cult hook gure (yipwon), personal

name Nakunan, Amongabi village, upper Karawari
River, Alamblak speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 110 x 12 cm. E.16219. Purchased from
Wayne Heathcote and registered 13 February 1975.
Gazetted National Cultural Property 10 February
1972.
extinct village of Kambratauwi.

At Gamnanenbak (or Sikaiyum) on the
Wogupmeri, and Chimbut on the Karawari,
both Alamblak-speaking villages, in 1982 I
saw large and small yipwon, and other hook
gures that are indistinguishable from the
aripa of the Inyai (see below) (Fig. 72).
This demonstrates that the present distribution of these different types of gures is
not entirely coincident with language boundaries. Pat Edmiston of the Summer Institute of
Linguistics informed me (pers. comm. March
1983) that one yipwon-like carving he photographed at Inyai was given by the Alamblak
to establish peace between the two groups.
Kaufmann reports (2003: 40) he was told that
a large yipwon at Inyai was evidence of dismay that the aripa had not protected them
from imported diseases whereas yipwon
seemed to them to have been effective in
protecting their Alamblak neighbours.
Eike Haberland includes the Alamblak
under the name Yimar (human being). He
recorded a lengthy Yimar story of the adventures of Sun, whose mother was Moon
(Haberland 1964: 57-61; 1968: xii-xviii). This
story includes an account of the origin of the
yipwon.
Running from the evil spirit of a dead
woman named Menginda, Moon and Sunboy were rescued by a man named Danimag,
who killed the evil spirit. Yirkaba, older sister
of Moon, found them and took them home.
Yirkaba miraculously healed the weak Sunboy and he instantly became a healthy,
strong grown man. Sun then proceeded to
carve the rst slit-gong, using a log that was
Yirkabas body transformed into a tree. The
splinters left over from the carving process
became yipwon, the demoniac beings who
call for hunt and war. They were the children
of Sun, living with him in the mens house,
MPNr 160 (right). Cult hook gure (yipwon),

personal name Taumauwi, Amongabi village, upper
Karawari River, Alamblak speakers, East Sepik
from Wayne Heathcote and registered 17 February
1975. Gazetted National Cultural Property
10 February 1972.
MPNr 161. Cult hook gure (aripa), male, Inyai

caves, upper Karawari River, Sumariup speakers, East
Sepik Province. Wood. 52 x 6 cm. E.4081. Presented
by Assistant District Ofcer and registered 15
August 1969.
MPNr 162 (right). Cult hook gure (aripa), male?,

Inyai caves, upper Karawari River, Sumariup
E.4078. Presented by Assistant District Ofcer and
registered 15 August 1969.
from which they never departed.

One day a relative of Sun came to visit but
Sun was away hunting. The yipwon killed this
man, danced around his body drinking his
blood, and cut him to pieces. Moon was
watching, and when the yipwon noticed that
she had seen what they had done, they
became stiff with fright, then rushed back to
the mens house, stood against the wall, and
extended in size. Sun returned to nd his relative dead in a pool of blood. He rushed into
the mens house but everything was silent
and still. The metamorphosed demons were
standing against the wall, responding no
more. Sun was enraged and decided to leave
this world. He climbed up a huge ladder into
the sky and as he climbed he called out to
the people below, This is what I wish to give
you: a bamboo splinter for drawing blood
from the penis, excrements from the wild pig,
cassowary and kangaroo, and the yipwon gures for bringing a magic spell to the hunt.
With that he disappeared into the heavens.
Sumariup or Ewa
The Sumariup (or Ewa) carve medium-sized,
one-legged gures, called aripa (aleba).
Kaufmann (2003 see also Kaufmann 1974)
calls the aripa hunting helper gures. MPNrs
161-65 and 167 are such gures.
The largest collection of these gures is in
the Museum der Kulturen, Basel. In 1971, the
then Museum fr Vlkerkunde in Basel purchased 85 of 105 pieces offered for sale by
DArcy Galleries in New York (see catalogue,
Haberland 1968). These had been collected
originally by Madsen, a trader and timber
miller living at Angoram, who sold them to
Maurice Bonnefoy of DArcy Galleries around
1966.24 There is no evidence that an export
permit was issued for this collection. Madsen
and his wife were killed in an aircraft crash

by Assistant District Ofcer and registered
15 August 1969.

by Assistant District Ofcer and registered
15 August 1969.

Sepik Province. Wood. 102 x 10 cm. E.16429. Seized
in 1972 and donated by Customs in 1974; registered
25 March 1975. Published in Smidt 1975: 76, Nr 72.
MPNr 166. Cult hook gure, female, Inyai caves,

upper Karawari River, Sumariup speakers, East Sepik
Province. Wood. 91 x 9 cm. E.16430. Seized in 1972
and donated by Customs in 1974; registered 25
March 1975. Published in Smidt 1975: 76, Nr 73.
MPNr 167 (right). Cult hook gure (aripa), male,

Inyai caves, upper Karawari River, Sumariup
E.4080. Presented by Assistant District Ofcer and
not long after the transaction. In 1968, the

collection was exhibited by DArcy Galleries
and twenty pieces were sold before the Basel
museum was able to raise the money to buy
the rest. George Kennedy of Los Angeles, California, collected at least eighteen such
gures in the mid-1960s (Kennedy 1967);
eleven from unknown sources were published in a catalogue of an exhibition in
London (Goldman 1971); and two from Inyai
and four from Latoma were published in
another New York catalogue (Myers 1975,
Items 46-51). There are, no doubt, many others in museums and private collections
around the world.
These gures are believed inhabited by
spirits associated with hunting and warfare.
They are usually kept in mens houses but
many are stored in caves or rock shelters,
after their owners die, as memorials and thus
are preserved from weathering. Many of
these gures can be distinguished as male
(for example, Haberland 1968, Plates 1, 17, 25,
26) but others are less obviously so (ibid.,
Plates 2, 5, 7, 9 etc.); these were carved to be
seen in prole (from the side). Other gures
are clearly female (ibid., Plates 6, 8, 13, 18, 22
etc.), are relatively at and were carved to be
seen from the front. These are usually representations of mythical female ancestors. It is
not known what function these gures have.
A third category is of gures of indeterminate gender that have a sort of cradle or
hollowed-out area where one might imagine
the belly to be (Haberland 1968, Plates 80-2),
which according to information given to me
in 1982, serves as a receptacle for the bone of
a game-animal (Fig. 73). These gures are said
to be the mothers of particular kinds of
game animals such as the pig, cassowary, tree
kangaroo or cuscus.
A fourth category consists of a carved
Fig. 73. Mother of the cassowaries, named

Fogiambut, owned by Wonjimbai of Chimbut
village, Alamblak speakers, upper Karawari. Photo:
B. Craig, C10: 36; 22 September 1982.
head on a stick, reminiscent of the Kwoma
droppings, ginger root and blood drawn out
and Nukuma yena (Haberland 1968, Plates 14,
of his penis with a sliver of bamboo. This
27, 28, 34, 43, 47 etc.). Kaufmann (2003: 62-3)
enlists the help of his aripa in seeking out
has identied such heads as representing
and killing the souls of game animals (or
koanggingge, the mother of the mens house
enemy in the case of warfare). The mothers
and mother of all aripa gures. At the
of the game animals also have a role to play
inauguration of a mens house, the carved
in that they must lure the souls of the individ-
head is attached to a mannequin made of
ual animals out into the open so that the
certain symbolically important plant materi-
aripa can nd them and kill their souls. It is
als. This mannequin is decorated with both
not clear whether other rituals are necessary
male and female attire and ornaments. A rit-
to enrol their assistance. In the case of raids
ual is then performed at the replace to
on an enemy group, the mother of the mens
make the mens house and the mother-gure
house performs this function. The hunter or
hot, to induce the soul (tite) of the mother
warrior then is able to kill the physical animal
to take up residence in the gure and the
or enemy with his bow and arrows.
house. Heads such as these may also have

been attached to other types of gure con-
Middle Sepik River
structions, such as the magnicent woven
Carved gures in this area are usually named
rattan bird illustrated by Haberland (1968,
representations of clan ancestors or of per-
Plate 37) that perhaps represents a clan
sonages in legends and myths. Some are of
ancestral totem.
masalai nature spirits of the water, rocks,
There are other types of carved gures,
trees or other features in the environment. The
such as two-legged male or female gures
gures may be free-standing or incorporated
carved fully in the round. Information about
into other types of artefact such as architec-
these gures is sketchy but it is thought that
tural components, slit-gongs, ute-stoppers,
the female gures in this category have spe-
debating stools, suspension hooks (for exam-
cic clan afliations (Kaufmann 2003: 94-5).
ple, MPNrs 121, 126, 127) and the like.
MPNr 166 is such a gure.

Kaufmann (2003: 53-6) provides interpre-
Because people believe in the ability of

people and spirits to shape-shift (change
tations of some of the motifs of these
form), these images may incorporate animal
carvings. In particular, the chest, internal
forms; or the animals, birds, sh and so on
organs (such as heart-lung, liver and intes-
may be clan totems, that is they are meta-
tines), ribs and genitals were named.
phors for the primal beings who are the clan
According to Kaufmann (2003), the
ancestors. Often there are several animals
mother of the mens house (koanggingge) is
and plants that are in effect alternate forms
also the mother of all aripa gures. The tite
of the one totem; they allude to various epi-
(soul) of koanggingge empowers or activates
sodes in the song cycle of the clans primal
the tite of the aripa (the hunting helper g-
being. Wassmann (1991: 169) states of the
ures) that are kept in the mens house, but
Iatmul culture of the middle Sepik:
that is not enough. The owner of an individ-
The animals and plants publicly named in
ual aripa smears it with a mixture of particles
the song cycle and possessing names of
of previously hunted game or their
their own [and represented by various
MPNr 121. Female gure as suspension hook, Tolembi village, middle Sepik, Sawos speakers, East Sepik
Province. Wood, shells, sago bre. 91 x 52 cm. E.16424. Seized in 1972, donated by Customs in 1974, and
registered 24 March 1975. Published in Smidt 1975: 72 and TPNGPMAG 1974a, Plate opp. p. 34. The gures
right leg has broken off at the knee and the point of the right hook is damaged.
MPNr 127. Male gure as suspension hook,

middle Sepik, Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood, cowrie shells. 94 x 24 cm. 81.48.1. Purchased
from Patricia Withofs on 13 March 1981, registered
8 July 1981.
MPNr 126. Female gure as suspension hook,

Tolembi village, middle Sepik, Sawos speakers,
East Sepik Province. Wood, sago bre. 108 x 32 cm.
1974, and registered 25 March 1975. 93 x 29 cm.
Published in Smidt 1975: 74-5.
constructed or carved forms] have as a

rule no separate existence: they are
merely the changing outer form of the
primal human beings who act independently. The relationship between primal
human beings and animals or plants
proves to be one of great complexity.
The named animals and plants are the
masks of the primal beings [who] are
basically human but also possess abilities
which the people of today have lost;
prominent among these is the power to
transform themselves, thereby altering
not only their outer form but also suitably
changing their behaviour, and also the
power to move freely between this world
and the land of the dead after death.
Wassmann notes a difference between

the plants and the animals that have personal names. The plants are used only as
metaphors, whereas the mobile animals are
in the true sense masks which human beings
can slip into. However, the primal crocodile
and the primal dog, both of which have personal names and which preceded the
creation of human beings, are not masks but
real animals. There is a further distinction
between these two primal animals that have
personal names and are real, and animals
that are real but do not have personal names
they are the animals of the everyday experiential world. Many carvings representing
human beings and animals have been collected without their personal names being
recorded. It is therefore impossible to truly
know the signicance of these carvings.
Carving styles range from fully-modelled
naturalistic forms to at-faced, tubular-limbed,
rather stiff representations that Schefold suggests (1966) are the characteristics of the
earliest carving style, the more naturalistic
style developing later. It is possible that the
practice of over-modelling human skulls with
MPNr 123. Male gure (and canoe paddle), personal name Mangisaun; Nyaurengai village, middle Sepik,
Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 187 x 29 cm. (paddle 248 x 16 cm.). E.16230. Purchased from
Wayne Heathcote and registered 13 February 1975. Published in TPNGPMAG 1974b: 23 and front cover and
TPNGPMAG 1976a, Plate p. iii. Gazetted National Cultural Property on 23 December 1971.
Fig. 74. Replacement carving for Mangisaun

at Nyaurengai village, Iatmul speakers, middle
Sepik River, carved c. 1970. Photo: B. Craig, C5: 11;
24 October 1981.
clay to produce portraits of dead persons may
1982 I used a photograph of it to identify it as
have had something to do with this develop-
a gure with the personal name Tulalamun,
ment of a naturalistic style.
from the Letbit cult house at Yamok, a Sawos
MPNr 123 (Mangisaun) was gazetted as

National Cultural Property on 23 December
from Korogo. According to Anthony Meyer
1971, just days after Wayne Heathcote
(1995: 257), his father Oscar, and Bruce Lawes,
purchased it and the accompanying paddle
collected it in 1956 along with several other
from its Nyaurengai owner. I was informed
similar gures (Fig. 75).
that a replacement carving I saw and photo-
Tulalamun was sent to the AGNSW for
graphed on 24 October 1981 (Fig. 74) had
exhibition in 1966 (AGNSW 1966, Nr 74)
been carved around 1970-71, presumably to
along with other items, including MPNr 122,
transfer the spirit of Mangisaun from the old
which was published in the gallerys cata-
carving to enable Heathcote to buy it.
logue with the registration number E.1347.
The old carving remained in Heathcotes
MPNr 122 has been identied by Dadi Wirz as
possession until, in December 1972, he
collected by him from Dauneng on the Lower
claimed it had been stolen from his house at
Yuat (Anthony Meyer, pers. comm. 18 Novem-
Ambunti. A leaet announcing the alleged
ber 2003 and Dadi Wirz, pers. comm. 16
theft, showing images of Mangisaun, was
February 2004) and therefore should be one
prepared by the National Museum and dis-
of the three gures registered E.361. Thus the
tributed widely in PNG and overseas.
registration numbers for MPNrs 128 and 122
Unannounced, the gure arrived at the
must have been on tags that were inadvert-
museum 10 February 1973 after having been
ently interchanged, perhaps during the time
own to Port Moresby from Wewak. The pad-
leading up to the exhibition in NSW.
dle was delivered to the museum on 5 June
There are several such gures from
1973. Heathcote was subsequently paid sev-
Yamok, for example, Miangandu (Meyer 1995:
eral thousand dollars for Mangisaun.
256-57; Wardwell 1994: 58-9), Malabi (Meyer
Mangisaun is a signicant person in
1995: 256), and Kundanggowi and Kurubu in
Nyaura (West Iatmul) culture. He is a type of
the Basel museum (Bhler 1960, Tafel 2, left
primal being of the same generation, but dis-
and right respectively). A sixth example, Min-
tinguished from, the clan founder and it was
jemtimi, is in the Metropolitan Museum of
he (along with his brother) who killed the
Art, New York (Newton 1978: 107).
two eagles born of the mating of the woman
In 1982, I obtained information about
Kula and the crocodile Tandemi, and who
these gures that was subsequently incorpo-
subsequently introduced sexual intercourse
rated into a thesis by Marianne Pfeiffer (1983).
among human beings (see Wassmann 1991:
All the gures except Minjemtimi and
182, 195-96).25
Kundanggowi were said to have been carved
MPNr 128 (Tulalamun) bears an incorrect
village about 3 kilometres inland northwards
to make the swampy ground rm so a village
registration number, E.361.1. The museums
could be established (Craig 1982: 27). They
register records three gures under E.361,
killed enemy warriors and made magic to
from Arani, Antefuga and Dauneng, all vil-
empower the carvings. The men appeal to
lages on the old course of the lower Yuat
the spirits in the gures, offering areca nuts
River. This is clearly not a Yuat gure and in
and tobacco, for help in hunting, warfare and
Fig. 75. Bruce Lawes loading three large Sawos

gures at the Sepik River, 1956. Photo by Oscar
Meyer; Oscar Meyer Archives, Galerie Meyer
Oceanic Art, Paris; by permission of Anthony Meyer.
MPNr 128. Male gure, personal name Tulalamun,

Yamok village, Sawos speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 234 x 51 cm. E.361.1 [but probably E.1347,
registered 9 February 1966]. Published in AGNSW
1966, Nr 74 and Meyer 1995: 257.
the curing and causing of illness. It appears
his spear and somersaulted backwards off the
that the spirit is not necessarily loyal to the
bench through the open side of the mens
creators of the carved gure it inhabits. As
house to challenge them. They thought they
was the case with Minjemtimi, if the gure is
would kill him quickly but he fought
captured in an attack on a village and the
ferociously and drove them out of the house.
right offerings are made, the spirit will work

for the benet of its new owners.
Then Kundanggowi transformed from

wood to esh and called out to Simai to wait
Kundanggowi, which was collected
for him he just needed to fasten his loin-
around 1955 from the Wolembi hamlet of
cloth and he would come to his assistance.
Yamok, was carved to represent a very tall
However, Simai did not hear and fought on.
man of that name who visited Yamok from
Kundanggowi backed him up, catching
Kaminimbit, which is 27 kilometres south-
enemy spears in his hands and throwing
east from Yamok. Everyone was so impressed
them back. Villagers rushed on the scene and
by this man that they decided to have a
saw the two routing the enemy. The attackers
carver create his image in wood and place it
ran, calling out that they had had enough
in the Yamok mens house named Kokombi.
from Simai and his big warrior friend.
Years later (and some three or four gener-
Simai was puzzled by the reference to a
ations prior to the current generation of
companion. When he had had enough of
greybeards), a man named Simai Kwonggu
chasing the enemy, he returned to the village
was asleep in Kokombi mens house when a
and the people told him that Kundanggowi
war party from Kalau (Kararau?)and Kamin-
was seen backing him up. Kundanggowi did
imbit crept into the house. Simai became
not return that night and Simai began to fear
aware of them but pretended to be asleep.
that he had been captured by the enemy.
The enemy tried to awaken him so they could

kill him but he pretended to be deep in sleep.
But then, at the right moment, he grabbed
Meantime, Kundanggowi had been chasing one particular man and after he speared
him, he stood on his body and went into a
Fig. 76. Cult hooks (alakei and komkii) for sale at

Maliba (Bekapeki) village, Sanio speakers, middle
April River. Photo: B. Craig, BK12: 17; 26 December
1972.
trance. Two or three nights later, Simai had a
to this, comparison of the Bahinemo hook
dream and Kundanggowi told him where he
masks with the ute masks and skull holders
from a non-gural, prole series of opposed
was and complained that his leg was going
of the middle Ramu (Goldman 1971, Plate 29;
hooks (MPNr 168; Goldman 1971, Plate 26), to
numb from standing on the dead mans body.
Haberland 1964: 65-6, Tafel IV, 3; Kelm 1968,
hook gures that include a pair of eyes (Gold-
The next day, Simai and the villagers went
Plates 238, 239) makes a convincing case for
man 1971, Plate 15), others that include a
out and found Kundanggowi, but he had
stylistic continuity across the southern edge
mouth and/or nose and more obviously rep-
changed back into a wooden sculpture so
of the Sepik-Ramu oodplains. The Sanio
resent a face (MPNr 170; Goldman 1971,
they carried him back to the village and
speakers of Bekapeki on the middle April
Plates 2, 7, 9, 21, 27), and others appearing
stood him against the centre post of
River, whose territory stretches west to the
more convincingly as face masks because of
Kokombi mens house.
middle Wogamush River and beyond, carve a
the eye holes (Goldman 1971, Plates 4, 5, 20,
The garra forms of the Bahinemo range
prole hook gure called alakei and a mask-
22, 25), though it appears that they were
April River and Hunstein Range
like gure with hooks they call komkii (Fig.
probably never used as masks. Newton (1971,
Stylistic connections exist between the one-
76). They represent sh-like spirits that live in
Illusts 23-47) also shows the full range of
legged hook gures of the Karawari and the
deep pools in the April (Niksep) River. Young
these objects and for two of these carvings
hook gures (garra) of the Bahinemo of the
men are shown these gures as part of their
he recorded personal names, suggesting
April River and Hunstein Range (Newton
initiation into the marriageable age-set (Craig
habitation by particular named spirits.
1971; Schuster and Schuster 1973). Added
1972-73: 164).
Newton notes the signicance of the hornbill
MPNr 168. Cult hook gure (garra), April River area,

Bahinemo speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
111 x 28 cm. E.2997. Donated by Wayne Heathcote
and registered 5 May 1969.
MPNr 170. Cult hook mask (garra), Gahom village,

Setifa River, Bahinemo speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood. 93 x 50 cm. E.10373. Purchased from Richard
Leahy and registered 30 June 1972.
beak motif (of which the plain curved hooks

may be an abstraction) in that the hornbill is
said to nest in places belonging to bush spirits (ibid.: 20).
Not a lot is known about the hook gures
and masks of the Bahinemo and their neighbours. Goldman (1971, 5th page) quotes a
personal communication from Wayne Dye, a
linguist who worked among the Bahinemo:
The Bahinemo keep their carvings hanging in mens cult houses, where the older
pieces are believed to have magical powers to protect the villagers. They are said
to be angered by failure to follow the
mens cult, and then to withdraw their
protection. Their powers can be obtained
for hunting and ghting by means of certain rituals.
Meinhard and Gisela Schuster (1973: 633)

note the importance of hunted game for all
Bahinemo festivities and emphasise that the
carvings are connected with the hunting of
grababufa is being malicious (Schuster and
animals. They report (ibid.: 634) that these
Schuster 1973: 635). It is taken down and
hook gures are called grababufa, abbrevi-
leaned against a side wall of the cult house
ated to gra (equivalent to Newtons garra; I
with its hooks pointing towards the interior
heard it at Gahom as guah). They have per-
space. The owner of the grababufa sings a
sonal names, are individually owned and can
song that belongs specically to that object
be inherited (even by women, although they
and rubs the skin of the sick man with special
are not allowed to see them). They are sus-
leaves to heal him.
pended from the roof purlins at the side of
The night before a hunt, the hunter asks
the cult house, in which the small and large
his grababufa for support in nding game. If
slit-gongs also are kept (Schuster and Schus-
the hunter accidentally touches or bumps
ter 1973, Plate 19). If a cult house is being
the carving before going out, he might be
built for a new settlement, the smaller hook
bitten or killed by the animal he is hunting. If
gures are taken to caves, rock shelters, hol-
the hunt is successful, the spirit is thanked
low trees or put in water pools until the new
but it is not offered any portions of the killed
cult house is ready. This suggests that these
animals. Before raiding an enemy, the warrior
carvings are closely associated with, perhaps
sticks betel nuts on the hooks and ginger
even representations of, bush and water spir-
leaves through a hole in the middle of the
its. Their function is to heal sickness and to
gure to enlist the grababufas assistance.
aid in hunting and warfare.
After a successful raid, enemy heads are
If a man falls ill it means that his
brought back and placed on the slit-gongs.

MPNr 151. Male gure, Minj?, Wahgi? speakers,

Western Highlands Province. Various plant materials,
wood, shells feathers, seeds. 85 x 30 cm. 81.17.1.
Collected by Mrs Penny Klap at Goroka Show 1980
from a Banz medicine man. Bought by museum and
registered 17 June 1981.
A young man cannot properly play the
arrows, plaited bands, hand drums, slit-
slit-gongs or utes until he has been shown
gongs, utes and so on. He created the
the cult objects at initiation (ibid.: 636). His
rst hook gures and gave each one a
sponsor is an older patrilineal relative. While
name. He gave the slit-gongs names too.
in seclusion he is taught how to play these

instruments. He lives on sago and pork and is
permitted to chew betel nut but is forbidden
to eat birds and sh, and must not smoke
He blocked the river with a tree trunk and

placed all the artefacts behind the dam.
The water rose and rose and eventually
the tree broke and the artefacts washed
down the river. The people at each place
tobacco. Food is prepared by the wife of the
got the proper things that way. Wimegu
initiates mothers brother and taken to the
changed into a rock and is in the middle
cult house by the mothers brother.
of the river at Koko, where a great whirl-
Newton describes the use of garra in the
pool swirls around him. You cant go down
context of the initiation of three boys at
to see him because you would drown. He
Wagu (Newton 1971: 20-1); the women are
and his wife can be called upon to heal
excluded while the garra are being used out-
the sick. The healer chews betel nut, sings
side the connes of the cult house.
a song and rubs the chewed betel onto
It is clear that although some garra look

like masks, they are not used as such. Instead,
woven rattan objects (panarawa), bedecked
with feathers and reminiscent of Abelam yam
masks, are worn as masks by the men in a cer-
the skin of the sick person. All the songs

sung at the great annual feasts (kiamege)
were given by Wimegu. If you dont know
the story of Wimegu you cant make
things properly; everything would turn
out crooked and rubbishy.
emony in which other men (the initiates

mothers brothers according to the Schusters)
dance with the hook gures and hook masks
held between their legs (Newton 1971, Illusts
54-9). This suggests some form of phallic
symbolism, as do the nials of slit-gongs protruding from the palm frond screen at the
front of the cult house (ibid., Illust.14). However, unlike the Nggala and Wogumas to the
west, who also had slit-gongs with phallic
nials, and the Alamblak to the east, the Bahinemo did not incise or bleed the penes of the
initiates.
The Bahinemo told the Schusters (1973:
636-37, translated by Waltraud Schmidt) a
short account of the origin of the hook gures:
In ancient times, Wimegu lived with his
wife Igusua at the head of the April River.
Wimegu, assisted by his wife, made all the
items of material culture bows and
Highlands
It is not clear whether MPNr 151 is a traditional object or whether it has been invented
for the tourist market. It is constructed of
plant and other materials in a similar way to
the so-called Mendi payback dolls and a male
gure of uncertain origin (Smidt 1975: 43-5),
except that this piece has no legs; instead it
is mounted on a sharpened stick, suggesting it may have been stuck into the ground.
Such gures made by binding plant materials
around a framework of sticks can be found
in many places in the Pacic, for example the
Papuan Gulf (Newton 1961: 86, Illust. 223),
New Ireland (Heintze 1987: 43, Fig. 11) and
Easter Island (Barrow 1972, Plates 245-46).
MPNr 119. Skull holder (agiba), Goro village

[Goaribari Island?], Kerewo speakers, Gulf Province.
Wood, sago bre. 87 x 36 cm. E.840. [One of two
agiba with this number]. Donated by R.J. Hedlund, 2
November 1961. Compare with Haddon 1918, Figs
2, 3 and Plate M.
Papuan Gulf
The carving styles of the Papuan Gulf are
quite different to those of the middle Sepik.
Most, but not all, of the carved gures of the
Papuan Gulf are at, two-dimensional boards
with narrow relief bands, painted black, outlining the motifs painted in red and white
pigments. In the extreme west of the Gulf,
from the Bamu River to Goaribari Island, at
boards called agiba are shaped like the upper
half of a human being and function as skullholders (Kaufmann 1975, Plate 157; Newton
1961, Illusts 17, 18, 84-6, 108-13). At Goaribari
Island, and adjacent inland, the long oval
form of the gope board is found. This type of
object is found eastwards as far as the Elema
of the eastern Gulf, where they are called
hohao. At Wapo Creek and Era River, at the
centre of the Gulf, the at board-like gures
(called agiba or bioma) are reminiscent of the
agiba skull-holders of the western Gulf, but
have legs and arms, sometimes multiple sets
of limbs (Kaufmann 1975, Plate 156; Newton
1961, Illusts 155-65, 168).
It is perhaps no coincidence that the
ancestral boards from the Era River eastwards
to Orokolo (in the Purari delta, called kwoi
Fig. 79) are predominantly white in colour.
The high front of the mens house allows a
ood of light to penetrate down along the
narrowing interior and the boards, set up facing the entrance, catch the light in a startling
fashion (Craig 1999, Figs 9-11; Newton 1961,
Illusts 31-3, 208; Specht and Fields 1984: 177,
179; Young and Clark 2001: 80-1).
Tall, spindly gures with legs but sometimes no arms are found in the Bamu River
area and the Turama delta (Newton 1961,
Illusts 80, 81, 101, 102). In the Wapo-Era district, and amongst the Namau and Elema of
the eastern Gulf, more substantial gures,
Fig. 77. Agiba shrine at Dubumba village, Kerewo

speakers, western Papuan Gulf. Photo: Thomas
Schultze-Westrum, 1966 (by permission).
MPNr 133. Ancestral board (kaiamunu?), Goaribari

Island?, Kerewo speakers, Gulf Province. Wood.
lost provenance uncertain].
MPNr 134 (right). Ancestral board (gope, or titiebiha?), Kerewa?, Kerewo speakers, Gulf Province.
Wood. 194 x 21 cm. 81.26.133 [original registration
number lost provenance uncertain].
some carved fully in the round, occasionally

were to be found (Kaufmann 1975, Plate 155;
Newton 1961, Illusts 25, 212, 213, 249, 250).
Small gures (kakame) and headrests (iroa),
carved out of the twisted shapes of forked
tree roots and branches, are characteristic of
Goaribari Island.
All along the Gulf from west to east, various types of masks are made from woven
rattan using basketry techniques, and tapa
cloth stretched over wicker frames. The most
magnicent of these, the hevehe of the Vailala
River and Orokolo, were made famous by F.E.
Williamss book, Drama of Orokolo (1940).
In the Papuan Gulf, great value was placed
on the human head. Headhunting was a normal activity for men and necessary for
passage into manhood. Many of the carved
and painted works were associated with
skulls, not only human (Fig. 77) but also of
crocodiles and pigs (Figs 78, 79). Newton suggests that just as the painting of the carved
boards with red ochre confered heat, menace, or dangerous power (imunu) on these
objects, so the addition of skulls, and age
itself, increased imunu. The magic of imunu
was projected on to these things and seemed
to radiate inexplicably from them (Newton
1961: 33). The boards, gures and masks represent personied supernatural beings, who
are generally ancestors, the great dead who
retire into the bush to become its patrons
and guardians, but return to be impersonated in masked ceremonies (ibid.: 8).
Kerewa area
Leo Austen, Resident Magistrate with the
Papuan government, wrote that the Turama
River delta tribes performed a head dance
to commemorate the taking of an enemy
head (Austen 1936: 342-49). These heads
were cleaned and prepared for attachment
to the skull holder, or agibe (agiba) (MPNr
Illusts 114-22 to Illusts 123-31), it can be
tion of that village. Should the gope move,
119). He was informed that each agibe had
observed that the titi-ebiha are carved, like
while facing a certain direction, it is
a clan name and that in each community
the agiba, in a fairly regular way, whereas the
decided to raid a village in that direction
there was an old man called the agibe abera
kaiamunu are less regular or as Newton puts
when a decision is reached, the drums
(i.e., father of the agibe), whose duty it was
it (ibid.: 60), carved in a style striking for its
to repaint the slab of wood before a head
spontaneity and freedom. This may have
dance was held. A carving is innocuous until
something to do with the observation by
it has received its black, white and red paints
Austen (1934: 5) that whereas boards of both
Once painted, it becomes impregnated
categories have personal names, the gope is
the walls of the cubicles at the side
with a dangerous sacredness. The repaint-
the property of the clan as well as the indi-
entranceways The day following this
ing therefore renews this sacred power (like
vidual, the kaiamunu of the individual alone.
nal ceremony, all the ghting men set off
recharging a battery). Austen (ibid.: 349)
The names of titi-ebiha are of mythical ances-
in their great war canoes to raid the
described the rituals and dances follow-
tors or place names whereas those of
village selected by the gope, who have
ing the attachment of the fresh skull to the
kaiamunu have names which do not belong
already gone ahead in spirit form to over-
repainted agibe, and transcribed words from
to the clan. There may be, therefore, fewer
come the enemys spirits, and make them
one of the songs that underlines the signi-
restrictions on how the images are depicted
weak and unable to withstand the
cance of the colour red:
on the kaiamunu boards.
Sway wondrous sacred scarlet ower ariia
Austen (1934: 6) writes: From the roof of
are struck quickly, several times, and the

gope placed face downward on the
ground. There they are left all day, and
after dark are taken to the long house, and
put back in their everyday position along
onslaught of the raiders.
This is strongly reminiscent of the way the

aripa of the upper Karawari function.
Sway long house as an ariia in the breeze
the main house, and inside the huomoto shel-
Ariia the ower from the land of the dead
ter at the salt-water end, are hung the smaller
Wondrous scarlet ower from Dudi
gope or titi-ebihari; this is possible because of
Gope-Wapo Creek-Urama Island-Era River
Whose owers are so like a hand dipped
the hole at the top end of each board. Pre-
area
in blood.
sumably the kaiamunu are stood on the oor,
The North-eastern Kiwai speakers make
as they cannot be suspended.
tall oval keweke masks, long-snouted hel-
Dudi is the mythical village of the land of
met masks (kanipu, but called avoko in the
the dead, and is said to be a location south-
Austen notes that the gope guards the
west of the Fly River estuary. In the legend of
village from sickness, but its main use was in
west) and long-necked small-headed masks
Hido, recorded by Austen (1932), Hido travels
preparation for warfare. He does not distin-
(kanipu?). The gures carved and painted
for days and days westwards from his home
guish a difference in function, if any, between
onto the gope of Wapo Creek and Era River
at Nepau, on the western shore of an inlet
the two types of boards in his graphic
are relatively loosely-drawn and unclut-
opposite Goaribari Island, until he came to a
account of the use of gope in the context of
tered, with the same feel as the bioma gures,
great village which he found was Dudi, the
the gibumanu dance in preparation for a
whereas the designs on the Urama Island
home of the dead. This village was so great
headhunting raid. Space does not permit
gope are more rigid and dense (compare
that he could not tell where it ended.
extensive quotations from Austens detailed
Newton 1961, Illusts 148-51, 178-81 with
account, but the signicance of the gope for
Illusts 187-92).
Austen (1934: 5) distinguishes two types

of carved and painted boards (apart from the
warfare warrants recounting the last day of
agiba and the obsolete daimowa ebiha) in
the gibumanu gama (ibid.: 8):
the Kerewa area: the gope or titi-ebiha (MPNr

134), which has a hole at the top end and is
when the day breaks, the dancers

descend to the ground carrying drums or
Newton (1961: 19) describes the arrangement of skulls and sacred boards of the
Gope-Wapo Creek-Urama Island area as
rather different to that in the west. Here the
carved in heavier relief, and the kaiamunu
gope. As they fall into line, the headman
mens house (daimo) was divided into a
(MPNr 133), which has no hole and is more
will call out and ask where they will go
series of clan cubicles either side of a central
lightly carved. By comparing the two catego-
and ght. As various villages are named,
aisle. On the upper part of each partition was
ries of object in Newton 1961 (compare
the gope are turned to face in the direc-
a latticework series of niches in each of
MPNr 117. Male gure (bioma), Wapo Creek, Northeastern Kiwai speakers, Gulf Province. Wood.
98 x 34 cm. E.1673.9 one of nine boards under
this number collected by Dr T.G. and S. SchultzeWestrum and registered 4 August 1966.
which a skull was placed (ibid., Illusts 24, 25).

Small at wooden gures (agiba) hung near
the skulls. Against the lower section of the
bark-walled partition stood the gope boards
and on the oor in front of the gope were the
skulls of pigs and crocodiles. Flat anthropomorphic gures (bioma) straddled these
skulls (ibid., Illust. 159; MPNr 117). The
kakame, carved from branches or roots, were
stood with their legs in the eye sockets. Usually, each daimo had a pair of large wooden
gures representing the mythical hero, Irivake, who originated headhunting. The name
kaiaimunu in this area was applied to the
sacred bullroarers.
Although described in the museums register as an iroa headrest, MPNr 118 certainly
did not function as such. It is clearly a kakame
gure, such as that on the right in Paul Wirzs
1930 photograph reproduced by Kaufmann
(1975, Plate 155) and Newton (1961: 19, Illust.
25). Thomas Schultze-Westrum (pers. comm.
23 November 2003) informed me:
I did not nd it myself on location in one
of the villages. It was brought to us while
staying at Aird Hill. It is certainly from the
Gope area of the central Gulf [about 40
kilometres to the east]. The name correctly, for this kind of gure (usually a pair)
is kakame Kakame gures are placed in
the skull shrine (awae) in front of the
skulls and gope boards, together with
bioma and other sacred objects.
Schultze-Westrum added later (pers.

comm. 3 February 2004) that the 1930 Wirz
photograph was taken in Ubuo village, Gope
area, and the kakame gure on the right
was burnt by accident before we came
there. However, we were able to collect
another very old and large one at the
same village. And we collected all the
MPNr 129. Ancestral board (gope), Era River, Northeastern Kiwai speakers, Gulf Province. Wood. 116 x
39 cm. E.4590. Registered 24 November 1969.
MPNr 118. Female gure (kakame), Gope area,

North-eastern Kiwai speakers, Gulf Province. Wood,
pearl shell, string. 179 x 48 cm. E.1676. Collected
by Dr T.G. and S. Schultze-Westrum and registered
4 August 1966.
items shown in [another] photograph

[Newton 1961, Illust. 153] of the same
mens house at Ubuo.
According to Schultze-Westrum, he sold

these items to John Friede of New York but
he understands that most if not all have since
been dispersed to other collectors.
MPNr 129 has an unusual feature at the
bottom a suggestion of legs and arms. One
or two boards with similar features may be
seen in photographs, taken by A.B. Lewis, of
the interior of mens houses in the western
Purari area (Welsch 1998, I, Figs 7.30. 7.37)
and by F.E. Williams at Ukiravi (Young and
Clark 2001: 81). There is another in a photograph taken by Frank Hurley at Kaimari
(Specht and Fields 1984: 179). Specht notes
that this latter board is similar to canoe prow
boards such as those mentioned by Hurley
on canoes at Adulu, Fly River delta.
MPNr 130 is identical, in size and motifs, to
one in the collection of Serge Brignoni, illustrated by Newton (1961, Illust. 181). It is
tempting to believe that it has been copied
from Newtons illustration.
Pie River-Purari Delta area

Nothing is known of the particular signicance of the unique gure (MPNr 120) that is
dressed and equipped like a male warrior. In
the Kerewa area to the west, Haddon (1918:
182, Fig. 6) collected three small carvings of
human gures: one that was supposed to
make a canoe invisible when the crew go on
a head-hunting expedition, and the other
two were made by a man to represent the
dead parents of the youth to whom they
were given. It is unclear whether such gures were carved as far to the east as the Pie
River and therefore whether this little gure
in the Masterpieces Exhibition was one of
MPNr 130. Ancestral board (gope), Gibao? Village,

Era River, North-eastern Kiwai speakers, Gulf
Province. Wood. 147 x 48 cm. E.7357. Obtained from
[Mr?] Nochinson and registered 1 March 1971.
Fig. 78. Gope board and pig skulls in family house at

Meagoma (Karalti) village, Gope area, North-eastern
Kiwai speakers, central Papuan Gulf. Photo: Thomas
Schultze-Westrum, 1966 (by permission).
MPNr 120 (left). Male gure with bark belt, shell pubic cover and cassowary bone knife; Vaiamu (Vaimuru,
Baimuru) village, Pie River, Purari (Koriki/Namau) speakers, Gulf Province. Wood, bark, rattan, sago bre, shell
and cassowary bone. 55 x 11 cm. E.16385. Seized in 1972, donated by PNG Customs in 1974 and registered
24 March 1975. Published in Smidt 1975: 14, 15, 18; Nr. 9.
these. Another gure that wears a shell pubic
so that he fell an easy prey to the hunter
covering (Schmitz 1969, Colorplate 28), prov-
(ibid.: 15).
enanced to Gibu on the Turama River west
MPNr 131 named Eoe, and MPNr 132
of Kerewa, is called a kaiamuru (kaiamunu?).
named Hilake, are a pair belonging to the
However, it is much taller at 132 cm and the
Vailala clan and were kept one on each side
carving style is signicantly different to that
of the eravo. They were almost certainly
of MPNr 120.
carved by the same man. They differ only in

that the image on Eoe is represented with
Orokolo-Vailala River area
legs and male genitals. The circle with the dot
MPNrs 131 and 132 are superb ancestral
inside represents the navel, which is a meta-
boards (hohao) from the Elema of the
phor for a clans place of origin. The dentate
Orokolo-Vailala River area. Ulli Beier and
pattern around the navel is called merove ari
Albert Maori Kiki (1970: 12) were told that
(rattan thorns). The dentates framing the
hohao were rst carved to contain and
head are a representation of iupu, the warri-
control the dangerous spirits of certain
ors headband made of pig bristles. The
powerful ancestors who would otherwise
pattern of chevrons framing the top and near
harass the living, and are named after them.
the bottom of the boards represents clouds.
Each lineage (aualari) in Orokolo used to
In the Purari Delta, clouds are a portent of
have one or more hohao, which they kept in
thunder, and thunder is the voice of the kai-
the eravo (mens house) (Fig. 79).
aimunu.
The help of the spirit of the hohao was

enlisted for assistance in warfare.
Before any military expedition the Hii
1970: 59-60). Kurua Mila Maipala was a giant
Haela of the aualari group had to place all
who lived alone in the forest. One day he saw
the arms in front of the Hohao. The warri-
a beautiful woman, Lamara, who lived with
ors assembled in the dark Eravo and sat in
her husband Hilaka. One day as they were
complete silence while the Hii Haela
returning from the garden, Kurua changed
burned sacred leaves in front of the
his appearance to a beautiful young girl in a
Hohao and invoked his help with magic
grass skirt, and went up to greet Hilaka.
formulas. When the ritual was over a shell

horn was blown and the clan leader gave
his military orders. The Hii Haela was the
rst to step out of the Eravo. He would
then spit the sacred bark he had been
Hilaka liked the girl and decided to marry her.

As she looked small and fragile, Hilaka
ordered Lamara to carry her. Now Hilaka was
walking in front with his bow and arrows and
chewing on the ground and say: Owner of
did not realise that Kurua was making love to
the ground, move aside, let my warriors
Lamara as he was riding on her back. A few
pass. The mythical hero embodied in the
months later Hilaka noticed with surprise
Hohao was then believed to walk in front
that Lamara was pregnant. He had not slept
of the warriors and lead them into battle.
with her for several months, because as a
[Beier and Kiki 1970: 12, 15]
hunter and a warrior he believed that it was
The hohao could be asked also for assist-
There is a myth associated with Eoe that

of Hilakes mother, Lamara (Beier and Kiki
wrong to spend too much time with his wife.
ance in hunting. It was considered that the
To nd out who her lover was, he pretended
Hohao had the power to make the pig weak,
to go hunting, then crept back towards his
Fig. 79. Interior of ravi showing several kwoi boards

and two shields; Iari, Namau speakers, Purari delta;
photographed by F.E. Williams. Published in Young
and Clark 2001: 80. Reproduced by permission of
The National Archives of Australia, Canberra. A6003,
Item 53, Prime Ministers Department, Territories
Branch.
hut and discovered Kurua and Lamara
This is how the news of Lamara and
hunter who killed many pigs and birds. One
embracing each other. He said nothing, but
Maipala spread in the forest and all the trees,
day he killed his pig-brother Ilaluvu by mis-
next day he asked them both to come shing.
birds and lizards began to laugh at the
take. Then he took him to his mother and
Kurua was unsuspecting, and while he was
woman. Then she felt very ashamed and she
asked her to cook him. But Lamara recog-
busy looking for sh in the water, Hilaka ran
cried and her tears began to form the begin-
nised her son and she wept. In the night she
him through with his bamboo spear. Hilaka
ning of the Vailala River. The river rushed
picked up the dead body of her son and left
carried the dead body of Kurua home,
along towards the sea and Lamara sat on a
the house. She oated down the river and
cooked it and forced his wife to eat him.
log travelling to the ocean. And all the sand
nally came to Ahea Hiyu, a distant island in
Lamara had to eat the body, but she would
and the trees which the Vailala River carried
the sea. There the people made her their
not eat the penis. She put it aside secretly
with it gathered on the sea and became
chief. Lamara revived the dead body of the
and threw it into the bush. There it grew and
islands.
pig Ilaluvu. Hilake looked for his mother
became the rst wild banana. Shortly after
The myth associated with Hilake was
everywhere. In the end he too drifted down
this she gave birth to a boy whom she called
recorded by Beier and Kiki (1970: 56, 59). This
Vailala River and he came to Ahea Hiyu island.
Huli. When Huli was four or ve years old, his
appears to be a different episode in the life of
Then he saw his mother and he also saw the
mother made him a swing of cane and hung
Lamara, but with motifs similar to those in
pig. His mother said to him: I told you not to
it from the branch of a big tree. One day, as
the story associated with Eoe.
kill him; but you killed him. This is him again.
Huli was playing on his swing, he sang a song

he had heard his mother sing at home:
Lamara gave birth to Hilake, a pig called
Hilake was sad. He wanted to stay on Ahea
Ilaluvu, and a sh called Halevera. Lamara
Hiyu with his mother, but she said to him: Go
Maipalas penis is a banana;
told her son Hilake that the pig and the sh
back to your land. These people are not
Wild banana in the forest.
were his brothers and he should not kill
yours. So Hilake returned to his home and he
Is that what your penis is like?
them. But Hilake was a wild boy, a great
became the ancestor of the Vailala clan.
MPNr 131 (opposite page left). Ancestral board

(hohao), Eoe of the Vailala clan, Harevavo village,
Orokolo speakers, Gulf Province. Wood. 144 x 50
cm. E.7759. Collected by Dirk Smidt and registered
2 April 1971. Repainted with trade colours.
Published in Beier and Kiki 1970, Plate 5.
MPNr 132 (opposite page right). Ancestral board

(hohao), Hilake of the Vailala clan, Harevavo village,
Orokolo speakers, Gulf Province. Wood, sago bre.
149 x 51 cm. E.7760. Collected by Dirk Smidt and
registered 2 April 1971. Published in Beier and Kiki
1970, Plate 4.
WAR SHIELDS
both spears and bow and arrows.
There is a great variety of war shields in Mela-
usually are closely related to the designs
nesia (Beran and Craig 2005). They are made
found on other objects with relatively large
of wood, pig or crocodile hide, bark, bark
surfaces, such as slit-gongs, house posts and
cloth or woven bast. They are round, oval, g-
painted sago spathes. Sometimes these
ure-eight or rectangular in shape, carved or
designs had sacred signicance and in other
uncarved, sometimes bound with plaited
cases they were considered merely decora-
sheaths of rattan, decorated with paint, bres
tion. Some shields were given personal
or feathers, of various sizes and weights with
names, as among the Asmat of south-west
many types of carrying devices.
New Guinea and the Mountain-Ok of central
Fig. 80. War shield (parrku) carried by Monei,

at Wilium, Olo speakers, Lumi area, Torricelli
Mountains. Photo: B. Craig, C12: 22A; 29 May 2002.
Within a particular region, shield designs
Generally speaking, those shields rela-
New Guinea, and were considered to be
tively light in weight, some small and others
imbued with ancestral power; other peoples
large, with a exible rattan or bast strap for
such as the Anga (formerly, Kukukuku) con-
suspension from the shoulder, were used
sidered them simply as tools of warfare.
with bow and arrows that required the use of
The National Museum has a larger and
both hands. Some examples are the shields
more representative collection of war shields
of the upper Sepik, the Simbai Valley, the
than is suggested by the fteen examples on
southern Highlands and the Papuan Gulf. The
display in the Masterpieces Exhibition. But
heavier shields with rigid handles into which
there are some types not represented in the
the forearm was inserted from the top such
collections at all. The remarkable circular
as those on the Sepik downstream from and
shields of Astrolabe Bay in Madang Province,
with stone tools. It was photographed in the
including May River were stood on the
the at oblong shields of the north coast of
collection of Wayne Heathcote at Ambunti by
ground and used with spears.
West Sepik, and the round-topped tall shields
Barry Craig, 27 July 1969 (M23: 31, left). This
of the Huon Gulf, for example. It is possible
type of shield was hung on the shoulder for
Guinea were carried by unarmed shield-bear-
these types were represented in the collec-
use with bow and arrows. It also could be
ers who each protected a line of bowmen
tions of the Rabaul Museum, believed
used to protect warriors attacking an ele-
sheltering behind him. The broad at shields
destroyed during World War II, but there were
vated communal house with rebrands.
of the Wahgi Valley in the central highlands
none available when the present museum
There does not appear to have been any par-
were massed together and formed a protec-
was established by legislation in 1954.
ticular signicance for the designs on such
The broad at shields of central New
tive wall for the armed shield-bearers and for

the spearmen behind them. The light but rel-
shields.
Northern New Guinea
The April River shield (MPNr 135) was
atively tall shields of New Britain, and the
The Lumi shield (MPNr 145) was carried on
used with spears and carried with the fore-
taller shields of the Asmat of [West] Papua,
the shoulder (Fig. 80) for use with bow and
arm inserted downwards through a exible
were held by a handle carved at the rear and
arrows. Nothing is known of the signicance
band to hold a rigid grip in the hand. This
used with spears. The much smaller, light
of the design carved into the front of the
shield is similar in design to the one collected
shields of Central Province and Milne Bay
shield, although the design was also painted
during the Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss-Expedition
Province were held in one hand by a rigid
on sheets of bark or spathe that lined the
of 1912-13 and now in the Museum fr
loop handle and used as a parrying shield
ceilings of the mens cult houses (Briggs 1928:
Vlkerkunde, Berlin (Kelm 1966b, Plate 159).
with and against spears. As with all generali-
269, lower plate).
Nothing is known of the designs on the front
sations, there were exceptions and some

shield types could be used with and against
The shield MPNr 141, probably from the

Idam Valley south of Green River, was carved
of these shields.
The Kominimung shield (MPNr 146) was
MPNr 145 (opposite page). War shield (parrku), Lumi area, Torricelli Mountains, probably Olo speakers, West
Sepik Province. Wood, bast, rattan. 105 x 72 x 7 cm. 81.26.5 [original registration number lost but identied
probably as E.13862, purchased from Morris Young and registered 14 March 1974].
MPNr 141 (left). War shield (iben), probably Idam

valley, upper Sepik, Abau speakers, West Sepik
Province. Wood, bast. 139 x 59 x 2 cm. 79.29.25.
Ex-collection Wayne Heathcote. Registered in 1979
among a group of 300 unidentied objects but
believed to be in the museum several years before
that.
MPNr 135 (above). War shield (teiya), Lower April

River, Bitara speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
158 x 48 x 3 cm. E.3000. Purchased from Wayne
Heathcote and registered 5 May 1969.
MPNr 146. War shield, Kominimung, middle Ramu

area, Kominimung speakers, Madang Province.
Wood, bast, rattan. 129 x 47 x 1 cm. E.16283.
Purchased from Barry Hoare and registered 28
February 1975.
carried on the shoulder by a bast strap

attached to the rattan sheath covering the
lower half of the shield, and used with spears.
The face design at the top centre represents
Bwongogo which perhaps could be interpreted as the face of a mythical ancestor
(Smidt 1983: 155). The pair of motifs either
side of the face is the emblem of the ying
fox (urukmo) clan. Although rather worn, the
dominant colour of the design appears to be
yellow; the shield is therefore of the blackeye moiety (rather than red indicating the
red-eye moiety), which is consistent with
Smidts assertion (1990c, caption to Plate 19)
that the ying fox clan is of the black-eye
moiety. When a shield was used in ghting,
these clan emblems and accompanying colours served to show the enemy to which clan
the bearer of the shield belonged. During a
ght, members of a particular clan would
avoid engaging with enemy members of that
clan (ibid.: 157).
Fig. 81. Use of war shield being demonstrated at

Telefomin, Telefol speakers. Photo: B. Craig, C25: 1;
August 1964.
Highlands
eral battles against the Mianmin to the north,
for attaching feather decorations. The design,
The shields of central New Guinea were car-
in which two Mianmin men and two Mian-
vaguely anthropomorphic, is marked by
ried by unarmed shield-bearers protecting
min women were killed. There are many
incised lines and in-lled with paint. The
bowmen behind them (Fig. 81). They were
arrow marks in it (Craig 1972-73: 54).
humbi (Fig. 86) was hung on the shoulder for
held by gripping the vertical, intertwined rat-
The shield from the Simbai Valley (MPNr
use with bow and arrows when clans
tan straps at the rear but the warrior could
136) was carved with stone tools from the
opposed each other in open lines of battle.
stand the shield on the ground and brace
buttress root of a forest tree. It was sold to
The elyaborr (Fig. 87) hung from the
it with his foot. The shield from Magalsim-
Lyle Scholz by Moojmooj of Gajool (Salemp
shoulder under the arm and was used in the
bip (Figs 82, 83; MPNr 139) was named Gilinip
area), but it is from the Wumod area.
more common skirmishing and guerrilla raid-
because they worked hard looking for a suit-
Kalam shields were hung from the shoul-
ing (Ryan 1958: 244). The Mendi shield from
able tree from which to make it. It has been
der for use with bows and arrows. The raised
Bela (MPNr 143) was carved with stone tools.
used against the Kamfegolmin of Wang-
patterns of little square knobs, characteristic
The designs, marked by incised lines and in-
bin, several kilometres to the north-west of
of Kalam shields, are sometimes interpreted
lled with paint, are most often geometric
Magalsimbip and there are arrow holes in it
as [sweet potato] garden plots (Smidt 1975:
but occasionally, as in this shield, a human
(Craig 1972-73: 31).
37).
gure is represented. Sillitoe reports (1980:
The shield from Komdavip (Figs 84, 85;
The Huli shield from Wabia (MPNr 142),
496) that for the neighbouring Wola, if the
MPNr 140) was used in the same way as the
called humbi, was carved with stone tools.
human gure is red it indicates that the ght
Magalsimbip shield. It has been used in sev-
The two small holes at the top centre were
has been successful and they have killed an

Fig. 82. War shield (MPNr 139) named Gilinip, held

by Manmanim of Magalsimbip, Tifal speakers, West
Sepik Province. Photo: B. Craig, BK1: 31; 7 June 1972.
tail wire of King Bird

of Paradise (Cicinnurus
regius)
tracks of snake (mafom)
mouth of crocodile
(matup-bon)
heart (aget)
snake (mafom)
mans belt of rattan

hoops (oltil)
Fig. 83. Meaning of design elements on

Magalsimbip war shield (after Craig 1969: 137 and
1972-73: 31)
MPNr 139. War shield (askom), personal name Gilinip; Magalsimbip village, Wopkeimin, Tifal speakers,
Western Province. Wood, rattan. 147 x 69 x 3 cm. 79.1.15. Registered 26 April 1979. Carved by Amumiap
c.1907 with a stone adze (febi). Bought by Barry Craig from Manmanim, 8 June 1972, on behalf of the
Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, Canberra, and subsequently gifted to the PNG Museum by the Australian
government.
Fig. 84. War shield (MPNr 140) held by Afupnok of

Komdavip village, Telefol speakers, Eliptaman, West
Sepik Province. Photo: B. Craig, BK2: 23; 20 June 1972.
MPNr 140. War shield (atkom), Komdavip village, Eliptaman Telefolmin, Telefol speakers, West Sepik Province.
Wood, rattan. 164 x 56 x 3 cm. 79.1.56. Registered 30 April 1979. Carved by Damnisep (father of vendor
Afupnok) and Blangsep (father of vendor Mamsamsep) at Komdavip before 1914 with a stone adze (mok)
from ful timber. Bought by Barry Craig, 20 June 1972, on behalf of the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board,
Canberra, and subsequently gifted to the PNG Museum by the Australian government.
snake (duliam); dorsal

plates of crocodile
beak of cockatoo; jawbone of man
jawbone of crocodile
beak of cassowary
tracks of snake (mafom)
abdomen of spider
(don); mans heart or
liver; womans vagina
mans elbow
crocodiles leg
Fig. 85. Meaning of design elements on Komdavip

war shield similar to MPNr 140 (after Craig 1969: 127
and 1972-73: 54)
MPNr 136. War shield, Simbai valley, Kalam

speakers, Madang Province. Wood, rattan. 99 x 44 x 2
cm. E.10717. Purchased from Lyle Scholz, Summer
Institute of Linguistics, and registered 13 February
1973.
enemy; if it is white, the colour of mourning,

they have lost a warrior and there is a death
to avenge.
The kumba reipe of the Mount Hagen area
was hung on the shoulder from bast slings
attached near the centre and steadied by
gripping a vertical rattan strip near the leading edge. It was used for ghting with spears
although bowmen were often involved in the
set-piece battles (Connolly and Anderson
1987: 264; Vicedom and Tischner 1943-8: 21820). The top edge usually was decorated with
bundles of feathers.
MPNr 142 (opposite page left). War shield (humbi),

Wabia village, Huli speakers, Southern Highlands
Province. Wood, rattan. 118 x 36 cm. E.4207.
Collected by G.L. Pretty and A.L. Crawford and
registered 12 November 1969.
MPNr 143 (opposite page right). War shield
(elyaborr), Bela village, Mendi speakers, Southern
Highlands Province. Wood, rattan. 86 x 31 cm.
E.3808. Collected by G.L. Pretty and A.L. Crawford,
and registered 23 June 1969.
MPNr 144. War shield (kumba reipe), Wurup village,

Mount Hagen, Melpa speakers, Enga Province.
Wood, bast, rattan. 140 x 68 cm. E.4231. Registered
29 September 1969. Collector not known.
Fig. 86 (opposite page top). Warrior from Wabia

village, Huli speakers, demonstrates how the humbi
would be used during battle. Photo: A.L. Crawford
1969.
Fig. 87 (opposite page bottom). Warrior from Bela
village, Mendi speakers, demonstrates how an
elyaborr would be used during battle. Photo:
A.L. Crawford 1969.
MPNr 137. War shield (jamasj), Casuarina Coast

Asmat, Asmat speakers, [West] Papua, Indonesia.
Wood, sago bre. 186 x 44 cm. E.755.1. One of
two shields acquired from Mr C. Groeneveldt and
MPNr 138. War shield, atttributed to north-eastern

Asmat (Tjitak), Asmat speakers or upper Mappi
River; Auwyu speakers, [West] Papua, Indonesia.
Wood. 140 x 31 cm. 81.48.3. Purchased from Patricia
Withofs 13 March 1981 and registered 8 July 1981.
Old registration number 2877/11 written on the
back of the shield.
Southern New Guinea

MPNr 137 could be from Otsjanep village,
Ewta River (compare with Gerbrands 1967:
146, 150). It is held by a vertical handle carved
at the rear and is used with, and for protection against, spears. The projection at the
top of the shield is the tsjemen (penis); the
wing-like double-spiral design (ainor) is a
mysterious powerful design that, combined
as two motifs above and below a central
small circle, may represent a human gures
legs, arms and navel, therefore a subtle reference to an ancestor. Asmat shields were
named after a dead relative of the owner and
were used in headhunting raids to avenge
the death of the relative for whom the shield
was named.
The design on MPNr 138 is related to that
on MPNr 137 from the coastal Asmat but it is
clearly not a coastal Asmat shield. Its design is
similar also to the design on a Kombai shield
of the Dairam Hitam River (Schneebaum
1990: 36, right) and another unspecically
noted as Tjitak (ibid.: 35, left). However, the
shields relatively small size suggests that it
might be from the Kombais southern Auwyu
neighbours on the upper Mappi (see map in
Smidt 1993: 16-17) where the shields are
smaller.
This shield was held by the vertical handle
at the rear but it is not clear whether it was
used like the coastal Asmat shield with a
spear, or with bow and arrows. The seminomadic Tjitak appear to have been armed
with bows and arrows (see photographs in
Mitton 1983: 149-53). The large shield of the
Tjitak may have been carried by an unarmed
shield-bearer who sheltered a group of bowmen behind him, as was the case in central
New Guinea.
Through the southern lowlands of New
MPNr 148. War shield (naua), Orokolo, eastern Papuan Gulf, Orokolo speakers, Gulf Province. Wood, bast. 78
x 29 cm. 80.66.4. Collected by Sir William MacGregor on 1 August 1894 at Maipu[a], a coastal Namau village,
but its design suggests it was made by the Elema, neighbours of the Namau to the east. Repatriated from
Queensland Museum (Mac4652) and registered 24 October 1980.
Guinea east of the border with [West] Papua,

apart from bark shields with a vertical stick
handle found among the Kamula of Western
Province and on the upper Era River of central Gulf Province (Beran and Craig 2005),
wood shields are not found until the Purari
Delta and then the Elema of Orokolo and the
lower Vailala River. These shields are underarm shields with a notch at the top for the
arm, obviously related to the under-arm
shields of the Southern Highlands Province.
They are used with bows and arrows. Among
the Purari and Elema groups, the carved and
painted designs are related to those found
on the kwoi and hohao boards.
The Orokolo shield (MPNr 148) is just one
of almost 8300 specimens that constituted
the MacGregor Collection held on loan at
the Queensland Museum since the 1890s. So
far, almost 3300 items have been returned to
PNG and almost 2700 retained in Brisbane,
with a further 2300 items requiring allocation
(Quinnell 2000).
The shields of Central Province were
mainly of gure-8 shape (MPNr 150) with a
nely-woven sheath decorated with feathers.
They have been photographed (for example
by J.W. Lindt, see Quanchi 1999, Fig.20.1) and
collected in coastal and inland settlements
(Beran and Craig 2005: 181).
A photograph by Reverend George Brown
(1908, facing p. 478) illustrates how the gure-8 shields were held. They were used with
spears and clubs, apparently as parrying
shields as they were relatively light, though
made of hardwood, and held by a single
piece of bent rattan secured near the middle
at the rear.
In Milne Bay Province, Trobriand Islands
shields (MPNr 149) were used with spears in
inter-village warfare. A particular type of timber (vayola) was used for making the shield
MPNr 150. War shield (gei), Kerepuna village, Keapara-Aroma speakers, Central Province. Wood, rattan,
feathers. 87 x 46 cm. 77.57.4. Collected c.1883. One of seventeen items repatriated by The Australian Museum,
Sydney, 27 June 1977, to mark the occasion of the ofcial opening of the new National Museum building (see
also MPNrs 47, 60).
it has a cross-grain making it hard to split.

It has been said that the smaller the shield,
the more skilful the warrior. These shields, like
the gure-8 shields of Central Province, also
appear to have been used as parrying shields.
Much has been written about the signicance of the painted design on these shields
(see summary in Beran and Craig 2005: 203).
Edmund Leach has claimed it represents a
ying witch, greatly feared by Trobriand
Islanders. Ronald Berndt suggested it represents sexual intercourse, thus showing
contempt for the enemy as such references
are used in verbal abuse. P. Glass suggests
two additional interpretations: that it represents Topileta, the ruler of the world of the
dead, and that it is a symbolic map of the Trobriand world. Trobrianders themselves give
only names for elements of the design, with
reference to animals, birds, sh and other
aspects of the natural world; these may be
only labels for patterns and not meanings.
MPNr 149. War shield (vayola), Trobriand Islands, Kilivila speakers, Milne Bay Province. Wood, rattan. 83 x
39 cm. 80.66.44. Collected by Sir William MacGregor c.1890 at Kilivila [not a recognised place name used
today as the name of the language]. Repatriated from the Queensland Museum (Mac4770) and registered 14
October 1980.
Fig. 88. Two spearmen pose with war shields at

Ablingi Harbour, Pasismanua speakers (Sokhok
dialect), West New Britain Province, 1916. Photo
E.62, Usher Photographic Collection (AA835), South
Australian Museum archives, by permission.
MPNr 147. War shield (ilo), attributed to Kandrian

area, Pasismanua speakers (Kaulong dialect),
West New Britain Province. Wood, rattan. 141 x 31
cm. E.14640. Purchased from Morris Young and
registered 24 July 1974.
New Britain
The so-called Arawe or Kandrian shields (Fig.
type of shield and call them hiliyo, obviously
88; MPNr 147) consist of two narrow planks
cognate to ilo.
bound either side of a wider plank. The cen-
No denite meaning for the nely carved
tral, wider plank has a recessed grip carved
and painted spiral designs on the front of
out at the back. They were not only used with
these shields has been reported. On the rear
spears in warfare, but also in formal dance
are painted designs altogether different from
ceremonies (Todd 1934: 199). Although this
the designs on the front. These designs are
type of shield is commonly believed to have
related to those painted on lengths of tapa
come from Arawe or Kandrian, in fact they
cloth worn by men around their waists (com-
were made in the interior and traded down
pare Heermann 2001, Plate 96 rear, to Plates
to, and east and west along, the coast (Gos-
93, 98, 99). The individual design elements
den and Knowles 2001: 182). The Sengseng,
may be given names but so far as is known,
neighbours of the Kaulong, make the same
these do not provide an overall meaning.
Fig. 89a (top). Slit-gong named Wobnerluk at

St Benedictine Teachers College, Wewak, from
Washkuk village, Wogamusin speakers, upper
Sepik River. Gazetted National Cultural Property,
14 January 1977. Published in Newton 1971: 56
(Illust. 91). Photo: B. Craig, C1: 7; 20 October 1981.
Fig. 89b. Slit-gong named Wobnerluk at St

Benedictine Teachers College, Wewak, showing
deterioration over twenty years. Photo: B. Craig,
M4: 19; 15 May 2002.
Certain types of musical instruments have
rubbing blocks of northern New Ireland
rst instruments in the Australia-New Guinea
limited distributions, occurring in some areas
(Messner 1983), and the water drums and
region would have included the bullroarer,
and not in others. Even the almost universal
mud-beaters of the middle Sepik.
introduced into Australia around 10,000 years
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
hand drum is not to be found in the high-
The earliest detailed survey of musical
ago but coming into New Guinea, via the
lands of [West] Papua nor among the Anga
instruments for Oceania was published by
Papuan Gulf, not until about 3000 years ago.
(formerly Kukukuku) at the eastern end of the
Hans Fischer (1958, translated 1983, revised
Shell trumpets came from the west with the
highlands of PNG. Well known for their lack of
1986). Vida Chenoweth (1976) provides a tab-
rst groups of Austronesian speakers around
visual artistic expression, the Anga do have
ulated survey of the musical instruments of
6000 years ago, closely followed by the slit-
other types of musical instruments, one of
PNG. Ken Gourlay (1974) has published a
gong. The jews harp, mouth bow, hourglass
which the tall, bamboo aeolian utes set up
comprehensive bibliography of literature of
hand drum and wooden trumpet came to
around the village for the wind to make the
the music, dances and instruments used in
New Guinea between ve and ten thousand
sounds may be unique to them.
PNG and the Torres Strait islands. He followed
years ago but the latter two instruments did
this up (1975) with an analysis of the distribu-
not reach Morobe Province and the Bismarck
to the north coast, coastal ranges and Sepik-
tion of bullroarers, sacred utes and
Archipelago until less than 3000 years ago.
Ramu-Markham valleys of mainland PNG, and
slit-gongs, their use in initiation and other
No more than 3000 years ago, he suggests,
the Bismarck Archipelago. The bullroarer, usu-
ceremonies, and their role in male-female
sacred utes were invented in the highlands
ally said to be the voice of ancestors or spirits
relations.
and later expanded into bullroarer areas
The slit-gong is almost entirely conned
in the context of initiation ceremonies, is to
Mervyn McLean (1994) draws on these
(mainly northwards, most notably into the

Sepik-Ramu-Madang region).
be found throughout the Bismarck Archipel-
sources to survey the occurrence of all the
ago, the north coast, coastal ranges and
most signicant instruments used in New
Sepik-Ramu-Markham valleys of northern
Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. He
terpieces Exhibition are carved of wood (or
PNG, in a broad belt from the Huon Peninsula
relates them to one another and explains
have sculptural components of wood, for
to the Papuan Gulf, and in south-east [West]
their distribution in terms of borrowing and
example, the pair of long utes). Most are
Papua. Certain other instruments are unique
population migrations as suggested by lan-
from the Sepik region and most are hand
to a particular area, such as the friction or
guage distributions. He theorises that the
drums. Many types of instruments are not
All of the musical instruments in the Mas-
Fig. 90. Slit-gong named Olmangan, Watam village,

Watam speakers, Watam Lagoon. Carver unknown
but made before the German administration. Photo:
B. Craig, C6: 21; 27 September 1983.
included at all and many regions are unrepre-
remarkable hypothesis for the Sawos of the
ancestors, to episodes in myths, to particular
sented. However, the displays in the
middle Sepik area, that
totemic animals, or to such animals as ying
Independence Gallery attempt to make up
the principal aim of each tapet [an adults
foxes and lizards as metaphors for the carry-
for this.
individual signal] is to imitate the call,
ing-power of the slit-gongs sound.
shriek, or some peculiarity of the bird,
There are only two slit-gongs in the Mas-
Slit-gongs
insect, animal, etc., that belongs to the
terpieces Exhibition and both of these are
Slit-gongs (also called slit-drums, and
family of the person involved, the call hav-
from the Sepik River region. The horizontal
garamuts in Melanesian Pidgin) are an Aus-
ing been slowed down so much for ease
log slit-gongs of the Sepik region are basi-
of performance that it has become unrec-
cally of three types:
tronesian instrument as is demonstrated by

their distribution in the south-west Pacic
(Niles 1983; Swadling et al. 1988, Fig. 244).
There are many shapes, and the hollows are
ognizable as such to the

unknowledgeable listener.
Newton (1971: 70) had already observed
s CANOE SHAPEDBODYWITHHOLLOWED OUT

slit towards the rear and a long, tapering
(and usually carved) nial (Fig. 89). There
carved out to different degrees and con-
that among the Manambu (on the Sepik
is often a hole at the nial with which to
gurations. Designs carved and/or painted
mainstream in the vicinity of Ambunti), As in
secure a rope for pulling the instrument
on them vary widely and there are different
other places, the rhythms [of the slit-gongs]
when it needs to be moved. This type is
ways of beating them.
were onomatopoeic of the sounds made by
to be found in the upper Sepik region,
sh, birds, wind, rattling leaves, and so on.
upstream from Ambunti (Fischer 1986,
Slit-gongs are used for musical purposes

during ceremonial songs and dances but
In the middle Sepik area, new slit-gongs
Plate IV, Nrs 46, 47; Newton 1971, Illusts

11-18, 20, 70-4, 91-3, 186-87).
they are also used to send messages as far as
were consecrated by human sacrice and
20 kilometres distant. As some Sepik men
were provided with personal names. Stories
s "ARREL SHAPEDBODYWITHHOLLOWED OUT
have said, they are their wailis (Melanesian
of individual slit-gongs indicate that they are
slit and a projecting lug at each end, a
Pidgin for wireless, i.e., radio). Not a lot is
regarded as the habitations of particular spir-
large one carved in human and/or ani-
known about this latter use, apart from the
its that may have originated as human beings
mal form (often a crocodiles head) in a
relative simplicity of what is communicated,
but have transformed into nature spirits, par-
manner similar to a canoe prow, and a
but Thomas Aitken (1990: 546-47) has
ticularly those that inhabit waterways,
smaller one usually plain or as a subsidi-
emphasised the previously overlooked role
whirlpools and eddies. The carved images on
ary human or animal form. The body of
of pitch (versus rhythm) and advanced the
slit-gongs may refer to such spirits, to
the drum also may be carved in low relief
MPNr 206. Slit-gong (yimbung) and detail, personal name Kolmanki, Manjamai village, middle Karawari River,
Karawari speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 3.75 m long x 94 cm high x 55 cm wide. E.16040. Purchased
by Wayne Heathcote about August 1971 from the owner Yaplas. Gazetted National Cultural Property on
16 March 1972. Purchased from Wayne Heathcote by the National Museum and registered 10 February 1975.
and/or painted. Amongst the western
and offshore islands (Craig 1987, Plates
Iatmul and Sawos, the prow consists of a
38-40; Fischer 1986, Plate III, Nrs 31, 32;
short carved section tapering from the
Kelm 1968, Plates 374-83; Neuhauss 1911,
main body of the drum. It may be seen,
I, Fig. 216; Swadling et al. 1988, Fig. 246).
therefore, as a much-shortened version

of the upper Sepik type (Craig 1987,
MPNr 206 is from the middle Karawari
Plates 24, 63-4; Fischer 1986, Plate IV, Nr
River. According to Borut Telban (1998: 189),
48; Newton 1971, Illusts 123-24). Among
Karawari slit-gongs (yimbung) have personal
the eastern Iatmul and the Iatmul-
names and are water spirits, a category of
inuenced groups to the south, the
bush spirit. The Karawari people believe
prow juts out at the top of the body of
these male bush spirits (saki) live in under-
the drum (Craig 1987, Plates 72, 75-7;
water villages complete with mens houses in
Fischer 1986, Plate III, Nr 39; Kelm 1966a,
which rituals of initiation are performed. The
Plate 165). Both slit-gongs in the Master-
slit is the drums mouth and the hollow
pieces Exhibition are of this sub-type.
inside is its belly; the large lump of wood left
s "ARREL SHAPEDBODYWITHHOLLOWED OUT

slit and relatively short projecting lug at
each end carved identically as a mask, or
halfway along the slit is its fruit, which is

important for the quality of the sound.
The face at the prow of this drum is that
as a short spirit gure (with long nose)
of the water spirit Kolmanki, depicted as a
supported by a lizard-like creature
composite of human and crocodilian
(Fig. 90). The body of the drum is incised
features. The projecting lug at the stern
with symmetrical designs. The drum is
appears to have been carved as a wild pigs
usually then coated in red ochre and the
head, most likely the Pig clan totem. A similar
incised line designs picked out in white.
slit-gong was located at Danyig on the
This type is to be found in the lower
Wogupmeri River (Craig 1982: 65) and the
Sepik region below Angoram, along the
collar-like projection under the prow was
lower Ramu, and along the north coast
said to represent the crescent-shaped kina
MPNr 207. Slit-gong (and details), personal name Mbauwi; Aibom village, Chambri Lake, Iatmul speakers, East
Sepik Province. Wood. 2.97 m long x 68 cm high x 56 cm wide. 81.26.174 [original registration number lost
but identied as E.10190, purchased by Dirk Smidt for the National Museum in 1971 from ve men (Bauwi,
Kindjinmaki Gauwi, Aitmun Unda, Kovai and Kumbu of Aibom) and registered 3 May 1972].
MPNr 89. Hand drum, April or Leonhard Schultze

Rivers, Sepik Hill speakers, East Sepik Province.
Wood, rattan. 109 x 13 cm. diam. E.7906. Bought
from Sepik Primitive Arts, Madang, 19 April 1971
and registered 23 April 1971. Tympanum missing.
(pearl shell) ornament traded from the Sepik
MPNr 207 is from Chambri Lake. Accord-
up into the highlands. Telban (1998: 189) was
ing to Smidts information, this slit-gong was
told at Ambonwari that this feature is the
kept in the mens house Nangukunbit
spirits sh basket, where he keeps his food.
(Nagrimbit) and called Mbauwi after the clan
Telban continues his general description:
to which it belonged. It was roughed-out by
On either side of the drum the pattern
two brothers, Tonop and Kam, at Aimsui,
depicts its intestines and lungs, in appear-
about a kilometre from Aibom. Tambui and
ance resembling a line of crescent moons
Kindsjen did the nal carving. The teeth of
or kina shells. Between the head and the
the crocodiles head on the prow are nimbie
main body is a belt of carved shells with
and the catsh on the brow of the crocodile
the face of a wunduma [female ancestral
head is called kamiwentsjo. The eye is called
spirit] in the middle. On top of the head
meniepauwi, the nose is dama and the chev-
the two breadfruit seeds indicate the

spirits eyes. The other carved patterns
depict shells, frogs, and birds: [representing] the spirits wealth and those foods
which new initiates are not permitted to
rons at the side of the nose are damapauwi;

circles represent the soft part of the cheeks
(kopmoiwimbui). The small face is that of a
woman, Yambugawge. A small gure or bird
eat. All the main drums have incisions on
has broken off at the tip of the crocodiles
their bodies denoting the number of peo-
snout. The person represented at the stern is
ple killed by members of the owning clan.
Nyap, the chevrons in the ribbon of design at
The drums are used to beat the rhythm of
the stern are maranget, the initiatory scari-
songs associated with the major ceremonies,
cations representing the teeth-marks of the
to call someone back to the village, or to
cult crocodile that swallows the initiates.
announce important events. Telban informs

us (1998: 190-91):
Every totemic clan has its own signal
Like the Kwoma but unlike the Sawos
Ambonwari drummers, when calling
Hand drums
Hand drums are used almost everywhere in
New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago to
set the rhythm for singing and dancing. They
someone, rst beat the signal of the per-
are generally hourglass-shaped, with lizard
sons own clan followed by the signal of
skin tympanum (Craig 1987, Plate 33), but dis-
his mothers clan The drummer (kapuk
play a variety of forms, even within a
yarar) beats the slit-drum using rhythm
particular village (Fischer 1986, Plate X, Nrs
and pitch to mimic the sound, the walk,
162-65; Plate XI, Nrs 174-76). The major dis-
the appearance or the behaviour of a
tinction is between those with carved
totemic animal of a particular clan.
handles and those without. Fischer claims
Other sequences can urge the identied
that this is not a useful distinction because
person to hurry up, or can inform a hunter
drums of the same type appear in almost all
that his dogs have already returned to the
areas with or without handles (1986: 56).
village from the hunt, and so on. As people
However, his study was based on European
are familiar with constantly unfolding events
museum collections and published sources
in the village, these signals in many ways con-
so that some areas were inadequately repre-
rm their expectations, hopes and fears
sented. Further, it is likely that in areas where
(ibid.: 190).
hand drums usually have handles, sometimes
MPNr 100. Hand drum, Lumi area, Torricelli

Mountains, Olo speakers, West Sepik Province.
Wood, lizard skin. 46 x 13 cm diameter. E.8781.
Purchased from Lakatoi Artefacts and registered
23 November 1971.
the handle breaks or cracks during the carving and rather than discard the part-nished
drum, the carver proceeds regardless. There is
no doubt that in certain areas the traditional
hourglass drum never had a carved handle.
Those without handles are generally from
the upper Sepik and Border Mountains
region, the Sepik Hills, from central New
Guinea to as far south as the middle Digul
and Fly rivers, and through the StricklandNomad area to the central Papuan Gulf. They
are relatively long and slender, and generally
feature simple geometric designs in a narrow
band at the open end executed with black
lines in relief against a background of red or
yellow ochres and white. In the upper Sepik
area, these designs are consistent with the
designs painted on sago spathes, and carved
and painted on wooden trumpets and
shields (see Kelm 1966b, Plates 197-238; 1968,
Plates 521-22).
Drums with handles are generally shorter
and display a great variety of carved and
painted designs. Middle Sepik hand drums
incorporate animal and human motifs as
handles, often with curvilinear designs
carved and painted on the hourglass body
(Kelm 1966a, Plates 155-64; 1968, Plates 48586; 520). In the area on the Sepik around
Ambunti, the handles consist of rattan tied
between small loops carved about where a
wooden handle would be located.
In the lower Sepik and nearby coastal
areas, the handles usually have symmetrically-disposed animal or human heads at
incised designs are usually conned to a pair
either end, and the body of the drum is sym-
of triangular panels on each half of the drum.
metrically carved with an intricate, incised
This way of decorating hand drums is found
design in-lled with white pigment (Craig
all along the Sepik and Madang coastline and
1987, Plates 33, 42; Kelm 1968, Plates 385-86;
coastal ranges, into the Huon Gulf, Huon
Swadling et al. 1988, Plate 245), consistent
Peninsula and West New Britain areas
with the structure and motifs of the designs
(Bodrogi 1961, Figs 39-46b; Christensen
on slit-gongs (Kelm 1968, Plates 374, 379). The
1975: 12-13 [Siassi], 25 [Karkar], 114-15
MPNr 84. Hand drum, attributed to Malu village,

Ambunti area, Manambu speakers (but more likely
Yangoru area, Boiken speakers), East Sepik Province.
Wood. 86 x 23 cm diameter. 81.26.130 [original
registration number lost]. Tympanum missing.
MPNr 86. Hand drum (wek), Kubkein village, upper Sepik, Wogamusin speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood,
rattan, cloth. 71 x 17 cm diameter. 79.1.534. Registered 23 October 1979. Carved by Nasimbwei, father of
vendor, soon after 1945. Purchased by Barry Craig, 14 January 1973, from Nasideyeiep of Kubkein on behalf
of the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, Canberra, and subsequently gifted to the PNG Museum by the
Australian government.
[between Bogia and Madang]; Dark 1974,
the drums are used in co-ordination with
Illusts 99-110; Swadling et al. 1988, Plate 245).
the slit-gongs to set the rhythm for dances
To complement the hand drums on dis-
associated with the tall masks used in mas-
play in the Masterpieces Exhibition, a much
querades to cure illness and obtain other
wider variety can be found in the Independ-
benets (such as success in hunting) from the
ence Gallery.
sh spirits represented by the masks (Briggs

1928: 270; McGregor 1982).
Northern New Guinea
MPNr 84 has been attributed to Malu
In the Border Mountains of West Sepik Prov-
village on the upper Sepik; however, it is more
ince, in central New Guinea, and among
likely to be from the Boiken of the Yangoru
speakers of Sepik Hill languages south of
area of the Prince Alexander Mountains. A
the upper Sepik and east of May River, the
similar drum, with two wooden loops to
hand drums have a short carved and painted
which to secure a rattan or bre strap, and
design at the bottom end and are relatively
with similar dentate-edged oval motifs at the
long and narrow, with no handle (they can
lower end, was advertised for sale by Michael
be gripped around the narrow waist of the
Hamson (www.michaelhamson.com/drums_
hour-glass shape). MPNr 89 is an example
oct_03_Dscn2646.htm). Hamson states that
of such a drum, from the upper Leonhard
this type of drum is carried by shoulder strap
Schultze or April rivers.
and beaten at the same time as the player
It is probably this type of hand drum that

was, among other sacred objects, said by the
holds a bamboo ute to his mouth.

That MPNr 84 is from the Yangoru area
Bahinemo to have been created by a man,
is strengthened by similarity of the design
Wimogu, and a woman, Igoshua (Newton
to those on pots from that area (May and
1971: 18). Newton was told that these two
Tuckson 2000, Figs 9.110 and 9.112). May
still live at a place called Maifa at the head
and Tuckson report (2000: 271): The most
of the April River. The couple made a whole
commonly repeated motif of concentric
range of sacred objects, weapons and other
circles is said to represent the face of a
goods and tied them onto a log that they
masalai .
oated down the river. As it oated down-
At Kubkein, on the Sepik between the
stream, it shed its load thus distributing
Leonhard Schultze and April rivers, apart
objects to various places, exept to the Buka
from ordinary hand drums used to sound
[Setiyali] of the upper April River, who only
the rhythm of dances at initiation and other
obtained spears and hand-drums.
ceremonies, there was always just one magi-
In the Torricelli Mountains north of the
cal, oracular hand drum called wk, with the
upper Sepik, the hand drums (see MPNr 100)
personal name Sabortau, belonging to the
are short with a wooden handle and usu-
Nandiiyan clan (Newton 1971, Illust. 105).
ally have a pair of triangular panels in each
Newton (1971: 53) reports:
half of the drum lled in with carved designs,
Before a raid, Sabortau was beaten all
like those of the lower and coastal Sepik,
night, while the raiding party chewed a
and offshore islands. Nothing is known of
mixture of ginger, betel and blood from
the symbolic signicance of the hand drums
the penis. At dawn the raiders entered the
or the designs carved on them. However,
war-canoes, which rocked on the water.
MPNr 104. Hand drum, Malu village, Ambunti area,

Manambu speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 63
x 17 cm diameter. E.7981. Obtained from Wayne
Heathcote and registered 31 May 1971. Tympanum
missing.
Sabortau was questioned whether the
initiation of the young men:
raiders should proceed: if the canoes
Successful headhunting was celebrated
stopped rocking, they could; if the move-
by a large number of songs, to the
ment went on they called the expedition
accompaniment of hand drums and danc-
off. If the party went out, they took Sabor-
ing in a circle, of which the leader danced
tau with them. The spirit of Sabortau then
backward. The texts of the songs were
went ahead and appeared to the enemy
largely lists of names, including those of
as a single woman in a canoe, thus both
totemic eagles, patches of grassland, bush
enticing them to attack and disguising
and water spirits, winds and the like. The
the presence of the Kubka raiders until
performances were brought to an end by
they had closed in On the way home,
a series of hooting calls on a short bam-
signals were blown on wooden trumpets
boo trumpet hung with seed rattles.
for the benet of the village women. On

arrival, trumpets and hand drums were
played. The homicide himself was decorated with upstanding sprays of croton
leaves at his shoulders.
Among the Iatmul of the middle Sepik,

songs (sagi) are sung on such occasions as
the dedication of new houses, at initiation,
marriage, death and so on. These songs
recount episodes in the migration of the clan
Fifty kilometres east of the Wogamusin

speakers, along the Sepik upstream and
downstream from Ambunti, are the villages
of the Manambu. Their territory adjoins the
western boundary of the Iatmul with whom
they share linguistic and cultural afnities.
Hand drums, along with bullroarers and
utes, are said to have been rst made by the
Manambu culture heroes, Nggutabwi and his
brother Miyangganau (Newton 1971: 66).
The Manambu hand drum in the Masterpieces Exhibition (MPNr 104) does not have a
wooden handle but a single wooden loop to
their place of origin, Mivimbit, a location near

the present-day Sawos village of Gaikarobi
(Spearritt and Wassmann 1996: 61). The singing is accompanied by various musical
instruments, including hand drums. The hand
drum provides the basic rhythm for the other
instruments, notably the utes. For the
Chambri of Aibom, Spearritt reports
(1990: 536):
The hour-glass drum player is not far from
any of the ute players, because it is
essential that they be able to hear his beat
which a rattan strap may have been fastened,
very clearly this is a very responsible
or by which the drum could have been held
role and calls for a dependable drummer
with a nger or thumb. A hand drum from
with a very good rhythmic sense. Fre-
Avatip (Kelm 1968, Plate 520) has three loops
quently one of the oldest, most
for securing a rattan strap. The spiral motif
experienced men in the village is called
on MPNr 104 is related to Iatmul and Sawos
on to perform this function.
designs to the east (cf., designs on malu
Only such a man has the secret knowl-
boards of the Sawos in Kelm 1966a, Plates 28,
edge relating to the performance, the
31 and Newton 1963, and on Iatmul shields in
experience of having played all the utes in
Kelm 1966a, Plates 196, 197, 199).
the ensemble, and knows how the utes
Newton (1971: 70) comments on how the

Manambu used their hand drums after a successful headhunting raid following the
ancestors to the present village sites from
must t in with the drum rhythm.

There is great variation in the form of the
hand drums of the Iatmul of the middle
MPNr 106. Hand drum (kwangu), middle Sepik,

Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, shells,
lizard skin, bre remnants. 73 x 19 cm diameter.
12 February 1975.
MPNr 107. Hand drum (kwangu), middle Sepik,

Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, lizard
skin, bast, rubber. 77 x 15 cm diameter. E.16057.
Purchased from Barry Hoare and registered
11 February 1975.
Sepik. Some have wooden handles carved as

animals, birds or anthropomorphic masks,
such as the two in the Masterpieces
Exhibition (MPNrs 106, 107; see also Kelm
1966a, Plates 158, 159, 161, 163). Others have
rattan handles tied to loops or holes carved
into the drum (ibid., Plates 157, 160, 162).
Based on information I obtained at Kanganaman (Craig 1981: 82), hand drums, like many
carved objects among the Iatmul, may have a
personal name referring to the spirit that has
been induced to take up habitation in the
object. It is unfortunate that most collectors
failed to record these names.
Lower Sepik hand drums (such as MPNr
105), like those of the north coast and offshore islands, have a pair of triangular panels
at each end, inlled with designs that are
related to those on slit gongs and war shields
of the region. There is a carved handle, usually with symmetrically-disposed heads of
animals or anthropomorphic spirit beings
(see Haberland and Schuster 1964: 31 far left,
and 71; Kelm 1968, Plates 385, 386).
Towards the eastern end of northern New
Guinea are the Siassi Islands across the Vitiaz
Strait near Umboi (Rooke) Island, and the
Tami Islands off the southern end of the
Huon Peninsula. These two island groups
were once part of a maritime trade network
that linked the Huon Gulf peoples with the
western end of New Britain.
Tibor Bodrogi (1961: 78-83) has published
some information about hand drums of the
Huon Gulf area, in particular, hand drums of
the Tami, Yabim and Kate peoples. He notes
that, unlike the carving of wood bowls, the
carving of hand drums is not restricted to any
particular villages. Therefore, because of the
long association between the Tami Islands
and the Siassi Islands, it is probably safe to
apply to the Siassi hand drums, for example,
MPNr 105. Hand drum, Blupblup Island, Bam

speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, lizard skin.
54 x 15 cm diameter. E.14622. Collected by and
purchased from Morris Young, and registered
23 July 1974.
MPNr 103. Hand drum, Siassi Islands, Siassi

speakers, Morobe Province. Wood, lizard skin. 77 x
18 cm diameter. 76.36.197. Purchased from Island
Carvings (Morris Young) September 1975 and
glue. The little tuning lumps on the tympanum are made of the wax from stingless
Trigona bees.
To make the drum, a section of log is
stood up and secured on the stump of a tree
and the hole is cut out with an adze (formerly
of stone or Tridacna shell but now steel) at
the same time as the outside is shaped to
achieve an hourglass form. Bodrogi does not
mention burning through the log with re,
the method used by many other peoples of
New Guinea, such as the Kiwai (Landtman
1933: 69). When the shape is satisfactory, the
detailed carving is done, including the handle and often a vertical ridge on the opposite
side. The handle may be plain or carved with
animal heads (Bodrogi 1961, Fig.46b).
Around the body of the drum, intricate
motifs are incised and in-lled with white lime.
The area of the surface of the drum that is
carved has the same shape as certain
armbands, with two or four triangular areas at
each end (ibid., Figs 39-46, 230-31; for Kilenge,
Siassi and Tami drums, see Dark 1974, Illusts
99-110). This design is called yo-bela, after the
plaited bracelets, decorated with small nassa
shells, that are made in south-west New Britain.
There are usually several motifs carved
onto the surface of the drum. The wide wavy
band on MPNr 103 is probably a representation of the centipede (Yabim: kalikali) or
snake (Yabim: moa); the series of circles are
most likely Conus shell rings (Yabim: kematen)
MPNr 103, the information he gives for those
that are made by Tami women or imported
of the Tami and their neighbours.
from the Siassi Islands and used as jewellery.
Bodrogi notes that the timber used for
The ridge of wood opposite the handle
making hand drums comes from Cordia, Calo-
appears to be carved as two pairs of linked
phyllum and Afzelia species, the skin
squatting gures with bird heads at each end.
(tympanum) of the drum is usually from the
Oval, eye-like shapes hint at faces and the
Varanus indicus lizard. The skin is softened in
saw-teeth pattern is said to be i-lun (sh
water and stretched over the top edge of the
teeth) or akwa-lun (shark teeth).
drum, which has been smeared with tree sap
Men used hand drums both for
MPNr 90. Hand drum (em), Buepis village, Fajit River,

Casuarina Coast Asmat, Asmat speakers, [West]
Papua, Indonesia. Wood. 133 x 29 cm at widest
point. E.8945. Made by vendor Ofas. Collected by
Robert Mitton and registered 4 February 1972.
ceremonial and less formal occasions, to
the most important ceremony on the
accompany songs and to provide the rhythm
Bedamuni calendar. The kafoi is per-
for dances (see Dark 1974, Illusts 171-73, 175,
formed as the nal festive stage of the
177).
boys initiation ceremony (goy lgi) or at

other dramatic occasions that need
Southern New Guinea

The Asmat of the southern coast of [West]
Papua make hand drums by burning and
scraping out the log with a shell; the carving is done with an iron-nail chisel. The bird
conrmation of local cultural integrity or

identity (such as when the rst Australian
[government] patrols visited the area).
The longer, slender drum [MPNr 88] was
the common one at the time of collecting
(1978/79) and later (1988). The shorter,
beaks on the handle of the Asmat drum
more cubic-formed one [MPNr 87], how-
MPNr 90 are of the hornbill, a headhunting
ever, was the traditional Bedamuni drum
symbol. On the body of the drum, the double
until the late 1960s. It was abandoned
spiral motif is the warriors bipane shell nose-
when kafoi performances, following a
piece and the motif at the centre of each half
series of earthquakes and landslides, did
is a spirits elbow with its hands on either side
not have the desired effect. The new type
(see Gerbrands 1967: 219).
was acquired through exchange from the
The hand drum has considerable signicance for the Asmat. The creator Fumeripitsjs
built a yeu [communal mens house], made
several wood carvings, and animated them
by beating a drum. Drums are still beaten to
act out this story at the inauguration of a yeu,
Samo people [western neighbours of the

Bedamuni, near Nomad], together with
spells and knowledge of how to make and
use them. Since then, the longer drum has
been used throughout the area. The
mouth of both types of drum represents
the jaws of a crocodile.
and at other ceremonial occasions. The grips
The older shorter drum is one of only
are usually decorated with headhunting sym-
two in existence that I know of; the other
bols (Smidt 1993: 105).
one (also collected by me) being in the

collection of the National Museum for
In the Western Province of Papua New
Ethnology in Leiden. I came across the old
Guinea, to the north-west of Mount Bosavi,
type by accident, simply because my
are a number of related groups including the
museum collecting activities stimulated
Bedamuni (also called Bedamini or Beami).

Albert G. van Beek published the results
of his eldwork among the Bedamuni in 1987
but there is little information there about
the people to clean out the attic so to

speak. They were lying abandoned in two
longhouses but were not destroyed, as
drums are perhaps the only objects that
are carefully kept, apart from things made
hand drums. However, he has kindly supplied
of stone. Because of their rarity, I commis-
the following information (pers. comm. 24
sioned a number of old type drums to be
December 2003):
made by local craftsmen to ensure that
I collected two drums for the PNG
the remembrance of this type would not
National Museum from Gofabi village
be lost (they should still be in Gofabi
(near Mougulu), Bedamuni. Drums, locally
village).
called iribu, are played by men when per-
The tympanum is made of lizard skin
forming the kafoi ceremony, traditionally
(paigu). The four little lumps on the skin
MPNr 88 (right). Hand drum (iribu), Gofabi village,

Nomad River, Bedamuni (Biami) people, Beami
speakers, Western Province. Wood, lizard skin, rattan.
117 x 13 cm diameter. 81.67.2 [incorrect number;
identied as 79.84.356, collected by Albert G. van
Beek 1978-79 and registered 16 November 1979].
MPNr 87 (left). Hand drum (iribu), Gofabi village,

Nomad River, Bedamuni (Biami) people, Beami
speakers, Western Province. Wood, lizard skin.
84 x 19 cm diamryrt. 81.67.1 [incorrect number;
identied as 79.84.357, collected by Albert G. van
Beek 1978-79 and registered 16 November 1979].
are made from beeswax (lebri) and

serve to tune the drum. Although the
designs on the drums have symbolic
interpretations, these meanings are
regarded as trivial compared with the
meaning of the sound. Tuning a drum is a
time-consuming affair that starts hours
before a nightly performance and remains
a preoccupation in the breaks during the
performance. Properly tuned, the drum
has to sound two-toned, somewhat like
ba-u (from low to high) otherwise the
performance is not right. This sound is
said to be the voice of Awamuni, the culture hero that gave the Bedamuni their
cultural identity. It is said therefore that
you can hear him calling a-ta (also lowhigh) which means father-son. An
intriguing detail is that drum rhythm and
the bodily movement of the performer
should not be in phase. In fact, when a
ceremony has a number of performers
(sometimes three or four) they too will
not drum in phase. This, together with
bursts of singing from groups of young
girls in the mens sleeping area, makes the
whole performance completely
cacophonic to the untrained ear and eye,
yet strangely impressive.
The kafoi dancer is dressed much like
the Kaluli gisaro dancer [van Beek 1980 for
Bedamuni; Briggs 1980 for Kaluli]. In fact,
like the Kaluli know drum performances,
the Bedamuni know song performances,
but the cultural importance is inverted.
For a detailed description and analysis of

the signicance and use of the hand drum
among the Kaluli, who are closely related to
the Bedamuni culturally and linguistically, see
Feld (1983) and Schieffelin (1976: 149, 225).
A couple of hundred kilometres to the
south-east of Bosavi are the riverine deltas,
mangrove swamps and sandbanks of the
Papuan Gulf, inhabited by peoples linked in
MPNr 94. Hand drum, Goaribari Island, western

Papuan Gulf, Kerewo speakers, Gulf Province. Wood.
Tympanum missing. 108 cm x 15 cm diameter.
1974 and registered 24 March 1975. Published in
Smidt 1975: 19, 20, 22, and Nr 20, but with incorrect
provenance.
MPNr 96. Hand drum, attributed to Urama Island,

central Papuan Gulf, Urama-Gope speakers,
Gulf Province. Wood, lizard skin, rattan. 47 x 12
cm diameter. 77.10.18. Collected by Knezevic
and Gueroult, subsequently handed over to the
museum by the Honorary French Consul, N.F.
Maloney, and registered 19 January 1977.
the past more by trade and warfare than by

shared languages and cultures.
The open jaws of the Papuan Gulf drums
may be regarded as analogous to the jaws of
the crocodile in the western Gulf, and/or of
the wicker imunu that are kept at the far end
of the mens house in the eastern Gulf.
The drum from Goaribari Island (MPNr 94)
is similar in form to the long drums from the
Bosavi region (cf., MPNr 88). Newton states
(1961: 47) that this type of drum was made at
Dibiri, at the mouth of the Bamu River, and
was traded south-west to Kiwai Island and
north-east to Goaribari Island (or that the
Goaribari copied the Dibiri drums). He suggests a relationship between the spiral
designs on these drums and the tao (clan
insignia) of the Gogodala of the Aramia River,
a western tributary of the Bamu.
The hand drum of the central Gulf (MPNr
96) is also without a carved handle but quite
short. The carved and painted design at the
mouth of the drum is clearly related to the
designs found on the gope boards (see Newton 1961, Illusts 187, 188). One might
conjecture that the hand drum gives expression to the voice of the gope. On the other
hand, throughout the Papuan Gulf, the hand
drum is linked to the culture hero called Sido
on Kiwai Island, Hido in the western Gulf, and
Iko in the Purari Delta and further east (Newton 1961: 12).
The Namau hand drum (MPNr 95) has a
wooden handle, a characteristic of hand
drums of the eastern Gulf, and detailed
carved designs around the mouth that are
closely related to those found on bark belts,
bullroarers and magic marupai, and ultimately, though less obviously, to the designs
on the tall masks called aiaimunu by the
Namau (the equivalent of the hevehe of the
western Elema). For the Elema, and this
MPNr 95. Hand drum, attributed to Namau people,

Purari Delta, Purari speakers, Gulf Province. Wood.
Tympanum missing. 80 x 25 cm maximum diameter.
81.26.131 [original registration number lost].
MPNr 93. Hand drum, Kikori, western Papuan Gulf,

Kerewo speakers [but more likely from one of the
Elema groups of the eastern Papuan Gulf ], Gulf
Province. Wood. Tympanum missing. 59 x 16 cm
diameter. E.16269. Purchased from Barry Hoare and
would be almost certainly the case for the

Namau as well, the hand drum was essential
to the public performance of the hevehe
masks. Mamiya and Sumnik state (1982: 28),
the full term for the hevehe mask was
apa-hevehe, or drum-hevehe, since each
masquerader carried a drum whenever he
appeared in public. Because ma-hevehe
were spirits, one way in which their presence was made manifest was through
sound . . . the masks began their symbolic
lives only after delivery of the drums.
In Namau legend, the hand drum is associated with the culture hero, Iko. According to
one account of his birth (Williams 1924: 248),
his foster mother gave birth rst to a drum,
and then to him. Other legends indicate that
Iko came from the west, carrying his drum
with him rst to Urama, and then to the
villages of the Purari (ibid.: 250). Williams continues (ibid.: 251):
As he travelled he carried his drum always,
and beat it in the new villages. And the
people were astonished at the way it
seemed to speak, saying sometimes: Aiari,
Aiari; Pivai, Pivai, from which the drum
came to be known to some by the name
Aiari.
And night after night he beat his
drum and sang in the mens house of
Urama. And while he slept there in the
daytime, men would come and gaze at
him and say, Who is this giant of a man?
And it was by his drum-beating that he
got a wife in Urama. For sometimes the
drum seemed to call: Iua, Iua, Bapia, Bapia,
so that at last the people gave him a certain woman, Iua, to wife, thinking that he
was calling for her.
The legend recounts how Iko played a

role in the establishment of the Vaimuru
people, their social system and their material
culture (ibid.: 252):
MPNr 85. Hand drum (kesosau), Losuia village,

Trobriand Islands, Kilivila speakers, Milne Bay
Province. Wood. 68 x 13 cm diameter. Tympanum
missing. UCL 220 (United Church Collection, on loan
to PNG National Museum).
Iko, who had brought his drum with him
In this initial feast there is a distribution of
here also, showed the people how to beat
food, and the men, adorned in full danc-
it and how to sing. And he hung up his
ing attire, range themselves for the
drum in the ravi and always saw well to
performance, the drummers and singers
the condition of it. But many other things
in the centre of the ring formed by the
he gave to Vaimuru also, to wit, coconuts,
decorated dancers. As in a normal dance,
sago, talo [taro], and bananas, and even
standing in the central place, the singers
re itself; and above all he taught the peo-
intone a chant, the dancers begin to move
ple their ceremonies and showed them
slowly and the drummers to beat time.
rst the Aiaimunu, then the Gopi-ravi (or
But they are not allowed to proceed:
Kaiemunu), then the Upura, and lastly the
almost at the rst throb of the drums,
Keupura.
there breaks forth from inside the huts
It may be doubted whether MPNr 93 is

from Kikori. Unlike hand drums of the western Gulf (for example, MPNr 94), it has a
handle. Furthermore, the repeated design at
the wailing of those women who are still

in mourning; from behind the inner row
of houses, a crowd of shrieking, agitated
female gures rush out and attack the
dancers, beat them with sticks, and throw
both ends of the handle, and at the edge of
coconuts, stones and pieces of wood at
the mouth of the drum, is also found on
them. The men are not bound by custom
Elema arrows (Haddon 1894, Figs 47, 48). It is
to show too considerable courage and in
possible that the drum was traded westwards
a trice the drummers, who had so sol-
to Kikori from the Elema, or that the collec-
emnly initiated the performance, have
tion data is incorrect.
entirely disappeared; and the village lies

empty, for the women pursue the fugi-
Away to the east, off the tail of New Guinea,
tives. But the taboo is broken and, on the
are the numerous island groups of Milne Bay
afternoon of the same day, the rst undis-
Province. The shape of the drums from the
turbed dance of the festivities is held.
Trobriand Islands is signicantly different to

that of the drums elsewhere in Papua New
Guinea, in being curved (see MPNr 85 and
Beran 1980, Plates 104, 105).
Trobriand drums are carved from heavy
kwila wood (meku) because of its durability.
They are used for dances (ilowosi) and sometimes just to beat out a rhythm (ligai). They
are played with other drums, including the
tiny nger-drum (katuneniya). Although the
men own the drums, they are usually kept in
the family houses.
Malinowski reports (1929: 38-9) that milamala, the annual season of dancing and
feasting held after the harvest, is inaugurated
by a ceremony to break the taboo on playing
the hand drum.
MPNr 98. Trumpet (kwi), middle Sepik, Iatmul

speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, shell. 60 x 10
cm diameter. E.4561. Registered 20 November 1969.
Trumpets
have been purchased and illegally exported,

as it was not in Palimbei village during a rou-
Trumpets may be end-blown or side-blown,

made of bamboo, gourd, conch shell or wood,
and were used primarily for signalling, but
tine museum check in the 1990s.

Who carved these two trumpets is not
known. I was told in 1981:
sometimes for musical purposes. They have a
they date back to the beginning of
scattered distribution in the Bismarck Archi-
things when the Sepik basin was a huge,
pelago and New Guinea, with a concentration
swampy lagoon called Mevenbit. But one
in northern New Guinea (McLean 1994: 24-7,
day the Sepik broke through at Kopar and
35-7, 45-7). In the Border Mountains of West
the lagoon drained away into the sea.
Sepik Province, several end-blown wooden
Back in those early times, the area was
trumpets of different sizes are used together
inhabited by two groups of people Nauwa
in an ensemble, each trumpet sounding a dif-
(big brother) and Masam (little brother).
ferent tone, so that together a melody can be
These two groups are said to have founded
played. On the upper Sepik (Kelm 1966b,
the rst settlements on the Sepik at Shotmeri
Plates 141, 230-31; Swadling et al. 1988,
and Kararau.
Plate 242), and on the middle Sepik mainstream (Craig 1987, Plates 32, 34; Kelm 1966a,
Plates 175-87) and southern tributaries,
wooden trumpets were used for signalling
success in an enterprise such as hunting, but
especially in warfare. On the middle Sepik,
the side-blown trumpets sometimes were
notched to indicate how many enemies had
been killed on each raid (for example, Craig
1987, Plate 34, right; Kelm 1966a, Plates 180,
185).
No details are known about MPNr 98. It
can be observed, however, that there is a single notch below the mouth hole, suggesting
it has been used to celebrate the killing of at
least one enemy person.
The unusually large side-blown trumpet,
Kasapange (MPNr 99), also has one tally notch.
Kasapange (also recorded with the name
Miwan) had a companion piece, named Wispange (Fig. 91), at Indabu village. Wispange was
gazetted as National Cultural Property on 23
December 1971 and was photographed at
Palimbei village during a routine check of
National Cultural Property in 1982 (Craig 1987,
Plate 32). Some time afterwards, it appears to
MPNr 99. Trumpet (kul or yambalam?), personal

name Kasapange; Wombun village, middle Sepik,
Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, 126 x 18
cm. E.10510. Purchased by Dirk Smidt on behalf of
the National Museum and registered 16 November
1972.
Fig. 91. Wood trumpet named Wispange, at Palimbei

village, Iatmul speakers, middle Sepik. Gazetted
as National Cultural Property 23 December 1971.
Photo: B. Craig, M8: 30; 14 September 1982.
MPNr 97. Water drum, middle Sepik, Iatmul

speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 155 x 30 cm
diameter. E.349. Collected by Dadi Wirz in 1955
and registered 7 December 1956. Published in a
photograph of an exhibition in the PNG Museum
around 1965 (TPNGMAG 1966, Plate opp. p.26,
extreme right).
Water drums, mud-beater drums and

sacred utes
Water drums and mud-beater drums are
The mud-beater drum is like an upturned
technically stamping drums and are found
wooden bowl tied to the end of a long, thick
only in the middle Sepik area, most nota-
rattan or bamboo handle and stamped into
bly among the Iatmul. They are usually made
the muddy bottom of a hole about a metre
and used in pairs, like the sacred utes. Also
deep, producing a very low pitched sudden
like the utes (and bullroarers), they are kept
bang This is done inside a screen fence
secret from women and children and the
which the novices must break through to
sound is regarded as the voice of a spirit.
gain their way to the secret (Bateson 1932:
The water drum is the size and shape of
453 caption to Plate X). This type of drum is
an hourglass hand drum, left open at both
called kami or sh. There are usually carved
ends, but with one or two handles. MPNr 97 is
representations of the sh on top of the
rather unusual in that its handles are shaped
drum, as in the examples here (MPNrs 101,
like that of a hand drum. Usually they have
102 and Fig. 92). Newton (1971: 67 and Illust.
one or two thin uprights terminated by
109) reports that among the Manambu, up
human or animal heads, to act as handles, as
the Sepik west of the Iatmul, these are identi-
for MPNrs 91-2 (Craig 1987, Plate 25; Kelm
ed as catsh and that the pit into which the
1966a, Plates 153-54). The handle is held and
instruments are plunged is lled with water
the instrument is stamped onto a pool of
(rather than mud).
water. This is done inside an enclosure that

has been erected around the mens house.
The mud-beater drum is like an upturned
wooden bowl tied to the end of a long, thick
rattan or bamboo handle and stamped into
the muddy bottom of a hole about a metre
deep, producing a very low pitched sudden
bang This is done inside a screen fence
which the novices must break through to
gain their way to the secret (Bateson 1932:
453 caption to Plate X). This type of drum is
called kami or sh. There are usually carved
representations of the sh on top of the
drum, as in the examples here (MPNrs 101,
102 and Fig. 92). Newton (1971: 67 and Illust.
109) reports that among the Manambu, up
the Sepik west of the Iatmul, these are identied as catsh and that the pit into which the
instruments are plunged is lled with water
(rather than mud).
MPNr 91 (right). Water drum, Chambri Lake, middle

Sepik, Chambri speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood,
cassowary feathers, shell. 99 x 21 cm diameter.
E.8848. Purchased from Sepik Primitive Arts,
Madang and registered 30 December 1971.
MPNr 92 (left). Water drum paired with Nr 91.

Chambri Lake, middle Sepik, Chambri speakers, East
Sepik Province. Wood, cassowary feathers, shell. 80
x 19 cm diameter. E.8847. Purchased from Sepik
Primitive Arts, Madang and registered 30 December
1971. Published in TPNGPMAG 1976a, Plate p. 50
(incorrect height).
MPNr 101 (top). Mud-beater drum (kami), pair to

Nr 102, attributed to Palimbei village, middle Sepik,
Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood. 46 x 23
cm. E.7301. Registered 11 February 1971.
MPNr 102 (middle). Mud-beater drum (kami), pair

to Nr 101, attributed to Palimbei village, middle
Sepik, Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood.
54 x 25 cm. E. 7300. Registered 11 February 1971.
Fig. 92 (bottom). Pair of mud-beater drums, named

Aramambun and Tomtei, at Palimbei village, Iatmul
speakers, middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig, M16: 16;
4 November 1981.
MPNrs 101 and 102 were registered in 1971

without information about collector or village of origin. In 1981 (Craig 1981: 98) I
photographed two almost identical mudbeater drums (Fig. 92) that were carved
around 1970-71 by Marisuva and Yamankan
of Palimbei. They are copies of two that were
sold to Barry Hoare of Madang. The two
drums, original and copies, were named Aramambun and Tomtei. It is possible that the
two in the Masterpieces exhibition are the
two original drums from Palimbei, as it was
around 1970-71 that the museum began to
purchase items from Barry Hoare.
Sacred utes are clan property, kept in the
mens cult house. They are invariably made of
bamboo and are side-blown (Craig 1987,
Plate 27; Kelm 1966a, Plates 188-90), each
with a different but complementary note.
They are played in pairs (Fig. 93), sometimes
several pairs, with the players facing each
other, the rhythm supplied by a hand drum. If
several pairs of utes are played, a continuous melody can be constructed (Spearritt
1990). The sounds are believed to be the
voices of certain spirits (Yamada 1997) whose
names are given to the utes. The utes have
wood stoppers at the proximal end, carved in
the form of animals, birds or humans representing clan totems or ancestors.
MPNrs108, 109. Pair of sacred utes (and detail of their stoppers), middle Sepik, Iatmul speakers, East Sepik
Province. Bamboo, wood, rattan, shells, human hair. 240 and 260 cm long, respectively. E.1088.2, E.1088.3. Two
of six utes collected by Charles Julius (Government Anthropologist) and registered 2 June 1964. The gures
at the end of the utes appear to have been carved by the same man.
Fig. 93. Pair of old utes named Man-galan being

demonstrated at Yentschan village, Iatmul speakers,
middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig, C11: 23; 30 October
1981.
Fig. 94 (opposite page). Sulka hemlaut mask named

Bethlehem (now in PNG Museum), at Guma village,
Sulka speakers, Wide Bay, East New Britain Province.
Photo: B. Craig, C5: 32; 6 January 1982.
Fig. 95. Ariaso masks in shelter, Wurabai village,

Kwomtari speakers, upper Sepik basin. Photo:
M.J. Lewis, January 1963; South Australian Museum
archives, AA180.
MASKS
As stated in the Introduction to this book,
men wearing masks and performing at cere-
of mystication and therefore respect for the
human skulls and hair. After contact with Euro-
spirits, to deect the audience from everyday
peans, glass beads, wire, metal, cloth and, more
perception (Schwimmer 1990: 12).
recently, plastics have been incorporated.
The spirits inhabiting the masks may be
The carved wood face is rarely the whole
monies are not merely representing spirits,
ancestral, or nature spirits that normally
mask. There is usually a framework of some
they are spirits. The attempt to ensure
inhabit particular features in the environ-
sort to which the wooden face is attached.
women do not view the manufacturing of
ment. Some of the more complex masks, such
The framework may serve to hide the wearer
masks and that they do not nd out that the
as the hemlaut masks of the Sulka of East
of the mask and tower above the audience.
masks are worn by their own men is a matter
New Britain Province (Fig. 94), incorporate
This is remarkably so for the Awar, Gamei, and
that has been misunderstood by many writ-
motifs that depict episodes in legends, indig-
Kire (Giri) of the lower Ramu River (Lewis
ers. Of course, the women know that their
enous and European (Craig 1995: 47-8); and
1922, Smidt and Eoe 1999, and van den Berg
men make the masks, and of course they
as well as traditional themes, the eharo of
1992 respectively), the Abelam of the Sepik
often recognise their own men wearing
Orokolo alluded to features of colonial Euro-
coastal ranges (Forge 1973b: 73), the Wantoat
them. But that is not the point. They believe,
pean culture (Specht 1988: 34, Plate 1; Young
of the Finisterre Range (Schmitz 1963, Illusts
as do the men themselves, that the mask is
and Clark 2001: 201).
13, 24-8, 35), the Baining of the Gazelle
the material form the spirit inhabits for its
The materials from which masks are made
Peninsula (Hesse and Aerts 1982, Plates 18, 19
appearance among humans at the ceremony
vary widely. They include wood, rattan, leaves,
top), and the Sulka of Wide Bay (Fig. 94), East
it has been summoned to attend. The
bark cloth and other plant materials; feathers,
New Britain, and for the Elema of the eastern
attempt at secrecy is to preserve an element
fur and animal skin; shells, teeth and tusks; and
Papuan Gulf (Williams 1940). Some masks
MPNr 56. Mask (ariaso), Kwomtari village,

Amanab area, Kwomtari speakers, West Sepik
Province. Bark cloth, rattan, feathers. 280 x 90 cm.
E.14173. Obtained from B. Juillerat and registered
24 April 1974.
may even be carried by several men, such as

some on the lower and middle Sepik River
(Kaufmann 1975, Plate 86; Sthr 1987, Plate
33). As Schwimmer (1990: 11) points out,
spirits are often referred to in Papua
New Guinea as larger than men, [and]
masks are likewise often larger. One might
say that masked gures are as large as
actors can conveniently handle, but the
spirits represented may be conceptualized as larger still.
Upper Sepik region

Amanab is an administrative centre in the
Border Mountains, looking east over Kwomtari territory in the upper Sepik basin. The
mask from the Kwomtari people (MPNr 56),
called ariaso, was used in sickness curing ceremonies (also called ariaso). An animal killed
by the sick person, always either a snake
or something associated with water, such
as a crocodile, eel or sh, was seen as the
cause of the illness and its image was represented at the centre of the mask. However,
it was a dead ancestor or a non-human forest spirit, who had become the guardian of
the particular animal killed by the sick person while hunting or shing, who was the
ultimate source of the malevolence. The ceremony sought to exorcise that malevolence
from the sick person. Sicknesses associated
with the spirits of other animals required different types of masks and ceremonies. Similar
beliefs, along with associated masking traditions, are widespread throughout the upper
Sepik basin and the Torricelli Mountains (Craig
1980, Huber 1990, Juillerat 1986, Kelm and
Kelm 1980, McGregor 1982, Mitchell 1975) and
even farther to the north-west in the Ya area
of [West] Papua (Hoogerbrugge 1995).
The ariaso mask in the Masterpieces Exhibition has no animal drawn in the central
MPNr 52 (opposite page, left). Mask (mai), middle

Sepik, Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood,
rattan, shells. 58 x 9 cm. E.516 (one of thirteen
masks registered under this number on 24
September 1958). Published in TPNGMAG 1966,
Plate opp. p.24, below left-of-centre.
Fig. 96. Mai mask named Woliang-ginjan mounted

on a conical mask frame, Korogo village, Iatmul
speakers, middle Sepik. Photo: B. Craig, C6: 29;
25 October 1981.
white oval and was therefore not assigned to
only three illnesses scheduled for treatment,
that the masks remained unpainted, however,
cure a particular illness. There were usually
there had to be a fourth mask. A photograph
until the eve of the ceremony. During this
four masks danced together at each ariaso
(Fig. 95) by M.J. Lewis of four? masks in an
period of several months, the sick persons
ceremony. Bernard Juillerat collected four at
open-sided shelter at Wurabai,26 seems to
and those intended to dance the masks
Ianbi village (Kwomtari speakers) two for
conrm this.
observed certain food taboos and refrained
the PNG National Museum and two for the
Lewis was told that more than one man
from sex; songs were sung almost every
Muse de lHomme (now Muse du quai
was needed to make a mask, which was con-
night. The women participated in the singing,
Branly) in Paris. The documentation for the
structed within a special shelter so as not to
and were spectators at the ceremonies in
masks in Paris states that even if there were
be observed by women. Juillerat was told
which the masks were danced while the men

beat the hand drums, going around and
around a sacred enclosure in which the sick
people were located. Lewis was told that
poor garden crops also were reasons for
dancing the masks. After the ceremonies, the
masks were left in the shelter to rot.
Middle Sepik River

The Iatmul mai mask, according to some
sources, gets its name from the little nassa
shells (mai) with which it is usually decorated
(MPNr 52 does not have its shell decoration). These masks are attached to a profusely
adorned conical mask frame (Fig. 96 and
Meyer 1995, Plate 234) worn during certain
ceremonies by young men representing and
bearing the names of pairs of clan ancestral
brothers and sisters.
They also may bear the names of what
Wassmann calls primal beings (such as Wolindambwi) who rank above the clan ancestors
(Hauser-Schublin 1983: 41; Wassmann 1991:
161). Hauser-Schublin (ibid.) discusses a possible link between the mai mask and Moiem,
the creator of sago (nau), but concludes that
the signicance of mai masks remains elusive. I
was told by Asumbwi of Korogo (Craig 1981:
67) that mai masks are performed
to celebrate yam and taro harvests
The mask is worn by the owners sisters
children. The owners kill a pig and give it
to their cousins [nephews and nieces?].
Red and green cordyline leaves [and
MPNr 51. Mask (mai), Korogo village, middle Sepik,

Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, rattan,
shells, pig tusks, human hair. 50 x 9 cm. 81.47.1.
Donated by Allyn Miller, 7 July 1981.
feathers and other plant materials] are

used to dress the mask. Sometimes both
male and female masks are [performed].
The masks may carry a long stick to hit the
women on the backside. The ceremony is
to ensure garden fertility.
The Iatmul say that the mai tradition originated from somewhere to the north, in the
Prince Alexander Mountains, that is, from the
region presently inhabited by the Abelam
and Boiken.
MPNr 57. Mask (awan), Mindimbit, middle Sepik,

Iatmul speakers, East Sepik Province. Rattan, shells,
clay, human hair, bre. 219 x 61 cm (including
skirt). 81.26.128 [original registration number lost
but identied as E.16207; purchased from Wayne
Heathcote and registered 12 February 1975].
MPNr 51, with its long and narrow facial

plane, is typical of western Iatmul villages,
although its concave surface with projecting
cylindrical eyes is rather unusual, perhaps
more typical of representations of the waken
spirits.
MPNr 52 is probably western Iatmul, possibly from Sapandai (Japandai) as the face is
almost identical in style to the head of an
orators stool from that village (Haberland
and Schuster 1964: 67, right). The bird at the
end of the long nose is a clan totem.
The large woven rattan mask MPNr 57 has
a representation of a bird on top, possibly
saragwa, the megapode or bush fowl (cf.,
Bateson 1932: 452 and Plate VII, right). This
bird is a totemic ancestor of Mwailambu clan
in Mindimbit (in Kandingei, the megapode is
the principal totem of the Yambune/Ngama
clan Wassmann 1991: 219). In songs that are
sung at death ceremonies for ordinary men
and women, the most important totem, usually a bird, is featured. It is lured by its
particular slit-gong rhythm and the songs are
then commenced. They tell the story of the
bird being born at Mivimbit, the origin of the
Iatmul clans in Sawos territory. It is
at rst astonished and bewildered, lights
the rst re, cleans up the future place of
settlement and builds the rst house,
adorns and decorates itself like a headhunter who commands respect and puts
a war shield in its canoe, loads it with
chattels and thus leaves the rst place of
settlement (ibid.: 57).
This part of the series of songs is much

the same for all the clans. The totem bird then
leaves Mivimbit along a particular route, different for the various clans, and builds a nest
on a grass island, lays several eggs and
watches its young hatch out. This is followed
by shorter songs that introduce the other
MPNr 46. Mask, collected at Watam village but

attributed to the Mundugumor people, Yuat River,
Biwat speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, rattan
and nassa shells. 36 x 18 cm. E.16406. Seized in 1972.
Donated by Customs 1974. Registered 24 March
1975. Published in Smidt 1975: 56 and TPNGPMAG
1974a, Plate opp. p. vii.
important animal totems of the clan. The

story as recounted by the songs may be
interpreted as a metaphor for the well-being
and multiplication desired for the members
of the clan, a concern that would require
reassurance when someone dies.
Not a great deal has been published
about the signicance of awan masks. Forge
states (1973a: 172) that awan masks are
clearly associated with the clan as a provider
of other peoples mothers and the function of
male clan members as mothers brothers to
non-clan members. Thus the awan mask is
worn by the nephews (sisters sons) of the
male members of the clan to which the mask
belongs (Bateson 1932: 452). They are not
secret-sacred and may be seen by any members of the household when not in use.
Yuat River
MPNr 46 is denitely a Yuat style mask (cf.,
Kelm 1968, Plates 206-10; Sthr 1987, Plate
59; Wardwell 1994: 56-7). It was most likely
traded down the Sepik to the place from
where it was collected. According to Smidt
(1975: 56), such masks represent ancestral
spirits associated with particular clans and
were attached to special mask costumes for
ceremonies. He notes a similar mask attached
to a large crocodile gure constructed of
rattan and palm spathes at Kambrambo
(Kambaramba), located between the Yuat
and Keram rivers (Schuster 1968, Plate 82;
see also Kaufmann 1975, Plate 86; both photographs taken by Speiser in 1930). At an
initiation ceremony, these crocodile gures were each carried by several men, and
initiates were pushed into their jaws to be
devoured and reborn. It is not known for
what purpose this particular mask was used
at Watam village.
Lower Sepik region

All three masks from the lower Sepik (MPNrs
45, 48, 41) are brag masks representing ances-
MPNr 45. Mask, Watam village, lower Sepik, Watam

E.16059. Purchased from Barry Hoare. Registered
11 February 1975.
tors or mythical beings and have personal

names. Each mask is usually fastened to a
small frame of sticks (Fig. 97) and then stored
on a shelf in the ceiling of the mens house.
The spirits of these masks are evoked during
important occasions such as the building of
a cult house or canoe, or at the initiation of
young men. Lipset (1997: 135-39, 161) characterises the brag spirit as male and warlike,
seducing women and devouring young initiates before spitting them back to their
mothers as adult men.
I was told (Craig 1981: 157) that the brag
masks were consulted before headhunting
raids and given food and blood. After a successful raid, the severed head of the victim
was rubbed on the masks so they could drink
the blood; the young men likewise drank the
blood of the severed head to make them
strong and fearless in battle. For such ritual
acts, the mask was not attached to a dance
costume but to a small frame in the cult
house where it was stored as noted above.
The description of such an event, by the
Catholic priest Father Joseph Schmidt
(quoted by Lipset 1997: 197), is startlingly
vivid:
the men of Janain [Jangimut] were
opening a new spirit house named Bungabwar.
27
They went out and got a man
from Ariapan and brought back his head.

Brag masks came down from the
houses. They were richly decorated and
shook as they surrounded the head. The
spirit [mask] slurped at the blood about
the head and then shoved it to the next
mask. Blood dripped from the mouths of
the masks.
On 22 November [1918], in the evening,
MPNr 48. Mask, attributed to Murik Lakes-Lower

Sepik area, East Sepik Province. Wood. 30 x 16 cm.
81.26.106. [Original registration number lost].
Fig. 97. Four brag masks in mens cult house (taab) named Keison, Karau village, Murik speakers, Murik Lakes. Photo: B. Craig, C3: 32; 25 September 1983.
Left to right (information from Craig 1981: 172):
Gelamamun, carved by Ikun of Karau with steel tools prior to World War I.
Mambura, bought by Bei-ibo from Watam village with dogs teeth and baskets, c.1870s; jaglep (a lizard) totem on forehead.
Damei, bought by Yakeni from Watam village, c. 1870s; munimunik (a small black water bird) totem on forehead.
Wangar, carved by Emang of Karau prior to World War I, as a copy of an older mask (named Wangar Tarego) bought from Watam, and located at Wokumot hamlet of
Big Murik in 1981; munimunik (a small black water bird) totem on forehead.
the men entered the taab in procession
possessed by the spirit of the mask and asks
mid 19th century. Gweim is an evil mask and
with torches and noise; the procession
about the illness to determine who caused it.
killed many men and women, so the people
was even frolicsome. [Inside], men danced
The mask MPNr 45 from Watam village
of Gapun got rid of it by passing it on to
before the masks and the head, and
has the beak-like nose of the male war spirit
Arero of Karau at Murik Lakes, who lived
stained the snake head motifs carved at
(Lipset 1997: 135) as does MPNr 41, and is
seven generations ago.28
the ends of the ridgeposts with blood. All

night in the taab, men sang the spells of
the brag spirit. The next day, they heated
up a big pot of water at the beach and
boiled loose the esh of the head. The
richly carved with swirling incised lines,
This is how Arero acquired Gweim. Arero
dentates and zigzags that emphasize its
was from Karau but living at Mendam
aggressive qualities.
(presumably he married a Mendam woman).
No details are known about MPNr 48
His son died and he believed that Mendam
wajak [of the man who threw the rst
except that it was in the museums collec-
people had poisoned him (by sorcery). Arero
spear] cleaned the esh from the skull and
tions before Dirk Smidt began working there
left Mendam and went on a journey looking
set it out in the sun to dry. Afterwards, the
in 1970 (pers. comm. 19 May 2004).
for a means of revenge. He came to Gapun
skull was hung in the cult house. [Schmidt

1923-24: 700]
According to information I obtained at
and there the people were performing a
Mendam village, Murik Lakes (Craig 1981:
sing-sing (ceremony) that involved a stone
Brag masks were also used to determine
168), Gweim (MPNr 41) was carved by Wiki at
spear that accompanied the mask Gweim.
the cause of a persons illness. A mixture of
the village of Gapun, several kilometres south
Arero gave them a dogs head that he had
coconut and sago is fried and offered to the
of Watam Lagoon. This was well before the
placed in an adze-basket (Fig. 99). In return,
mask. The oldest clansman is a shaman. He is
Germans came to the Sepik, perhaps early to
they gave him Gweim, the stone spear and

MPNr 41. Mask (brag), personal name Gweim;

Gapun village, lower Sepik, Gapun speakers, East
Sepik Province. Wood, rattan, shell. 104 x 28 cm.
E.16415, plus small mask 80.7.1 attached at the top.
Bought by Wayne Heathcote at Mendam village,
Murik Lakes. Seized in 1972, donated by Customs
in 1974 and registered 24 March 1975. Gazetted as
National Cultural Property on 23 December 1971.
Published in Beier and Aris 1975: 22 and Figs 1a-1d;
Smidt 1975: 52-3 and TPNGPMAG 1974a, Plate
opp. p. iv.
Fig. 98. The small mask (registered 80.7.1) attached

to the original Gweim mask. Photo: James Spiers,
1981.
Fig. 99. The adze basket named Eimora, associated

with the brag mask Gweim, Mendam village, Murik
speakers, Murik Lakes. Photo: B. Craig, M33: 10;
22 November 1981.
three black palm spears and, after the cere-
Fig. 100. Mask carved in 1972 by Mantarei of

Mendam village, Murik speakers, Murik Lakes,
as a replacement for the original mask Gweim
(MPNr 41). The small stone spear that accompanied
the original Gweim is to the right of the mask.
Photo: B. Craig, M32: 36; 22 November 1981.
The replacement Gweim has two small
mony was complete, they returned the
carvings tied at the top of its head, one
adze-basket. Arero used the three spears to
carved as a miniature brag mask and the
kill some men of the Mindamot clan who he
other as a mask with a long bird-like beak.
believed were responsible for his sons death.
The small mask registered 80.7.1 (Fig. 98),
Arero was of Mangaren clan and even today,
identied and returned by Douglas Newton,
whenever Mangaren have a dispute with
is the original of the miniature long-beaked
Mindamot clan, they perform a ritual to acti-
mask. Presumably there was an original of
vate Gweim against them.
the miniature brag mask too.
The small mask attached to the top of
In 1981, Mantarei was the custodian of
the kekekaur bird. At Darapap (Craig 1981:
Gweim was in place when Gweim was photo-
the replacement mask as well as of the stone
153) I recorded kekeko as the name of the
graphed prior to being gazetted as National
spear given to Arero. Sanimba of Mendam
kookaburra; this might be the Rufous-bellied
Cultural Property on 23 December 1971
was custodian of one of the palm wood
Giant Kingsher (Dacelo gaudichaud) (Gould
(Smidt 1975: 52-3). It must have been
spears (called Ataper) and of the adze and
1970: 126-27). Beier and Aris were told (1975:
removed prior to 10 June 1972 when Gweim,
adze-basket named Eimora. The other two
22) that the row of spikes at the top of the
along with many other objects, was seized in
spears were held at Darapap and one of the
nose represents the crest of the cockatoo
Madang to prevent it from being removed
hamlets of Big Murik.
(irekirek); Smidt recorded (1975: 52) that these
illegally from the country (ibid.: 3). The small
According to Beier and Aris (1975: 22),
spikes are called jaboag, the same term used
mask was sent illegally to the United States of
Mantare (sic) was the owner of the original
for the barbs of the sacred spears. The four-
America but in due course was handed over
Gweim but they were told it was carved at
pointed design around the mouth is birin
to Douglas Newton of the Museum of Primi-
Wongan, a Murik village that is not situated
(star). The sh on the brow is akok (a shark),
tive Art in New York by an anonymous
on a sandbank like Mendam but slightly
the vehicle and totem of the spirit of the
person, and passed on to the PNG authorities
inland in the bush. However, this is inaccurate
mask. The pair of curved forms either side of
in January 1980. It was registered 11 July
as Wongan is not a Murik village but is on the
the sharks head and the masks nose repre-
1980.
southern shore of Watam Lagoon, east of the
sent the pig tusk nose ornament (mangeb)
Sepik mouth. However, it is signicant that
worn by warriors. All these characteristics add
negotiating for the purchase of the original
the walking trail leading south to Gapun
up to an impression of loud aggression, con-
Gweim, a replacement mask (Fig. 100) was
commences at Wongan.
sistent with the masks fearsome reputation.
In 1972, when Wayne Heathcote was
carved by Gweims custodian, Mantarei of

Yamda clan in Mendam.
Beier and Aris were informed that the

sharp nose of Gweim represents the beak of
MPNr 42 (left). Mask, Wogeo Island, Wogeo speakers,

Donated by J.K. McCarthy. Registered 18 February 1975.
MPNr 43 (right). Mask, Wogeo Island, Wogeo
speakers, East Sepik Province. Wood, rattan. 34 x 16
cm. E.16241. Donated by J.K. McCarthy. Registered
18 February 1975.
Wogeo Island
Wogeo (Wokeo, Vokeo) Island is at the western end of the Schouten Islands archipelago.
These islands, roughly 50 kilometres off the
north coast of New Guinea stretching from
opposite Wewak to opposite the mouth of
the Ramu River, were part of the extensive
north coast trade network documented by
Tiesler (1969-70). It is not surprising then that
Wogeo Island shares many cultural features
with the coastal Sepik-Ramu region.
The principal ethnographic eldwork on
Wogeo was carried out by Ian Hogbin in
1934. His book on the religion of Wogeo
(1970) provides some information about the
social context of masking. Hogbin states that
the masks are of similar general design
except that the shape and length of the nose
differs (1970: 62). He illustrates two such
masks (ibid.: 60), one of which has a long
beak-like nose and the other has a relatively
short, naturalistic nose, but he does not
explain the signicance of the difference.
MPNrs 42 and 43 are examples of these two
types.
Wogeo Islanders believe in several types
of supernatural beings, one of which Hogbin
calls spirit monsters (1970: 58). There are two
categories the lewa (also the word for
mask) and the nibek (meaning ute). The
lewa spirits are associated with the lesser
food distributions (walage) held for the residents of a single district and the nibek spirits
are associated with the elaborate festivals
(warabwa) in which the guests come from
different parts of the island. These two
categories each consist of bush spirits and
village spirits. Bush lewa impose a ban on the
collection of certain bush crops and bush
nibek ban harvesting of plantation crops such
as bananas and areca nuts. Village lewa ban
Fig. 101 (opposite page, bottom). Wogeo masked

dancer, c. 1934-35. Australian Museum Archives:
series 339, H.I. Hogbin Photographs; Vokeo Album,
A. 3.80.
MPNr 50. Mask, Keram River, Kambot speakers? East Sepik Province. Wood. 24 x 15 cm. E.16080. Purchased
the harvesting of coconuts and village nibek

ban the killing of domestic pigs. Impersonation of three of the four types of spirit
monsters is by imitation of their voices bullroarers for the bush lewa, leaf whistles and
bamboo trumpets for the bush nibek, and
bamboo utes for the village nibek. The village lewa are represented by masked dancers
(tangbwal).
The village headman has the right to
arrange for the appearance of the spirit monsters and he it is who owns a couple of
wooden masks, usually inherited, that are
attached to the village lewa spirits costumes
(Fig. 101). These spirits ensure that there are
sufcient resources available for celebration
of such occasions as the headmans daughters rst menstruation or the intra-district
and inter-district food distributions that will
bring prestige to the headman.
The rst appearance of a village lewa does
not require the use of a wooden mask. This is
the mother lewa, represented by a young
man wearing a conical spathe over his head
and pads on his body, swathed in womens
skirts to give the appearance of a heavily
pregnant woman. Later in the proceedings,
she gives birth to twins and her offspring are
the male spirits wearing the wooden masks.
Each twin wears voluminous skirts and the
mask attached to a large wicker cone topped
with human hair and adorned with shells,
dogs teeth, boars tusks, strips of possum fur,
bird-of-paradise skins and other feathers. The
two masks dance to the rhythm of hand
drums and slit-gongs, facing each other, holding a seed rattle in one hand and a spear in
the other (see illustration in Hogbin 1970: 64).
The dancing is vigorous and tiring so the
masks pause regularly to allow other men to
take over the role. Everyone joins in the
dancing and feasting.
MPNr 44. Mask, attributed to Dinam village, Ruboni

Range, Mikarew speakers, Madang Province. Wood,
rattan. 52 x 21 cm. E.16070. Purchased from Barry
The rst public performance of the masks

signals the beginning of the ban on the collection of ripe coconuts and they continue to
perform, at least all day once a week, for three
or four months until there are sufcient ripe
coconuts available for the big food distribution. The departure of the lewa spirits is then
orchestrated and the food distribution takes
place. The event reafrms kinship ties and
obligations and brings the headman much
prestige. As one Wogeo man explained to
Hogbin (1970: 71): You Europeans look on
provisions as something just to stuff yourselves with, but to us in Wogeo they are for
display and admiration as well. They are twice
as important to us as to you.
Keram and Lower Ramu Rivers

MPNr 50 is from the Keram River, according
to Barry Hoare. It is difcult to be condent
about this information but it is certainly
from within the Lower Sepik or Lower Ramu
region. The at ovals around the eyes and the
projections on the cheeks are characteristics
sometimes found on masks of this region.The
relatively naturalistic nose shape suggests
a representation of an ancestor spirit rather
than of a male war spirit (brag) which is usually characterised by a long, beak-like nose.
Barry Hoare claimed that MPNr 44 also
was from the Keram River whereas Rudi
Caesar stated in 1978 that the mask was from
Dinam in the Ruboni Range, some 15 kilometres east of the Ramu River. The style of this
mask is different to those from the Keram
River (cf., mask from Keram River illustrated in
Sthr 1987: 54). Dirk Smidt (pers. comm. 19
May 2004) reports that in May 1977 he saw
similar masks at Abegini (Abegani), about a
kilometre from Dinam. He was informed that
the spirit in such masks fosters the supply of
MPNr 49. Mask, also described as a skull holder;

attributed to Igana village, Guam River, Igana
E.10439. Donated by Rudi Caesar and registered
11 October 1972.
food. The masks have personal names but the

name for MPNr 44 was not recorded.
Middle Ramu Guam River area

MPNrs 49 and 53 were both said to have
come from Romkun village but that information is unreliable. The pieces may have been
collected at Romkun but taken there for sale
from neighbouring locations.
MPNr 49 might not be a mask, or only a
mask, but a skull holder (cf., Kelm 1968, Plates
238-39). According to Dirk Smidt (per. comm.
19 May 2004), it is most likely from Igana
village, upstream neighbours of the
Kominimung on the Guam River. Smidt has
seen similar masks at Igana, and Igana was
given as the likely origin by the trader Jeff
Liversidge and by his assistant William Siep.
The mask MPNr 53 is almost identical to
the Kominimung masks described by Smidt
(1990a). The difference is mainly in the carving of the eyes, which are small and slanted
on this mask rather than large and vertical as
on the Kominimung masks published by
Smidt. Also there is a projecting vertical hook
at the top of the mask, perhaps a clan symbol,
whereas Kominimung clan symbols are usually carved in shallow relief. Smidt favours the
Kominimung provenance; Liversidge and
Siep thought either Kominimung or Igana
(Dirk Smidt, per. comm. 19 May 2004).
The information Smidt obtained about
Kominimung masks may therefore be
applied to this one. Smidt states (1990a: 516)
that the Kominimung masks represent bwongogo, a type of mythical ancestor spirit. Every
man and woman is associated with several
bwongogo and through these individual
associations, each bwongogo is linked to a
certain clan.
The masks are individually named and
may be male or female. The functions of male
MPNr 53. Mask, attributed to Kominimung village,

Guam River, Kominimung speakers, Madang
Province. Wood, rattan, bre. 83 x 20 cm (ignoring
rattan cap). E.16414. Seized Collection 1972,
donated by Customs in 1974 and registered
24 March 1975. Published in Smidt 1975: 92, 94
Nr 102 and TPNGPMAG 1974a, front cover.
and female masks are different. The female

masks are associated with gardening, in particular with the growing and harvesting of
yams, and in that context are called mothers
of the yams. Smidt (1990a: 516-17) describes
their use:
Performances with them take place at the
time of the yam harvest at the end of the
dry season. On such an occasion a
number of masks may be used in the
same performance. Masked dancers leave
the mens house one after another and,
after dancing within the fence constructed around the mens house, parade
through the village in strict order Each
category of bwongogo has its own type of
music. The dancers masked as mothers of
the yams hold pairs of clapsticks in their
hands; in contrast to those representing
other bwongogo, they do not hold hand
drums. Inside the mens house, the sacred
utes are blown and the slit-gongs are
beaten The mothers of the yams hand
out the rst yams to [the women and children] saying We have harvested the
yams. You must eat these now
While the female masks are associated
with gardening, the male masks are associated with hunting, especially the
hunting of pigs In former times the
bwongogo also played a role with regard
to warfare, stirring up the men to ght
their enemies and helping them to be
successful warriors Some informants
indicated that certain male masks play a
role in initiation ceremonies in connection
with the one-legged gures used to beat
the initiates. [see MPNr 153]
MPNr 54. Mask (naboyo), Siassi Islands, Siassi

speakers, Morobe Province. Wood, bre, turtle shell,
cassowary feathers. 72 x 22 cm. 81.26.107 [original
registration number lost].
North-east New Guinea and Bismarck

Archipelago
Several groups in the Huon Gulf-Huon Peninsula area, including the Tami, Umboi and
Siassi Islanders, and the Kilenge of West New
Britain, had a secret cult involving circumcision of boys at initiation. This cult required
a wooden mask (MPNr 54) representing the
spirit named kani by Tami Islanders, balum in
the Huon Gulf, nausung by the Kilenge (Dark
1974: 18, Illusts 76-7) and naboyo in the Siassi
Islands (Bodrogi 1961: 70). On Tami Islands,
the mask was worn by a man hidden under
a bark cloth hood, with tapa cloth wound
round his limbs to make him look fat. The
kani spirit was said to swallow the boys and
spit them out again as men.
In northern New Ireland, malagan is the
name for the mortuary ceremonies and for
the objects associated with them. There is a
range of mask forms associated with malagan. The two New Ireland masks dealt with
here could have been included with the
other malagan objects discussed in the next
section but are discussed here to conform
to the physical layout of the Masterpieces
Exhibition.
The taxonomy of New Ireland masks is
complex and undoubtedly varies from place
to place, with the names of masks changing
as well as their form and function. Noah
Lurang (1999) has set out a preliminary
account of masks for the Tabar Islands and
Helfrich (1973) has attempted a typology. But
there are still big gaps in the available information.
According to Bhlers notes attached to
correspondence found in the anthropology
archives of the National Museum, MPNr 40 is
a mask called marubt, incorporating in each
MPNr 47. Mask (tatanua), north New Ireland, New

Ireland Province. Wood, rattan, bre, lime plaster,
shells. 45 x 28 cm. 77.57.17. One of seventeen items
repatriated by The Australian Museum, Sydney,
27 June 1977 to mark the occasion of the ofcial
opening of the new National Museum building (see
also Masterpieces Nrs 60, 150).
Fig. 102. Noah Lurang dancing vanis mask from

Tatau Island, northern New Ireland, for the Fifth
Pacic Arts Symposium at the South Australian
Museum in Adelaide, 12 April 1993. Photo: B. Craig,
PAA2: 3.
MPNr 40. Mask (marubt) (opposite page), Madina,

Nalik speakers, north New Ireland, New Ireland
Province. Wood, bre, shells. 88 x 56 cm. E.864.2.
Collected in 1931 by Alfred Bhler. One of three
items repatriated in 1961 from the then Museum
fr Vlkerkunde (now, Museum der Kulturen),
Basel, Switzerland (registered there as Vb 10546).
Registered 19 February 1962. Published in
TPNGMAG 1970, Plate 5.
Fig. 103. A line of tatanua dancers, Langenia village,

Notsi speakers, northern New Ireland. Photo:
B. Craig, C2: 12; 13 August 1982.
of the two earpieces the image of a mythical
crowded into the enclosure. Thus it
(2002: 100, 171-72) names two (matalala and
being called Ranganof. He appears to be
temporarily removed the taboo on the mens
vanariu) and discusses them generally under
being consumed by a ying sh (eililif) but
enclosure.
the heading Walking Masks; they are used to
this image is more likely a representation of
Such masks with the large earpieces are
remove major taboo restrictions. At Madina
the relationship between the clan ancestors
called vanis on Tabar Islands (Lurang 1999,
in 1980, Dieter Heintze (1987, Figs 19-21)
and the social entity, the clan, as represented
Fig. 15.9). On the occasion of the Pacic Arts
recorded two such masks (pitalot and
by the totem animal. The notes state that the
Associations Fifth International Symposium
waneskande) under the general term marua
mask was produced to honour this mythical
in Adelaide in 1993, a slow dance with rattle
(probably the same as Helfrichs merue
being but information about the context for
and dance-paddle, similar to that described
1973: 27) and a third type (vaneriu) at
its performance was not provided.
by Lewis, was performed on the lawns of the
Fatmilak (Heintze 1987, Fig. 22), carved to
South Australian Museum by Noah Lurang
commemorate the owners mother and
Phillip Lewis (1969: 114-16), called nit kuleg-
(Fig. 102). He was wearing a Tabar Islands
[additionally] one of his babies who had died
ula, was used in malagan ceremonies but
mask called vanis si mi chur bang bang; bang
a few years earlier. The rights to this third
more specically to escort initiated boys out
bang is most likely a reference to the image
type were acquired from the Tabar Islands,
of the mens enclosure to return them to their
of the hornbill bird, no doubt a clan totem,
thus vaneriu is the same term as Gunns
families. It then performed a slow dance,
perched on top of the masks head.
vanariu. It appears therefore that the type of
A similar type of mask documented by
holding a shell rattle in one hand and a pad-
There are several sub-types of vanis (with
mask with the large earpieces may be used to
dle in the other. When it ceased dancing,
the large earpieces) depending upon their
commemorate particular individuals who
everyone men, women and children
particular form and function. Michael Gunn
have died, as well as to remove major taboos
Fig. 104. Baining night mask being danced at Guma

village (Sulka speakers), Wide Bay, East New Britain
Province. Photo: B. Craig, C6: 23; 6 January 1982.
during malagan ceremonies.

MPNr 47 is a tatanua (tantanua) mask.
These masks are usually danced in pairs;
therefore a line of tatanua will consist of several pairs of these masks (Fig. 103). Each side
of the hair-do on a mask is different, so that,
seen from the side, the masks change appearance as the dancers turn their heads towards
and away from their partners. These masks
dance during the closing session of the major
mortuary ceremony honouring clan members deceased during the several years since
the last major ceremony. They are not
destroyed after the performance but stored
for future use (Clay 1987: 67). In northern
Mandak, the organisers of a large mortuary
ceremony will send out invitations for those
related through marriage or male descent to
send tatanua dancers or a malagan display
(ibid.: 65); on Tabar, groups are invited to
compete in attempting to spear a hanging
coconut to earn the right to send a group of
tatanua masks (Lurang 1999: 151).
The peoples of New Ireland are, with a
various ora, birds, mammals, insects, reptiles,
sole exception, speakers of Austronesian
natural phenomena, and human processes
ous, with taboos on contact with women,
languages. On New Britain, all but four
and products (Corbin 1979: 175). This partic-
with food cooked by women, and sh
languages are Austronesian; one of the non-
ular mask is almost certainly a leaf spirit. The
(because it attracts the spirits of those who
Austronesian language groups is the Baining,
leaf spirit was said to represent large leaves
have died by violence) (Clay 1987: 65-6).
living in the mountains of the Gazelle
used in wrapping food for cooking and for
These precautions are designed to prepare
Peninsula of East New Britain. Their masking
covering houses and shelters. The leaf kavat
the dancers to perform successfully within
traditions continue to the present day and
was called rengit by the Kairak (Corbin 1984:
the power-lled tatanua masks. Failure to
are comparable in variety, scale and materi-
47 and Fig. 9).
maintain purity exposes the dancer to the
als to those of the Wantoat of the Finisterre
Kavat masks, made by the younger men,
negative magic of those who conspire to ruin
Range (Schmitz 1963), the Bundi of the Bis-
consist of white bark cloth, stretched over a
the festivities (and thus damage the reputa-
marck Range (Fitz-Patrick and Kimbuna
light wood and rattan frame, painted with red
tion and prestige of those sponsoring the
1983), the Asaro of the eastern Highlands
and black pigments. Corbin (1984: 46-7) sum-
ceremonies).
(Miller 1983, Plate 220) and of course the
marises the colour symbolism:
Preparation for the tatanua dance is rigor-
The tatanua performance thus tests the

dancers before a large assembly of guests
from other villages. If the dance is com-
Elema of the eastern Papuan Gulf (Newton

1961).
MPNr 55 is most likely a night dance mask
The red pigment is seen as masculine and

is associated symbolically with the ames
kicked up in the air during ceremonial
pleted without misfortune, the men have
of the Kairak Baining who live in the north-
proven their capabilities as men in inter-
east corner of the Gazelle Peninsula. There
blood in warfare and hunting; ritual self-
action with power. [ibid.: 66]
are many forms of the kavat mask that depict
sacrice in various ceremonies; the
dances; the owing of human and animal
MPNr 55. Mask (kavat), Gazelle Peninsula, Baining

speakers, East New Britain. Bark cloth, rattan, bres.
133 x 68 cm. 81.12.2 [incorrect number; identied as
81.12.11]. Donated at the conclusion of the South
Pacic Festival of Arts in July 1980 and registered
January 1981
blood-red saliva produced when chewing

betel nut; and pricked tongue blood spat
on masks and headdresses to activate
their spirits before ceremonial use. The
black pigment is seen as feminine and is
associated with ashes and soot from
cooking res; the earth and mud and their
fecundity; dark wet places where powerful mythological spirits live; and
eforescent secretions on plants and
trees. The white colour [of the unpainted
bark cloth] is associated with the spirit
world White foam observed on
streams, ponds, and the beach is associated with afterbirth and primordial slime.
White bones and skulls are considered
important objects to be preserved for use
in garden magic and curative magic. The
white secretions produced by plants and
trees are likened, symbolically to seminal
uids. The white lime and clay used to
paint patterns on the body before rituals
or entering taboo places is believed to
have magical protecting and curative
properties
Kavat masks (and other types of masks

Fig. 104) are danced during the night
accompanied by an all-male percussion
orchestra. Dancers often pass through the re
that burns in the centre of the dance ground.
The dance appears to represent confrontation between the spirits of the dead (who
live in the bush but interfere in human
affairs) and the men of the village. At daybreak, the orchestra prevails and chases the
spirits back into the bush (ibid.: 47). By representing these spirits in masks, man obtains
power over them, and by submitting himself
to their awe-inspiring presence he might
obtain indulgence and mercy (Hess and
Aerts 1982: 77).
MPNr 58. Mask (avoko), Dopima village, Goaribari

Island, Kerewo speakers, Gulf Province. Rattan,
shells, red mucuna seeds, bre, cassowary feathers.
147 x 65 cm (including skirt). 81.26.129 [original
registration number lost].
Papuan Gulf
The masks MPNrs 58, 62, 59 and 61 are examples of the 1970s revival of traditional mask
forms. MPNr 58 has a mastic overlay on the
top half of its conical helmet shape, inset
with shells and seeds, with red mucuna seeds
for eyes, and trimmed cassowary feathers
representing hair and beard. This type of decoration is characteristic of the trophy skulls of
the Bamu River people (Newton 1961: 48-9),
who are historically closely related to the
Kerewa of Goaribari Island.
Only one other Goaribari mask of this
type has been published (Miller n.d.: 3 and
front cover illustration). Allyn Miller reports
that it is called avoko and is used to celebrate
marriage. After the husband has brought the
wife to his house, a clan elder dons this mask
and dances in front of the house to bring fertility and good fortune to it.
The Kerewa avoko mask illustrated by
Newton (1961, Illust. 106), is virtually identical
to the Era River kanipu masks (ibid.: Illust. 173)
and quite different in form to the marriage
mask reported above. MPNr 62 is a kanipu
mask from Urama Island just to the west of
the Era River estuary. Newton assumes the
plaited cane Kerewa (Goaribari) and Era River
masks he illustrates were used during initiation ceremonies and admits their functions
are not altogether clear (ibid.: 17), but could
be related to the kaiaimunu animals (ibid.:
Illusts 174-77) and the Namau Pairama ceremony (ibid.: 73).
MPNr 59 was obtained without documentation but is of the type photographed by
Frank Hurley in 1924 on Uramu Island (Newton 1961: Illust. 186; Specht and Fields 1984:
163). Newton (ibid.: 19) reports that this type
of mask was used to enforce the taboo on
coconuts destined for use in ceremonies.
MPNr 62. Mask (kanipu), Mirimairau village,

Uramu Island, North-eastern Kiwai speakers, Gulf
Province. Rattan, wood, bre, feathers. 111 x 73 cm
(including skirt). 76.30.166. Donated by Rudi Caesar
30 October 1975.
MPNr 59. Mask (kanipu?), attributed to Uramu

Island, North-eastern Kiwai speakers, Gulf Province.
Rattan, bark cloth, bre. 161 x 48 cm (including
skirt). E.16465. Seized in 1972, donated by Customs
in 1974 and registered 4 April 1975. Published in
Smidt 1975: 29, 30, 32; Nr. 35 and TPNGPMAG 1976a,
Plate p. 14.
MPNr 61. Mask (keweke), Kivaumai Nr 2 village,

Uramu Island, North-eastern Kiwai speakers, Gulf
Province. Rattan, bark cloth, bre, feathers. 148 x
47 cm (including skirt). 76.30.168. Donated by Rudi
Caesar 30 October 1975.
Fig. 105. A hevehe mask in a ring of dancing women,

Orokolo, eastern Papuan Gulf. Photo: F.E. Williams,
March 1932 (Williams 1940, Plate 57; original
negative in SAM archives, AA335, negative Nr 175).
Hurleys notes (Specht and Fields 1984: 162)

support this:
The men inside the mask[s] rush about
the village scaring the women and
children The mask is believed by them
to contain a spirit who will make them
violently ill if they should eat of the forbidden fruits. As there are but a few
coconuts struggling around the villages,
and the younger generation are very
prone to pull the fruit before maturity, this
means of placing upon the trees the
taboo is efcacious and even when the
fruit fall of their own accord they are not
even eaten no matter how hungry they
might be until the Taboo is lifted.
MPNr 61 is an example of the keweke

masks of Urama Island. Newton (1961: 20, 77
and Illusts 182-85) does not tell us what their
functions were but they were probably used
in a similar way to the semese of the Namau
and the hevehe of the Elema. Perhaps the rst
examples of this type of tall, oval mask to be
collected were obtained by Theodore Bevan
in 1887 on his journey by boat through the
Purari Delta (Bevan 1890: 144-45, 199). However, they had almost all disappeared by the
time the PNG Museum was established in the
1950s.29 Even in overseas museums, there
are not many of these magnicent tall
masks.30 F.E. Williams published a detailed
shell ornaments. The young man receiving
hevehe masks (ibid.: 23-4; Williams 1940, Plate
description of the ceremonies in which
the mask would keep the valuables but had
37). The hevehe ceremonies became extinct
hevehe masks were performed (Figs 22, 105)
to pay his maternal uncle a pig (Mamiya and
during World War II.
in his book Drama of Orokolo (1940).
Sumnik 1982: 20). Eharo masks were not
MPNr 60 is an eharo mask that would
sacred; any man could make and wear these
have been used in the hevehe ceremonies.
masks. Generally they represented some
These masks were made and performed by
character or event in a comical episode and
visitors from another village at the request of
were performed for entertainment. In partic-
the group organising the ceremonies.
ular they served to attract a crowd to the
Individual eharo masks were often made for
front of the eravo for the dramatic appear-
young men by their maternal uncles, and
ance of the yellow bark cloth boys and, later
were given along with valuable feathers and
in the cycle, for the formal emergence of the
MPNr 60. Mask (eharo), Orokolo village, Elema

people, Orokolo speakers, Gulf Province. Rattan,
bark cloth, bre. 162 x 65 cm (including skirt).
77.57.6. One of seventeen items repatriated by The
Australian Museum, Sydney, 27 June 1977 to mark
the occasion of the ofcial opening of the new
National Museum building (see also Masterpieces
Nrs 47 and 150). This eharo was collected about
1884.
Fig. 106 (opposite page). Bisj poles set up on the

bank of the river at Otsjanep, Casuarina Coast, 1961.
Photo (1035-19) by Michael C. Rockefeller courtesy
of the Rockefeller family.
MPNr 13 (and details opposite page). Ceremonial

pole (bisj/mbis) attributed to Casuarina Coast
Asmat, Asmat speakers, [West] Papua, Indonesia.
Wood, bre. 6 m high, gure diameter 29 cm. E.7294.
Registered 10 February 1971.
MORTUARY OBJECTS
The objects in the Masterpieces Exhibition

that are particularly relevant to this topic are
For many groups in New Guinea and Mela-
the bisj pole from the Asmat and the masks,
nesia, mortuary rites provide the occasion for
gures and other objects associated with the
relatives to grieve, to identify the cause of
malagan rites of New Ireland.
death (natural, accidental, sorcery, etc.), to

honour the dead, and to provide the opportunity for individuals and groups to sponsor
South-west New Guinea
festivities that achieve recognition of their
The bisj ceremonies of the Central and Casua-
rights to leadership, land and ritual knowl-
rina Coast Asmat of south-west New Guinea
edge (for example, Smidt and Eoe 1999).
in [West] Papua provide the occasion for the
Usually, the more important the dead person
retelling of the story of Fumeripits, the myth-
is, the more elaborate the ceremony.
ical hero who created the mens houses (yeu),
Among the middle Sepik Iatmul, there is a
carved many gures of men and women,
distinction between minor and major death
and enlivened them by tireless beating of
ceremonies respectively, kitagamat and
the hand drum (em) (Schneebaum 1990: 26,
minjango the latter only for the most
65-6; van der Zee 1996: 16-17). Other stories
important men and in rare cases for a woman
tell of the origin of death, of headhunting
held in especially high esteem (Wassmann
and of the necessity to revenge the dead
1991:56-9 and Chapter 3 for a detailed
(Schneebaum 1990: 52-3, 70, 77-8). There is
account of the major death ceremony). The
even a myth that establishes the origin of
malagan funerary ceremonies of northern
the carving of bisj poles and the ceremoni-
New Ireland and Tabar Islands also are more
als accompanying them (van der Zee 1996:
elaborate according to the importance of the
18-19).
person who died and the prestige and inuence of the sponsors (Lincoln 1987b: 33-4).
In some other areas, the rites are more
concerned with a life for a life. Among the
Asmat of [West] Papua, memorial poles called
Pauline van der Zee (1996) has gathered

information from a number of sources to
explain the signicance of the bisj. She
explains (ibid.: 19):
When due to certain circumstances the
bisj (mbis) are carved with the images of peo-
communitys life force has diminished,
ple killed by enemy headhunters, as a
people consider the time right to organize
reminder to avenge their deaths by taking
a bisj feast. In that way they wish to re-
enemy heads. Even the egalitarian Asmat,
open contact with the ancestors in safan
though, tend to commemorate the more
[the after-world] to assure new physical
important people, the deceased notables of
and spiritual forces.
the village [who] carry a lot of life force and
Usually, several deaths are commemorated at
have many relatives and followers to help
the same time (as for the malagan rites of
them meet their revenge obligation (van der
New Ireland see below) but exactly who
Zee 1996: 20).
will be named and depicted on the bisj poles
There is a wide variety of beliefs about
is determined by complex negotiation as this
death, and of mortuary rituals performed for
identies who will be required to avenge the
the dead, in Oceania (Oliver 1989: 748-85).
deaths. A headhunting raid is held only when
the family feels strong enough to attack the

enemy successfully and There must also be
enough relatives to contribute towards the
expenses of the bisj pole (ibid.: 20).
After cautioning that there is a good deal
of variation in the bisj ceremonials from village to village, van der Zee outlines the usual
scenario (ibid.: 20-3). A war leader summons
all the men to the front of the yeu and orders
them to adorn themselves and repaint their
canoes. After doing this they paddle off in
search of suitable trees (a wild nutmeg, not
mangrove as often reported) for the bisj
poles, and sago palms are felled to stimulate
the activities of sago grubs in anticipation of
gathering them for the coming feast in about
six weeks time. The nutmeg trees are felled
according to a ritual that has the warriors
one-by-one and led by the war leader
attacking the rst tree as though it is an
enemy, each reciting his heroic deeds and
chopping at the base of the tree until it is
felled. The top is trimmed of branches
(decapitated) and one buttress root is left
intact; the bottom of the tree will become the
top of the carved bisj pole. The blood-red sap
of the tree is symbolic of the blood of the
ancestors who were killed and of the enemy
who will be killed, and the trees are dragged
to the village along streams and brooks, the
same way men return from a headhunting
raid.
On their return to the village, the men are
attacked by the women in a mock battle, as
they fear the harmful inuences of tree spirits
upon uninitiated children and women (for a
photograph of a similar mock battle, see Konrad, Konrad and Schneebaum 1981: 25). After
the skirmish, the tree trunks are dragged into
the yeu to a specially partitioned space for
the carving process. The war leader chips out
a rough outline of the gures to be depicted
on the poles while enumerating the names

of the enemies he has slain, then turns them
Central and Casuarina Coast Asmat.

The carved pole is then painted entirely
over to the wow-ipits (skilled carvers) to com-
with white pigment, details are carefully
plete. The carvers are kept well fed by the
painted in red and black, and ornaments and
relatives of the deceased and they complete
bre tassels are fastened. Food is now gath-
their work in around six weeks. Sacred songs
ered, the poles are erected on the bank of the
are sung to protect the carvers from tree spir-
river facing the yeu and everyone joins in a
its and ancestral spirits prowling about the
lament for the dead. Then follows eating,
village.
singing and dancing to drums, culminating in
The wow-ipits rst carve the openwork

projection called tsjemen (penis) from the
a sexual orgy.
There is a regional difference in the way
buttress root left intact on the post. The
the bisj poles are set up. As Dirk Smidt
Asmat believe that protruding parts (of the
informed me (pers. comm. 14 May 2004):
human body) contain a high concentration of
In Central Asmat, bisj are displayed
life force. The pole is then given a name, that
upright, their pointed ends stuck in the
of the most important deceased ancestor
ground; in the Casuarina Coast [or South
who is to be commemorated and depicted
Asmat] they are mounted in a slanting
on the pole. This is followed by a sumptuous
position. In my book [Smidt 1993] you can
meal. Then the gures are carved next, male
see the difference on pp.102-3. The pole in
and/or female, the carver singing songs
the middle has the pointed end and is
about the persons he is representing, nishing with a song stating, Now I am carving
from Central Asmat; the other two have

canoe-shaped ends and are from the Casuarina Coast [South Asmat].
your mouth; now I am opening your ears. This

enlivens the carved pole with the spirits of
the ancestors.
The war leader then summons the warri-
between the two areas of Central and South
ors to prepare for a headhunting raid. When
Asmat. At Otsjanep, Two of the seventeen
the raid is successful, they return with the
poles had a canoe at the base, a very remark-
heads and smear the blood of the enemies
able feature (Gerbrands 1967: 141). There the
on the eyes, mouths and genitals of the
poles were exhibited at a slant on a scaffold
carved gures. From this time on until the
(ibid.: 138, 140-44). Just a little north at Oma-
closing of the feast, there will be drumming
dasep, the poles have gure-eight forms
and dancing every night.
near the bottom of the pole, a point at the
The nal phase is the carving of the canoe
base, and are displayed upright (ibid.: 115-18).
(tsji) and tapering point (bino) at the base of the
At Awok, farther north and inland, the poles
pole. Some sources connect this canoe, and
are displayed upright inside the yeu (ibid.: 89-
therefore the whole bisj pole, to the war canoe
105). Presumably they are carved with
used for headhunting and to the uramun, or
pointed ends.
soul-ship, which takes the dead to safan, the
Michael Rockefellers journal suggests

that Otsjanep village is in a transition zone
Konrad, Konrad and Schneebaum (1981:
world of the ancestors. Although uramun are
62-71) illustrate a number of bisj poles and
carved only by the North-west Asmat, they are
those at the northern end of the Casuarina
used in a way similar to the bisj poles of the
Coast (for example, at Japtambor and Buepis)
have both pointed bottom ends and carved
gure holding the openwork tsjemen
bottom ends. In any case, MPNr 13 has the
between his legs, standing on the head of a
base carved in the form of a canoe and there-
female gure, which in turn stands on the
fore must have come from the Casuarina
prow of a vertically aligned war canoe. The
Coast, and therefore was displayed in a slant-
lower part of the tsjemen incorporates a side
ing position (Fig. 106).
view of an ancestor gure in a squatting pos-
When the feast is over, the bisj poles are
ture, commonly associated with the wenet or
carried into the sago swamps and left to
praying mantis (Mantis religiosa). The mantis
decay there, imparting fertility to the young
is an appropriate headhunting symbol, as it is
palms through the life force of the ancestors.
known that the female bites off the head of
In fact there are two types of bisj pole.
the male after mating. The tsjemen design
Apart from the taller bisj poles described
also includes S-motifs representing the
above (6 or more metres high), there are
human body (Gerbrands 1967: 218, drums A,
those about 4 metres high that are located at
B), and three V-shaped spirals variously inter-
the left front corner of each hearth in the yeu.
preted as ama wow (carved arms/wings
These posts are permanent xtures in the yeu
Gerbrands 1967: 190, shield A), tar (ying
and the gures carved on the posts function
foxes ibid.: 191, shield D), or less specically
as advisers. They help people with their daily
as ainor (a mysterious, powerful design
problems and guard the members of the
Schneebaum 1990: 38). The tip of the tsjemen
hearth group. This way, people can call upon
is carved as the curled tail of the cuscus and
these ancestral spirits before a hunting
two of these motifs are found also at the base
[expedition] or battle (van der Zee 1996: 23).
of the tsjemen. Between these main motifs on
It is this type of bisj that Rockefeller photo-
the tsjemen are a tiny human head, black
graphed at Awok.
Palm Cockatoo beaks and hornbill heads. The
Where a bisj pole has two or more gures
prow and stern of the canoe at the base of
standing one on another, they represent the
the pole is carved with the C-shaped cuscus
preceding generations of the person after
tail and a hornbills beak, and ghosts hands
whom the pole is named and who is to be
at the end of zigzag motifs. According to Ger-
avenged. These generations will support the
brands (1967: 292, C), the zigzag probably
headhunting raid with their supernatural
represents the blood of people slain by head-
powers (ibid.: 24).
hunting. The sides of the canoe are also
On all carved objects of the Asmat, the

many curvilinear design motifs refer to ances-
carved with several headhunting motifs, as

are the limbs of the two ancestor gures.
tors and headhunting. Because spherical

fruits are equated with the human head, any
dark-coloured fruit-eating animal or bird may
be considered as a symbol of headhunting,
for example the fatsjep or cuscus (Phalanger),
the urmbi or Black Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), and the fofoyir or Papuan
Hornbill (Aceros plicatus).31
The bisj pole MPNr 13 features a male
MPNr 203. Circular woven funerary object

(vavara), Panapai village, north-east coast, northern
New Ireland, Tigak speakers, New Ireland Province.
Rattan, lime plaster. 71 cm diameter. E.4586.
Registered 24 November 1969. Possibly donated by
Lady Rachel Cleland.
Malagan of New Ireland

Malagan (malangan, malanggan) is the name
used for both the ceremonies and the objects
associated with mortuary rites in northern
New Ireland and the Tabar Islands. Bodrogi
(1987: 18) has drawn attention to W.C.
Grovess comment (1933: 340) that in order to
give a full description of the mortuary rites of
Fisoa on the north-east coast of New Ireland,
the entire culture would have to be sketched.
Groves wrote, every other item is in one way
or another bound with, dependent upon,
preparation for, or outcome of this one dominating cultural inuence of malagan.
Similarly, Hortense Powdermaker reports
(1933: 319, quoted in Lincoln 1987b: 33) that
she asked the old men of Lesu what she
should tell her own people about the malagan carvings she was taking away with her.
Their reply was that she should tell the people who would look at the malagan that they
were not just carved, painted pieces of wood,
but that she must
make them understand all the work and
wealth that had gone into the making of
them the large taro crops, the many
pigs, all the shell money, the cooking for
the feast, and other essentials of the rites.
The old men of Lesu said that these are

the important things to remember about
malagan.
Michael Gunn reports (1987: 74-5) that
Tabar is often mentioned as the place of origin of the malagan, and that for Tabar in the
early 1980s,
malagan has as its essential premise the
tenet that a person must honour the dead
of his or her spouses kin group by displaying malagan sculpture or using malagan
masks in ceremonial context.
MPNr 204. Circular woven funerary object

(vavara), Panapai village, north-east coast, northern
New Ireland, Tigak speakers, New Ireland Province.
Rattan, lime plaster. 72 cm diameter. E.4585.
Registered 24 November 1969. Possibly donated by
Lady Rachel Cleland.
Malagan activity includes:

s PARTICIPATIONINTHEBURIALRITESOFINDIVIDuals of the spouses clan;
s THEOPERATIONOFLARGECOMMEMORATIVE
ceremonies for a plurality of dead members of the spouses clan;
s THEVALIDATIONOFLAND USETRANSACTIONS
s MASQUERADESTOTERMINATECERTAINPROHIbitions;
s CEREMONIESFORTHEESTABLISHMENTOFA
new sub-clan;
s RATIlCATIONOFSOCIALCONTRACTSSUCHASA
truce to end ghting or arguments
between clans;
s PASSINGONTOTHENEXTGENERATIONTHE
rights to ones malagan inheritance.
Gunn states (ibid.: 75-6) that the benets
of malagan ownership come at considerable
cost. It is one of the main roads to prestige
and power but the fuel is very expensive:
malagan runs on pigs. People make commitments of pigs to endorse contracts with one
another; thus the pig is the living manifestation of a social bond. The laying out of
strangled, singed pigs and their butchering
and distribution to guests is therefore a central feature of malagan, for the pigs are not
simply food, or generous expressions of hospitality, but declarations of agreements
people have made with one another.
Use-rights to malagan images can be
transferred during a malagan ceremony but
there is a copyright fee and the rights are not
lost to the original owner. Breech of copyright is taken extremely seriously. This,
according to Gunn (1987: 80), is where freedom in the expression of malagan nds its
greatest restriction:
New malagans can be dreamt up, displayed, and incorporated within a
tradition belonging to the dreamers clan.
However, before they are completely
subsumed within the tradition, carvings

must receive the approval of all senior
men of that tradition, particularly those in
other kin groups Generally, new ideas
are considered risky, for no one is entirely
sure what the tradition as a whole contains; it takes a brave man to risk the
accusation of breach of another clans
centre; sometimes the skull of the deceased

was placed there. The huts are of various
shapes, depending on the types of malagan to be displayed. Traditionally, after the
ceremonies the vavara is burnt, along with
various personal effects of the deceased.
There is a myth of origin for vavara, relat-
copyright New malagans are invented
ing its form to a spiders web. The following
so rarely today that few people on Tabar
story was told to me by Noah Lurang, at Tatau
recognize that innovation is acceptable
village on Tatau Island, in December 1992:
within the tradition.
There was a woman whose son had no
Visitors to ethnographic museums outside
father. He used to go to malagan feasts in
PNG are familiar with the carved wood g-
other villages but was beaten up and
ures and masks that were made for malagan
rejected by the children of those villages (it
ceremonies; less familiar are the woven mala-
is not acceptable to take part in malagan
gans, called vavara (wawara, wowora). They
feasts unless your father has a signicant
were neglected by Bodrogi in his 1987 overview of malagan sculpture despite being well
documented by Lewis (1969: 99-110).
Gunn (1987, Figs 38, 44) provides illus-
role in the proceedings). One day his

mother, who was worrying about this, was
defecating in the bush and she noticed a
spiders web in front of her how it was
being spun, and its colours. She realised
trations that show how central this type of
that this was to be her sons malagan. So
malagan can be for the displays associated
she made one for him. She also composed
with the ceremonies. These disc or sun mala-
the slit-gong beat for that malagan; there
gan (MPNrs 203, 204) are usually made by
was to be one player only, as her son had
weaving a spiral of braided bre onto a radial
no brothers to assist him to play it.
arrangement of splints of rattan. Usually there

is a hole at the centre but sometimes there is
a small, carved wooden piece, or a form mod-
A similar story was told to Phillip Lewis

(1969: 103) by Pakua, a Notsi speaker of Libba
village on the north coast of New Ireland:
elled from plant materials. Occasionally a

vavara is oval rather than round and, rarely,
has arching petal-like forms rising from the
centre and reaching to the edges of the disc
(Lewis 1969: 107; Sthr 1987, Plate 159). The
whole disc is heavily plastered with white
Kuli was an unmarried woman who had

no genitals. However, she had two children, and she tried to have them initiated
in the enclosure. They were chased away
because they had no father. Kuli went to
fetch some water and there, saw a spider.
lime and the colours painted on, usually red
An idea came to her. She tells the children,
and yellow, sometimes a little black. The red
tomorrow you and I will go get the white
and yellow are usually plant pigments, which
bre called raramgo and put it in the
lose their brilliance rather quickly.
water. The children do this.
The vavara malagan is set up in display huts
father and no malanggans. Where will
along with other forms of malagan (Fig.
they get one? The woman talks, says that
107), sometimes with a kapkap32 xed to its
tomorrow they will sit in the enclosure.
The men said, these children have no
Fig. 107. Malagan display, incorporating three

vavara, for the death of Pitsia of Tatau village, Tabar
speakers, Tabar Islands, New Ireland. Photo: B. Craig,
C4: 24A; 2 May 2002.
She braids the vine, fastens it to the wood,
translated the German text as follows:
then beats it at. She then makes the

Wowora, and asks them all to erect a coconut leaf enclosure.
Once there were only wooden malanggans. Wowora malanggans originated with
this woman. Wowora are not from long ago.
The slit-gong cries out, and all the men
chide her. The woman has houses made.
All the men come. The day for erecting the
malanggans comes. They all come to look.
The sight of the Wowora closes their
mouths. From then on, everyone has used
Wowora, paying the original owners.
A woman went into the bush looking for

her pigs and had to remain overnight in a
cave. There she heard the raindrops beating on the pandanus leaves, vatata, vatata,
like a stick pounding on a slit-gong. Then
her spirit went away in a dream and she
saw a house in which goblins were at
work plaiting a sun. She saw how it was
made, and when they nished she
returned back to her home, and then
showed her knowledge to the men of her
village. When they had learned exactly
how to make a sun, they hanged the
Another version of the story, with a less
woman, to punish her for dealing with
happy ending, was recounted to Krmer at
sacred matters. Today the oara is sacred
the bush village of Bue, closer to its pre-
and women must not see it. Even a
sumed place of origin. Lewis (1969: 107)
glimpse of it meant death for a woman.
according to Hill), head teacher at the Pana-
copra and other products to Kavieng. The
mecho Primary School, entered Nombowai
truck was named Malangan. As Kchler
During 1982 and 1983, Susanne Kchler, a
cave from the top of the cliff, assisted by vil-
notes, Far from having disappeared from the
research student from the London School of
lagers. They found two malagan gures
life of the people, the malangan of Nom-
Economics and Political Sciences, was based
upright against the rear wall and facing out
bowai have transmuted and function as they
at Panamecho. She was requested by the
to sea. Four masks and a bird gure were
have in the past as material objects which
National Museum to document the carvings
nearby among a scatter of bleached bones,
focus the productive energies of the people.
in the museum that had come from a cave in
including a skull. Lengths of bamboo tubing
the escarpment behind Panamecho. The
held the cremated remains of several individ-
bowai, according to Kchler, was to act as a
results of Kchlers enquiries were published
uals. The seven carvings were removed to a
kind of document afrming the rights of par-
in the journal Oral History (Kuechler 1983). As
temporary display house near the school.
ticular groups to certain tracts of land:
this journal is not easily available, the follow-
They were considered to belong to two
ing text is an abridgement of her paper and
brothers, Judas Titilip and Esau Mambingit,
all information and quotations are from that
upon whose property the cave is located. In
paper except where acknowledged to other
due course the Parents and Citizens Associa-
sources.
tion of the school bought the carvings from
The Panamecho malagan
There are eight carvings in the Masterpieces Exhibition that came from Nombowai
cave in the limestone escarpment behind a
them for two pigs and some money to establish clear ownership.
Another function of the malagan of Nom-
Oral tradition relevant to the malangan of

Nombowai refers to the movements of
clans and their settlement history and to
traditional ways of attaining rights to land
and to images of malangan. The memory
of these themes in oral tradition is stored
in, and recalled by, the images
In 1973, the District Commissioner heard
point about midway between Panamecho
about the carvings and informed Brian Egloff,
and Panachais on the south-west coast of
a curator at the PNG National Museum, who
when they die, to become recognised ances-
northern New Ireland. One other piece held
corresponded with Benson and subsequently
tors of the clan:
by the museum is not on display (E.2147,
visited Panamecho to check the condition of
Kuechler 1983, Plate 12), and one mask (Fig.
the carvings. He also visited the cave and
Every deceased has to become identied
108; Kuechler 1983, Plate 7; Wilson 1973,
took photographs but not inside it. The peo-
with a named image of malangan in order
Fig. 1) apparently was destroyed while on
ple did not want to sell the carvings to the
display in the Panamecho Primary School.
museum so on-site conservation was carried
Yet another function is to enable people,
to attain the status of ancestor. The names

of malangan images refer back to mythical events during which the images were
The rst three carvings from the cave
out and the two gures, the four masks and
(E.2145-7) came to light when Roy Mackay,
the bird were gazetted as National Cultural
then preparator of the PNG Public Museum
Property on 20 December 1973. In the gazet-
clan identied during these mythical
and Art Gallery, purchased them from
tal notice, the original location was given as
events with the named images of malan-
Simeon Warenu (elsewhere spelt Vaneriu) in
Balilang Cave, Panamecho. Kchler recorded
gan constitute the core of [the clan].
1967. According to Rowena Hill (1980), the
the name of the extinct village just above the
cave had been discovered by a man and a
Nombowai Cave as Benelilieng.
young lad out hunting, when their dog tem-
By 1980, one mask had been destroyed, as
invented in dreams and carved for the

context of death. The [ancestor] spirits of a
The strongest clan is the one that possesses the most names of malagan. In the
porarily disappeared in the vicinity of the
noted above, and the other pieces had suf-
region of Nombowai, it is the clan Moromaf
cave and they went looking for the animal. It
fered some damage. Therefore these carvings
and its sub-clan Morokomaf that attained
must have been subsequent to this that the
were purchased from the Parents and Citi-
this status, as a wune (the source) of the
rst carvings were taken out and sold to Roy
zens Association by the National Museum to
malagan images of Nombowai.
Mackay.
protect them from further destruction. The
The rst carver of malagan images in that
According to Lindsay Wilson (1973), early
money from the sale was used to purchase a
area was Legis, a man of Morokomaf sub-clan
in 1973 Benson Bambai (Benson Tomelekau
truck, to be used by the villagers to transport
of Moromaf clan who lived seven generations
Fig. 108. Mask (a kangalabo) from Balilang

(Nombowai) Cave, Panamecho area, northern New
Ireland, destroyed between 1973 and 1980. Photo:
Brian Egloff, PNG National Museum photo archives
Nr 105.
ago. He married a woman, Pasaradak, of
cut out the general shape, then red-hot coral
Morokomade clan, went to live with her at
branches were used to burn through the
Lugagon on the north-east coast, then both
wood to make the intricate openwork detail.
migrated to live at Panarabut, a hamlet of the
More coral branches were used like a le to
village of Lomadali, in the hills about a kilo-
achieve the nal shapes, and a rough leaf
metre east of Nombowai.
(suve) served as sandpaper to nish the surface in preparation for painting. According to
During his lifetime he carved numerous images of malangan. The memory of

these images was handed down to the
present generation, the carvings of Nombowai being examples of this process.
Krmer (1925: 79-80), the carver receives a

singed pig and shell money for each of the
eighteen stages of the carving of a malagan
gure.
In 1980, Rowena Hill identied the wood
There are seven clans in the present-day
from which the objects were carved as sabaf,
villages of Panamecho and Panachais, which
the milky pine or white cheesewood (Alstonia
formed from the population living at Loma-
scholaris). The tufted fruits of Pandanus
dali and Beneliliang in the hills in the vicinity
(aroha) and seeds of Triumfetta pilosa
of Nombowai. Only the clan Moromaf (and its
(yankara) were xed to the masks and gures
sub-clan Morokomaf ) could truly claim the
in a matrix of beeswax (masiam) to represent
images of the malagan of Nombowai as its
head hair and beards. The operculum of the
own. The other clans had to acquire the rights
shell Turbo petholatus (aburon) was used for
to the images from Moromaf by giving
the eyes of the human and bird gures. White
women in marriage to Moromaf clan, by a
pigment (akoko) was slaked lime made from
rarum (a gift of shell valuables and pigs), or
coral; red (rai) was ochre from the ground;
by a human sacrice.
and black (agisong) was made from charcoal.
Nombowai is the place where a wai [a
The commissioner of a malagan carving
snake] lives and where the friction idiophone
has carefully-guarded knowledge of special
(friction drum) called lounet was played. This
plants which, when given to the carver in a
instrument is unique in Oceania and its
potion will provoke an appropriate dream
sound is believed to be the voice of malagan
image of the gure to be carved. The carver
imitating the cry of birds some sources say,
is told what the basic structure of the gure
the owl. The cry of lounet announces a
is to be, the essential motifs and where they
funeral, and the climax of malagan. It is signif-
are to occur on the gure. The image is cho-
icant that the carved gures of Nombowai
sen from several possibilities owned by the
land. A saying claims without malagan one
show the appearance of death in the
commissioner in his/her clan (eg. to state his
cannot eat taro, sh or pig. To make malagan
exposed ribs and the slightly open mouth
groups claim to a disputed patch of land).
therefore, means to bring about the fertility
with exposed teeth.
Kchler establishes a strong connection
Information given to Kchler suggests
between the activity of carving, and garden-
that the Panamecho gures and masks were
ing through the use of re to make holes or
carved in the early years of European contact,
clearings in the forest. Further, the timing of
late in the 19th century. The carvings do not
malagan preparations parallels the growth of
show any sign of the use of metal tools.
taro in the gardens, which takes about six
Rather, they were carved using stone tools to
months. During the second half of the period,
the images of malagan are carved.

Malagan is thought of as the yield of the
of the land.
The gures
malagan: that of the tree and that of water. In
Morokomaf. The positions of the birds on
The four gure carvings of the malagan of
the tree metaphor, Tsuwarima and Tangla are
this carving demonstrate the history of the
Nombowai share several characteristics. First
the source or foundation (a wune), and
exchange of women and malangan between
there is the reection of the division of New
images projected out of Tsuwarima and
the [sub-]clan Morokomaf and [the clan]
Ireland society into moieties, a bird motif
Tangla are called iaiaran or branches. If an
Morokomade.
on top of the gures head and sometimes
image is projected out of iaiaran, it is called
also at its feet, in contrast to other birds on
bai (leaf ). In the water metaphor, it is said that
is carved standing with its right foot in a
the body of the gure. The bird on top of the
malangan is like water; a stream of water is
clamshell. It is believed that when the
head
always the same, yet its actual appearance is
shadow of a human being is caught in a
different in every instance. As Kchler con-
clamshell, that person will die. Thus the clam-
cludes: it is the continuity of the existence of
shell is the source of death. This gure also is
malangan as a model of society that is being
depicted wearing a rekap, the insignia of the
stressed.
power of speech demonstrated by the
is identied with the moiety manuengak,

the sea eagle (Haliaetus leucogaster) or
big bird. Birds on the body of the gure
are those identied with the moiety of
The gure MPNr 200, its name forgotten,
maimai.
regaum, a species of hawk, or small bird.
The name of the gure MPNr 199 is forgot-
The presence of the two motifs together
ten as it was carved before living memory.
clamshell and kapkap visualises a
It was therefore at least ninety years old in
fundamental feature of Kara society:
essarily the sea eagle or hawk, but the totem
the early 1980s. There is a dolphin at its base,
power, or the right to do or own some-
birds of particular clans or sub-clans within
devouring the gures internal organs, prob-
thing, is acquired only in the context of
the moieties. For example, the gure of MPNr
ably the liver. The dolphin recalls a mythical
death. Only by organising a malangan for
202 stands on manuengak, the sea eagle and
event when some men, pursued by enemies,
his deceased father can a man acquire his
totem of the big bird moiety; the subsidiary
ran into the sea and turned into dolphins.
birds are bengbenga or hornbills (Aceros plica-
The dolphin devouring the liver recalls the
tus), the small bird totem of the clan
practices of warfare and cannibalism in Kara
Morokomade within the moiety regaum. In
history. In stories, the dolphin also was used
the case of MPNr 201, the big bird is the
as a vehicle for warriors to get to a village for
cockerel and the small bird is the rulowlow or
an attack.
Big bird is male and small bird is female.
The actual birds represented are not nec-
New Ireland drongo (Dicrurus megarhynchus),

totem of the sub-clan Morokomaf.
The most prominent motif common to all
The gure wears a rekap, a fretwork of tortoiseshell fastened to a white disc of Tridacna
(clam) shell, and is probably therefore male.
four gures is probably the exposed rib-
This ornament, commonly called kapkap, is
bones (lengof). Such images fall into two
worn by the maimai or speaker of the village.
fathers rights The two images could

also be read, so that the kapkap evokes
the idea of the big man wielding the
power of malangan, whereas the clamshell suggests that the big man is merely
the vehicle of the power of malangan.
Like MPNr 199, the dolphin and rib bones

are present, the small bird totem of the subclan Morokomaf is represented by the
drongo bird on each side of the head, and
raus, the Barn Owl (Tyto alba), is on top of the
gures head.
categories: Tsuwarima (identied as male and
Each village appoints one maimai, usually
big bird) and Tangla (identied as female
coming from the dominant clan He
The call of raus is associated with death,
and small bird).
summons the decisions of the belewiwira
announcing an approaching funeral and
or big men of the village and directs
the last phase of malangan ceremonies.
activities during the ceremonies of malan-
The position of the two birds, rulowlow
gan by the power of his speech.
and raus, recalls the dominant position
All images of malangan are understood as

projections out of Tsuwarima and Tangla;
because the images of one moietys
malangan are exchanged for the other
moietys women and vice versa
There are two metaphors that are used to

explain the relationships among images of
The hornbill on top of the gures head is

the big bird totem of the clan Morokomade
and the drongo bird at the front of the gure is the small bird totem of the sub-clan
of the sub-clan Morokomaf in the

exchanges of malangan.
MPNr 199 (right). Male? gure (malagan), wood,

Panamecho village, south-west coast, northern New
Ireland, Kara speakers, New Ireland Province. Wood,
shell. 143 x 27 cm. E.2146. Purchased from Simeon
Warenu by Roy Mackay on behalf of the [National]
Museum and registered 1 June 1967.
MPNr 200 (extreme right). Male gure (malagan),

wood, Panamecho village, south-west coast,
northern New Ireland, Kara speakers, New Ireland
Province. Wood, shells. 161 x 22 cm. E.2145.
Purchased from Simeon Warenu by Roy Mackay on
behalf of the [National] Museum and registered 1
June 1967.
MPNr 201 (opposite page, left). Female? gure

(malagan), wood, Panamecho village, south-west
coast, northern New Ireland, Kara speakers, New
Ireland Province. Wood, adhesive, seed pods, shells.
155 x 32 cm. 81.46.2. Purchased by the National
Museum in December 1980 and registered July
1981. Gazetted as National Cultural Property 20
December 1973.
Although Kchler was unable to obtain

a name for the gure MPNr 201, I was told in
August 1982 at Panamecho that its name is
MPNr 202 (opposite page, right). Male gure (malagan), personal name Melerawuk/Gumalokawuk; wood,
Panamecho village, south-west coast, northern New Ireland, Kara speakers, New Ireland Province. Wood, shells.
192 x 33 cm. (77 cm, including extended arm). 81.46.1. Purchased by the National Museum in December 1980
and registered July 1981. Gazetted as National Cultural Property 20 December 1973.
worn at malagan ceremonies; MPNr 195,
to Kchler. According to Brian Egloff, it has
rombol, has a different context.
the personal name Ragalabu, though he may
During Kara malagan ceremonies, masks
have misheard the term kangalabo. Kchler
Fiviwok and that the nger-in-mouth motif
walk through the village to terminate taboos
states that the masks called kangalabo are
suggests contemplation. Kchler notes that
(a vinebi). This is called a waswasbingel, the
part of a group of images called kepong (cf.,
the presence of the rib-bones (lengof) and
nishing off of the work of the deceased. No
Helfrich 1973: 30-2, Plates 92-105). She says:
the lack of a rekap on its chest identify the
masks of this type were recovered from the
carving as being of the category of images
Nombowai cave, but they would have looked
through the village progresses slowly
called Tangla (and therefore female). Like
something like MPNr 40, called nit or vanis,
from house to house, where its basket is
MPNr 200, it is carved standing with its right
with various names for the sub-types.
lled with food and shell money. Finally
foot in a clamshell. At either side and at the
Regarding the funerary taboos, Kchler says:
kepong reaches the feasting ground at a
front are drongo birds, the small bird totem

of sub-clan Morokomaf. On top of the head
Three places are subject to a vinebi after a

persons death the house in which the
sits a cockerel, holding in its beak a small
death occurred, called a gom; the place
male gure that is one of the manifestations
where the corpse is kept until cremation
of the clan ancestor spirits (rulrul).
or burial, called a wen a bit; and the land
The name of the gure (MPNr 202) with
which the deceased had been cultivating
The kepong never dances. Its movement
time when the nal food distribution of

the malangan is about to start. Here the
kepong imitates activities of women and
their behaviour. Again it demands to be
given portions of food.
This seems to be similar (though not
an outstretched right arm was recorded by
Until the taboos are terminated, houses
exactly the same) in function to the Tabar
Kchler as Melerawuk, but by Rowena Hill
in the village may not be altered or dis-
Islands vanis masks (sub-category ngeis)
(1980) as Gumalokawuk. These may be
mantled and the resources of land and
called Susur-vono, Mat-Nna-Nnach and Chire-
alternative names. The male gure wears a
sea may not be exploited. [Kuechler
large kapkap and stands on the big bird

totem, manuengak, the sea eagle, and the
1983: 81-2]
The walking mask follows the steps of the
Chirep (Lurang 1999: 147 and Figs 15.4-15.6).

These ngeis masks are quite different in
appearance to the kepong.
same bird is sitting on its head with a snake
deceased accompanied by a group of men
The characteristics of the kepong mask
in its beak. The snake, a manifestation of
and women who are clan members of the
called kangalabo (big-ear) are mortice-and-
rulrul, the clan ancestors, was entwined over
deceased or from the clan of the dead per-
tenon ear attachments, a nose attachment,
the outstretched arm but has broken off. The
sons father, singing songs in the old
the slanted and sometimes protruding eyes
other arm is missing, but it is said to have car-
language of the original mountain settle-
of what elsewhere are called ges or ngeis, and
ried the skull of a man named Kasaumat.
ment of Baum.
distorted facial features. The destroyed mask
Perched on the penis of the gure is a horn-
The man wearing the mask holds an axe
from Nombowai had lost its ear attachments
bill (bengbenga), small bird totem of
in his hand and cuts down trees planted
but still had its nose attachment carved as
Morokomade clan, devouring the gures
by the deceased and destroys his house.
the head of a pig when brought out of the
internal organs. On each side, a hornbill
Singers and observers break into tears,
cave (Fig. 108 and Kuechler 1983, Plate 7). It
perches on a leg of the gure and holds one

of the ribs in its beak; a small hornbill sits on
the hand of the outstretched arm.
shaken by the memory of all those who

have gone and who took part on such
occasions in the past.
After this, the mask is bought by the clan
was most likely similar in appearance to the

mask illustrated in Lincoln (1987a: 107), or
that from Tabar Islands illustrated in Helfrich
(1973, Plate 103), having the same pointed,
of the deceased or of the children of the
upturned tongue-like protrusion from the
deceased. Pigs, shell valuables and money
mouth. MPNr 196 has lost both ear and nose
All of the masks brought out of the Nom-
are given to those owning the image carved
attachments and the spiky protrusions from
bowai cave are called a menebei. The one that
for this occasion.
the mouth were broken off while it was on
The masks
was destroyed, and MPNrs 196 and 197, were
MPNr 196 is called kangalabo according
display at the Panamecho school. It was
MPNr 196. Mask (kangalabo), Panamecho village, south-west coast, northern New Ireland, Kara speakers,
New Ireland Province. Wood. 35 x 18 cm. 81.46.6. Purchased by the National Museum in December 1980 and
registered July 1981. Gazetted as National Cultural Property 20 December 1973.
probably similar in appearance to the Tabar

Islands kepong mask illustrated in Helfrich
(1973, Plate 100), which also has the spiky
protrusions from the mouth.
MPNr 197 is called pitalolot according to
Kchler. According to Brian Egloff, it has the
personal name Piscaut, though he may have
misheard the term pitalolot. Each ear-attachment features a snake, a manifestation of the
rulrul clan ancestors. A contemporary version
of this mask, carved by Hosea Linge of Libba
village (Notsi speakers), was collected by
Peter Hallinan and exhibited in 1990-91 (Hallinan 1990: 10, Nr 3).
This mask is quite different to kangalabo.
It has the ear-attachments, identifying it as
nit kalerala according to Kchler, and therefore in at least that respect it is related to the
nit kulegula of Lewis (1969: 114-16). The name
also possibly relates it to the mask called pitalot in Helfrich (1973: 26) and Heintze (1987:
51-2), though there is little similarity in
appearance. It is rather more like the series of
masks, most of which are called merue, illustrated by Helfrich (1973, Plates 77-85), being
characterised by a face over-modelled in
blackened bees wax with hair and beard represented by plant materials. Kchler says, The
impression of an over-modelled skull is
emphasised by the prominent brows, sunken
eyes and half-open mouth.
Kchler draws a vivid contrast between
kangalabo and pitalolot.
The eyes of pitalolot are sunken in, the
eyes of kangalabo are sticking out; the
teeth of pitalolot are not visible but they
are prominent features of kangalabo; the
appearance of pitalolot is realistic, the
appearance of kangalabo is grotesque.
The contrast in the form given to kangalabo and pitalolot is met in the difference
of the activity of the two masks. The mask
MPNr 197. Mask (pitalolot), Panamecho village,

south-west coast, northern New Ireland, Kara
speakers, New Ireland Province. Wood, adhesive,
seed pods. 72 x 16 cm. 81.46.3. Purchased by the
National Museum in December 1980 and registered
July 1981. Gazetted as National Cultural Property
20 December 1973.
kangalabo appears compact and heavy;
her prohibition to marry or to take food
if worn at all by a dancer, its movements
from other people). Being dead among
have to be slow and guided by another
the living, the a failai is the manifestation
man (there are no holes for the dancer to
of the immortality of his/her clan; he/she
look through). The mask pitalolot is light
is a clan spirit. This striving for immortality,
and fragile; the masked dancer can move
manifested in the status of the a failai, is
quickly and independently.
the theme of the images of the mask a
The mask MPNr 195 called rombol

(recorded as rambol by Brian Egloff ), appears
menebei. The opposition of the form of

kangalabo and that of pitalolot is resolved
in the form given to rombol (an image
at the rst opening of the sacred enclosure
embodying both death-like and life-like
and is worn by a failai. The person designated
appearances, as do the images of
a failai is the guardian of clan wealth and is
malangan).
kept in seclusion until death. In Kara society,

he/she was not allowed to marry, to eat food
prepared outside the sacred enclosure, to
leave the enclosure on his or her own
account, or to be near anyone not specially
designated to come close. A mask had to be
worn by a failai when he or she left the enclosure. After the death of a failai, the rst
woman of his or her sub-clan that becomes
pregnant has to enter the enclosure. Her
child is born there, remains hidden, and is
raised with food given by the dead. When a
failai reaches maturity, he/she makes the rst
appearance, wearing the rombol mask. While
in seclusion, a failai learns about magic and
the images of malagan owned by the ancestors of his/her sub-clan.
This knowledge provided a failai the right
to acquire shell money, land and images
of malangan in exchange for the inherited
images of malangan. This is clan wealth
not personal wealth and a failai acts as
the guardian of that wealth.
Kchler continues:
The a failai cannot make decisions about
public affairs such as the organisation of a
malangan, or speak in public. The only
purpose of his/her being is to show off
the inuence and wealth of his/her clan.
Socially, he/she is dead (as signied in his/
The bird gures
to be a remnant of what was probably a

snake held in its beak and in the one not on
Two carvings incorporating a bird as the
display, the owl holds a female gure in its
main gure have come from the Nombowai
beak. Both are manifestations of the clan
cave, only one of which is on display in the
ancestor spirits, rulrul, also represented on
Masterpieces Exhibition. The one on display
two of the full-gure malagans from Nom-
(MPNr 198) is essentially a side view of the
bowai and on the ear attachments of the
Barn Owl with what appear to be its wings
mask, pitalolot.
extended to the rear. However, what look like
The two Nombowai raus may be com-
feathers are a representation of a mass of
pared, respectively, with the similar carvings
mazemaze worms (Palolo virides). The owls
illustrated in Lincoln (1987a: 143 and 140-41).
beak holds the remnant of what was proba-
In the caption to the former, Lincoln repeats a
bly a snake, one of the manifestations of the
common interpretation of the bird and snake
clan ancestor spirits, rulrul.
motif as the New Ireland theme of birds and
The other bird gure (E.2147, see Kuechler
snakes in struggle. This is inconsistent with
1983, Plate 12), not on display, is a frontal
the information provided to Kchler at Pana-
image with the owl at the centre holding a
mecho and may be a Eurocentric
female gure in its beak and its wings
interpretation. Similarly, certain motifs of sh
extended on either side (though almost all of
or birds devouring humans may have noth-
the birds right wing has been broken off ).
ing at all to do with devouring but rather is a
Kchler was able to obtain information

about how these gures were used:
One piece has a socket; the other has a
loop-like handle carved at the rear. Both
are to enable the dancer to carry the carv-
way of indicating the fundamental relationship between human ancestors and the clan
as a continuously-existing social entity as
represented by its totem animal. Thus the
bird holding the snake is the same as the bird
ing. The dancer himself is dressed up as a
holding a human or a sh holding a human
hornbill bird (big bird). Dancing the lang-
(for example, Lincoln 1987a: 88).
manu or rising bird dance motif, he
What is often thought of simply as feath-
approaches the malangan platform
ers or wings of the bird may in fact be
erected inside the malangan enclosure a
something else. In the case of the Nombowai
sebero. His movements imitate the move-
raus gures, Kchler was told that
ments of a bird. During the nal stage of

the dance the dancer, holding the carving
instead of feathers the wings consist of
raus, mounts the platform and may per-
representations of the worm Palolo virides
form, for example, a vivid imitation of a
(mazemaze). The painting of the carving
bird settling down in its nest. After the
once displayed the numerous colours of
dance the dancer is paid and the carving
mazemaze: yellow, brown, green and red.
bought by the clans involved in the

exchange of malangan and women.
As has been noted above, the owl raus is
She goes on to explain the signicance of

the Palolo worm:
The Palolo worm mazemaze plays an
associated with death and the time for mala-
important role in the Kara conception of
gan. In the carving on display, there appears
time; mazemaze can be found on only one
MPNr 195. Mask (rombol), Panamecho village, south-west coast, northern New Ireland, Kara speakers, New
Ireland Province. Wood, adhesive, seed pods. 28 x 22 cm. 81.46.5. Purchased by the National Museum in
December 1980 and registered July 1981. Gazetted as National Cultural Property 20 December 1973.
MPNr 198. Bird (raus), wood; Panamecho village, south-west coast, northern New Ireland, Kara speakers, New
Ireland Province. Wood, adhesive, seed pods, shells. 62 x 32 cm. 81.46.4. Purchased by the National Museum
1980 and registered July 1981. Gazetted as National Cultural Property 20 December 1973.
day of the year. It appears on exposed
making gardens and a time for making
perhaps by force of conquest. This is a basic
reefs beneath stones and lumps of coral
malangan. The power of mazemaze thus
difference between Papua New Guinea soci-
during the night after the disappearance
achieves the unity of land and malangan.
ety and Western society that regards land as
of the moon in October on the east
Mazemaze symbolises the continuity of
a commodity that can be bought and sold by
coast and in November on the west coast
time: it marks the end of the old year and
During the very early morning hours
the beginning of the new year. Its image,
after the mazemaze are collected in bas-
being integrated into the malangan raus
kets and carried to the village, children are
(representing death), makes a statement
taken to the water to wash. The water in
about the continuity of social time and
which mazemaze was found is thought to
immortality of social groups established
ated from traditional community ownership
support the growth of children
in and through the practice of malangan.
by the colonial powers and is now bought
individuals.
Already, Papua New Guineans are experiencing the Western forms of land ownership
in the urban centres where land was alien-
and sold like any other commodity. It remains
The appearance of mazemaze marks a
Throughout Papua New Guinea, the primacy
to be seen how much longer the ways of the
and immortality of the community is a fun-
ancestors, pasin bilong ol tumbuna, as dem-
damental assumption of social life. It is the
onstrated in the Masterpieces Exhibition of
community that owns land, and individuals
the Papua New Guinea National Museum and
merely own rights to the use of land (Samana
Art Gallery, can survive in the 21st century, as
1988: 12-13). Traditionally, whereas arrange-
Papua New Guinea becomes more and more
time of malangan itself lies in the dry sea-
ments can be made to transfer rights to the
drawn into global politics and the global
son or a wenemat.
use of land, it is not conceivable that owner-
economy.
The year is thus divided into a time for
ship can be permanently transferred, except
veles, the centre of the year. The time of

the dry season is nished and the rainy
season starts Matbung (the beginning
of the rains) is associated with the fertility
of the land it is called upon in magic
performed at the time of the planting of
taro gardens for a future malangan. The
Notes
1 For the sake of ease of reading and to be consistent with the present tense often used by
ethnographers whose works are quoted, this
text has been written in the present tense
except where it is perfectly clear that a particular building or type of building, settlement
location or cultural practice no longer exists. It
should not be thought that this convention
implies that New Guinea societies are unchanging. In fact, many traditional beliefs and
practices do continue in the present day, and
although traditional warfare, and obviously
headhunting and cannibalism, do not, traditional conicts and tensions are worked out on
the football eld and in other ways. Also note
that, again for consistency, the italicisation of
vernacular and Melanesian Pidgin terms has
been applied within quotations, regardless of
whether or not the authors italicised such
words or phrases. Where alternative spellings
for vernacular terms, villages, rivers and so on
occur in the literature, they will be indicated at
rst mention but only one spelling used in the
text thereafter, although authors spellings will
be retained in quotations, as will authors
spellings of English words (for example, AngloEnglish: colour; American English: color).
2 Each object in the exhibition has an exhibit
number [MPNr], apart from its registration
number, that was given to it when the exhibition was restructured in 1981, but the structure
of this catalogue does not strictly follow these
numbers from 1 to 209.
3 Nowadays these canoes are propelled by outboard motors rather than by sail (Lipset 1997,
Plate 8).
4 Bodrogi (1961: 42) draws attention to
Schlesiers opinion that the balum is the embodiment of all ancestors.
5 Bodrogi reports (1961: 70): The balum spirit of
Huon Gulf appears under the name of kani in
the Tami Islands.
6 Except that close attention will show that a
splashboard is bigger on one side than on the
other, and those that are bigger on the right
side are thought of as prow splashboards and
those bigger on the left side as stern splashboards (Narubutal 1975: 1).
7 The motif of two sea-eagles attacking villagers
is found in stories that explain the imagery of
the Iatmul mens cult house nial gures (see
pp. 68-9 this book).
8 Josene Huppertz published the German
10
11
12
13
14
edition of her book in 1981 and an English

translation in 1992. The illustrations for each of
these editions are different. Only the German
edition illustrates the whole series of ve
faades.
Huppertz (1992: 66-74) also has published a
version of the story of Mobul as recounted by
Simon Nyowep (Novep) and tape-recorded in
Melanesian Pidgin by John Kovac. In that version, published in Melanesian Pidgin and in
English, Huppertz states that Mobul (= Mopul)
is the older brother and Goyan (= Wain) is the
younger brother and that the older brother
was angry with the younger because the
younger brother had seduced his (the older
brothers) wife. None of this is a necessary
reading of the Melanesian Pidgin text. In
Dennetts version, Mopul is the younger brother who is wrongly accused of seducing the
older brothers (Wains) wife. In the course of
Huppertzs version, the older brother marries
the two daughters of Goyan, Vigil and Sisil, but
as the story progresses, the husband of these
two women is named as Goyan, so there appears to have been a mistranslation
somewhere. There are other difculties in
Huppertzs version too, whereas the version
reported by Dennett is consistent and more
complete. The story of the two brothers
Andena and Arena, recounted to Lipset (1997:
73-4) at Darapap, Murik Lakes, is remarkably
similar to the story of Wain and Mopul.
Although spathe is the term commonly used,
the at sheets are actually made from the base
of the sago palm leaf or frond.
I photographed a deteriorating gable support
post, in the form of a spread-legged female
gure with a crocodile carved at the rear, in a
mens house at Korogopa on the middle Keram
River, 18 November 1981 (Photos 1981 C30:
26-31). Considered along with a similar gable
support post from Kambot (Meyer 1995: Plate
214), this reinforces the identication of links
between lower and middle Sepik architecture.
Wassmann (1991: 15) asserts that these gable
masks, even on the mens houses, represent
female ancestors. Mtraux (1991: 527) mentions only that the dwelling house, its faade
the face of a woman wearing long earings, was
symbolically a woman.
Eva Raabe, pers. comm. 13 February 2004. See
also Haberland 1966.
This interpretation is of course questionable. It
is perhaps even more likely (depending on
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
what is meant by primacy) that the nggwalndu faces are expressing the primacy of male
cultural creativity over female natural creativity.
The National Cultural Property (Preservation)
Act (Chapter No. 156 of the Laws of Papua New
Guinea), Section 9, stipulates a ne not exceeding K.500 or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months. The monetary ne has
not been upgraded since a 1967 amendment
to the original Act of 1965.
The most comprehensive survey of pottery in
PNG is the book by May and Tuckson (2000).
Most of the following information has been
obtained from that source.
For a photograph showing a man wearing the
pig tusk ornament on his chest, see Bodrogi
1961, Fig. 211.
For a survey of Oceanic headrests see Meyer
2004.
A remarkably similar story was told by a
Binandere at Ewore village on the Gira River,
Oro Province, in which the monster is named
Dodoima (Johnston 1995: 1-4). Another version, with the monster appearing as the huge
snake-man, Wvawvasikai, was recorded by
Burridge (1969: 312-15) among the Tangu,
about 15 kilometres south of Bogia, Madang
Province. A portion of the story, involving the
birth of two boys from the blood of cut ngers,
is part of the Yangoru Boiken myth that attributes the origins of male initiation to
women (Roscoe 1990: 404). Ewore and Tangu
are around 270 kilometres in opposite directions from the Adzera; the Yangoru Boiken are
200 kilometres farther west from Tangu.
It was not clear if these sons were actual sons
or classicatory sons.
Incorrectly tied, according to Dirk Smidt, who
believes it should be hanging at the front and
not pulled up between the legs (pers. comm.
19 May 2004).
A gure (E.46303) quite similar to Andi, is part
of the E.J. Wauchope collection of 1938 in the
Australian Museum. According to Wauchopes
notes, he collected this piece, along with several others, at Kraimbit, a village on the
Blackwater River some 50 kilometres southwest of Maramba. On the basis of style, it may
be conjectured that this gure was brought to
Kraimbit from Maramba.
Whereas Forge distinguishes the large
kamanggabi from the small yipon, I was informed that the large hook gures at Chimbut
(an Alamblak village on the Karawari) were
called yipwon, and Kaufmann appears to have

been told the same (2003: 40).
24 This information is contained in a copy of a
letter from Christian Kaufmann to Ralph
Bulmer, dated 14 July 1971, held in the PNG
National Museums archives.
25 On 23 September 1983, I recorded an interesting variation of the story of the woman, the
crocodile and their eagle progeny (Craig 1983:
134-38). Cletus Smank of Tambanum, an eastern Iatmul village, told the story as relevant to
the gable nial he sold to the National
Museum (registered 83.123.75), representing
what appears to be a male gure with an eagle
on top. The story follows the narrative recorded
by Wassmann from Kandingei, with some
minor variations, but when the eagles start to
attack and kill villagers, only one of them is
killed. (Neither eagle carries its mother into the
tree as in the Kandingei version.) The other ies
off and encounters a man and woman who
both appear to be pregnant but they say they
have distended bellies because they cant
defecate. The eagle cuts open their rectums
and they are relieved of their constipation. This

part of the story seems to be a transformation
of the introduction of sexual intercourse by
Mangisaun, who cut open the womans vagina
to make intercourse possible. The carved nial
sold by Cletus therefore appears to represent
one of the eagles carrying off a male victim,
rather than its mother as in the Kandingei
version of the story.
26 Wurabai is a Kwomtari-speaking village in the
southern foothills of the Bewani Mountains on
the Wuro, an eastern tributary of the North
River. Wurabai is about 50 kilometres northeast of Kwomtari village.
27 As a consequence of this event in 1918, the
District Ofcer burned down the new cult
house Bungabwar, destroying the karkar spears
and other contents, and it wasnt until 1981
that it was eventually rebuilt (Lipset 1995: 198
and Plate 25).
28 Dirk Smidts account (1975: 53) agrees in some
details with the story told to me but differs in
naming Onesi rather than Arero as the recipient of the mask. It is possible that Onesi is an
29
30
31
32
alternative name for Arero, or Onesi may have

been a descendant of Arero.
In 1966, Thomas Schultze-Westrum (1968: 299,
Bild 4) photographed a few deteriorating
keweke and gope in a hut at Wowobo village,
inland from the complex waterways between
the Kikori and Era rivers.
The South Australian Museum has one large
one (A.8554) and several small ones from
Bevan; others from Bevan are in the collections
of the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
(Newton 1961, Illusts 227, 230), and there is a
small one in the Macleay Museum in Sydney.
Van der Zee incorrectly provides the name
Aceros u. undulatus, which is a South-east Asian
species not present in New Guinea (Beehler et
al. 1986: 145, Plate 25; Iredale 1956: 213, Plate
VII, 2; Mayr 1941: 94; Rand and Gilliard 1967:
302-3, Plate 43).
Kapkap is the Pidgin English word for a fretwork of tortoiseshell fastened to a white disc of
Tridacna (clam) shell (Edmundson and Boylan
1999: Plates 37, 48, 50, 61; Sthr 1987, Plate
158).
Appendix 1
Functions of the National Museum and Art Gallery
Section 4 of the National Museum and Art
(vi)
maintain the national register of
(xii) undertake eld research on the
traditional and archaeological sites,
collections, and publish the results of
locate and record prehistoric sites
such research in the Museum records
Museum, Branch Museums and designated
and monuments, and carry out the
and other appropriate publications; and
Cultural Centres] are to
salvage of archaeological excavations
Gallery Act of 1992 states:

The functions of the Museums [National
(xiii) monitor and afliate researchers
as required by the National Cultural
from other institutions carrying out
and natural heritage of Papua
Property (Preservation) Act (Chapter 156)
research in the areas of the Museums
New Guinea as required by the
and the Environmental Planning Act
functions; and
(i)
protect and conserve the cultural
Environmental Planning Act (Chapter

370 [of the Laws of Papua New
(Chapter 370); and

(vii) identify, document and monitor
Guinea]), National Cultural Property
the conditions of objects of national
(Preservation) Act (Chapter 156) and the
cultural signicance, recommend
Conservation Areas Act (Chapter 362);
their proclamation as national cultural
and
property, and keep a register of
(ii)
collect, document, photograph,
conserve and manage examples of
national cultural property; and

(viii) monitor the collection and export
(xiv) maintain a reference library that

serves the Museums functions; and
(xv) mount permanent, temporary and
travelling exhibitions for the education
and enjoyment of the public; and
(xvi) assist and provide training
programmes for personnel from
provincial and regional cultural centres;
and
prehistoric artifacts, traditional arts and
of artifacts, issuing permits and perform
material culture, and contemporary
other duties as required by the National
history and art; and
Cultural Property (Preservation) Act
implementation of international
(Chapter 156); and
conventions relating to the cultural
(iii)
administer the National Cultural
(ix)
manage and preserve prehistoric
and War Surplus Material Act (Chapter
sites, traditional structures and movable
331) and any other Act that applies to
objects of cultural signicance as
the functions of the Museum; and
required by the National Cultural
(xvii) recommend to the Minister the
and natural heritage of mankind where

Papua New Guinea is a party to such
conventions; and
(xviii) recommend to the Minister the
seeking of the return from overseas
prehistory of Papua New Guinea
and the Conservation Areas Act (Chapter
countries of objects and collections of
by archaeological surveys and
362); and
(iv)
research and document the
excavations, and manage the national

archaeological collections; and
(v)
monitor archaeological research
in Papua New Guinea and issue
(x)
conserve objects, sites and
structures using traditional and

modern techniques; and
(xi)
maintain a national collection of
archaeological permits for the short-
natural history specimens and carry
term loan of archaeological material for
out research on the ora and fauna of
study overseas: and
Papua New Guinea; and
national and cultural signicance; and

(xix) establish Friends of the Museum
under a special Trust Fund; and
(xx) assist and encourage contemporary
arts at the national, provincial, local and
individual levels.
Appendices 253
Appendix 2
Ethnographic Collections of the National Museum
Barry Craig
sent to two or more museums. Sometimes
Japan (especially at the National Museum of
different collectors make collections in a
Ethnology at Osaka) also must be recognised.
Most readers of this Masterpieces Exhibition
particular area at different times, and the
This suggests that there could be half a
catalogue may not have realised that there is
material is sent to a number of different
million artefacts from Papua New Guinea
an enormously valuable treasure of material
museums. Often collections come from
in museums around the world but the
cultural heritage preserved in the storerooms
different collectors from adjacent areas and
information at hand is preliminary at best.
of the National Museum. The Masterpieces
are therefore complementary in that sense.
Introduction
Exhibition is merely the best selection of
The material cultural heritage of a
A survey of French institutions is under

way (Boulay 1992) and there is an increasing
the most signicant items that could be
particular cultural group may be scattered
number of references to the Pacic collections
made in 1979 and 1981, given imperfect
in several museums throughout the world
of particular museums, for example Anson
overall knowledge of the collections by the
but, if they are fortunate, that group might
(1995) for the Otago Museum, Dunedin; Auld
selectors, myself included. The exhibition in
nd a good collection from their area in the
(1982) for the Carnegie Museum of Natural
the Independence Gallery provides a broader
National Museum. For scholars who want to
History in Pittsburgh; Coote et al. (1999)
selection of items of more general and
research the material cultural heritage of a
for the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford; Craig
everyday use and shows a lot more of what
particular area or region, the objects they
(1993) for the National Museum of Australia
can be found in the storerooms. Even so, the
would like to study are seldom conveniently
in Canberra; Davidson (1991) for the National
items on exhibit are just a small proportion of
located in one museum. Then comes the
Museum of New Zealand; Ewins (1997) for
the total collections.
task of nding out where the relevant
the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in
material is located. But even with progressive
Hobart; Fernstrom (1997) for the Baltimore
Museum almost certainly has the largest
computerisation of registers, it is difcult to
Museum of Art; Gathercole (1995) for the
collection of Papua New Guinea material
discover what is held by the various museums
Cambridge University Museum; Gunn (1993)
culture in the world (Table 1), there are many
throughout the world.
for the Northern Territory Museum in Darwin;
Despite the fact that the National
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, ve
Holmes and Frlan (1989) for museums in
at all represented (Table 5). There are many
surveys of Pacic collections were carried out
Yugoslavia; Hunt (1996) for the university
reasons for this. The relatively short history of
and published, in Switzerland (Kaufmann et al.
museum at Aberdeen; Idiens (1990a, b) for
the museum and limited funding, combined
1979), the United Kingdom and Irish Republic
museums in Scotland; Jones (1993) for the
with the enormity of the task of representing
(Gathercole and Clarke 1979), Australia
South Australian Museum in Adelaide; Kaehr
the variety of cultures created by people
(Bolton 1980), New Zealand (Neich 1982), and
(1992) for a Swiss museum at Neuchtel;
speaking over 750 languages, are sufcient
the United States of America and Canada
Lavondes (1991) for a French museum
explanation.
(Kaeppler and Stillman 1985). Some museums
at Grenoble; Lovelace (1992) and MacKie
with major collections were not included in
(1993) for museums in Scotland; Pole (1996)
deliberately collecting or acquiring major
these surveys for various reasons; for example,
for the Saffron Walden Museum in Essex;
individual items and collections of material
the Museum of Cultural History (now Fowler
Raberts (1993) for the Museum of Victoria
according to a predetermined plan. Most
Museum) at the University of California in
in Melbourne; Regius (1999) for museums
museum collections come together largely
Los Angeles had some 20,000 items from the
in Sweden; Fetchko (1989) and Scarangello
by circumstance and chance rather than
Pacic in 1981 (Ellis 1981:17), probably the
(1996) for the Peabody Essex Museum at
purposefully. Because this is so, curators in
majority coming from Papua New Guinea, but
Salem; Stanton (1995) for the museum at
museums world-wide should think of their
is not listed in the North American survey.
the University of Western Australia in Perth;
distinctive cultures that are poorly, or not
It is rare that a museum can set about
collections of Papua New Guinea material
It may be assumed that there are at least
Thomsett (1993) for the Australian Museum
culture as dispersed collections. Sometimes
as many objects in museums in the rest
in Sydney; Vargyas (1992) for the museum
a particular collection (made by one person
of Europe as were recorded by the above
at Budapest in Hungary; Watson et al.
from a certain area) has been divided and
ve surveys, and collections in museums in
(1996) for the Peabody Museum at Harvard;
Table 1 Some Major Papua New Guinea and Torres Strait Islands Collections ranked by order of size
(from Kaufmann et al. 1979, Bolton 1980, Gathercole and Clarke 1979, Kaeppler and Stillman 1985, Neich 1982, rounded to nearest 10)
Museum
PNG and
Torres Strait
Islands
Bern, Switzerland
Edinburgh, UK
Neuchatel, Switzerland
Ottawa, Canada
Zurich, Switzerland
Ontario, Canada
Metropolitan Museum, NY, USA
Manchester, UK
Canterbury, New Zealand
Horniman, UK
Glasgow, UK
Geneva, Switzerland
Australian National Gallery, Canberra
Los Angeles County, California, USA
Liverpool, UK
Uni of Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK
Uni of Southern Illinois, USA
Tasmanian, Hobart, Australia
Bishop , Honolulu, Hawaii
Smithsonian, Washington DC
Wellington, New Zealand
c. 800
840
c. 850
860
c. 900
950
950
1040
1050
1130
1170
c. 1300
1350
1370
1500
1620
1640
2070
2420
2650
2940
Museum
PNG and
Torres Strait
Islands
Otago, New Zealand

Peabody, Salem, Massachusetts, USA
Uni. of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, USA
Queensland Uni, Brisbane, Australia
Lowie, Berkeley, California, USA
Peabody, Harvard, USA
National, Canberra, Australia
Pitt Rivers, Oxford UK
Auckland, New Zealand
Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
South Australian, Adelaide, Australia
Cambridge Uni, UK
Museum of Mankind, London, UK
American Museum of Nat. History, NY
Queensland Museum, Brisbane
Basel, Switzerland
Field, Chicago, USA
Australian, Sydney, Australia
TOTAL
PNG National (as at 1989)
2980
3490
3690
3700
3970
4850
5210
7270
8140
8470
9070
9150
11500
12440
15180
c. 20000
21650
27390
c. 207540
c. 33000
Zwernemann and Wilpert (1990) for the
made available to the public and to scholars.
the intention to establish a museum in Port
museum in Hamburg, Germany. Mostly,
Further, the Museum does not yet have the
Moresby was rst expressed by accumulating
these accounts focus on the biography, and
facilities to make such a register available
specimens.1 The Museums Annual Report for
historical and socio-political background, of
on-line.
1965 provided a graph illustrating the rate
the collectors and collections rather than on

lists of ethnographic material.
The purpose of this Appendix is to give
an overview of the collections of the National
The following summary is only a
from 1952 until 1965 and commented that
the museum and how it got there, based on
(TPNGPMAG 1966: 2):
limited examination of the Register Books.
Museum and to provide an outline of who

were responsible for making the collections,
The rst two decades
from where and when.
After the end of World War Two, joint civil
A short history of the registration
of acquisition of ethnographic specimens
preliminary guide to what can be found in
administration was established for the
The two very high peaks which occur

during 1954 and 1963 followed the
distribution through the Department of
District Administration of a circular giving
details of information required in relation
procedures used since the establishment
formerly separate Territories of Papua and
of the museum will explain the different
New Guinea. In 1954 the Legislative Council
registration numbers encountered in the
of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea
catalogue and why research is necessary
passed an Ordinance which provided for the
to establish the identity of so many items.
establishment of a Papua and New Guinea
Although there is a computerised register of
Public Museum and Art Gallery. Following
the ethnographic collections in the National
the precedent set by William MacGregor,
Museum, this requires a lot more work before
J.H.P. Murray, and the civil administration
of the Museum until a Native Clerk was
it can be considered reliable enough to be
in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea,
employed to catalogue the specimens and
to articles collected for the Museum.

This circular, prepared by the late Charles
Julius [Government Anthropologist] . . .
was rst issued in 1953 and brought a
remarkable response.
There were no permanent employees
Appendices 255
care for the collections under the supervision
became separated from the specimens.
as at October 1965 (Table 2).
of the Government Anthropologist, Charles
The rst task was to clear out each room,
When the collection was re-registered, the
Julius. Prior to that, the museum was run by
build shelving and, as far as space would
specimens assigned numbers within each
volunteers. It is not clear what year the Clerk
allow, classify the material according to
District category were given new numbers
began his work but it wasnt until 1959 that
type. As the space is so limited, classifying
commencing at E.1. Up to October 1965,
the Museum was given the basement of the
according to District, language group or
these new numbers did not reach E.1300.
old European Hospital at Port Moresby and
culture group could not be considered. This
The discrepancy between the less-than
opened to the public on 15 October 1960.
task was accomplished and a complete re-
1300 entries in the register and the total
registration of the collection begun.
number of objects being 3017 as at October
At rst, objects were registered according
1965 is explained by there being in many
to the District (now called Province) they
Also in 1965, the National Cultural
came from. There was a separate book for
Property Ordinance came into force and
cases more than one object registered
each District that recorded ethnographic
the power to grant permits for the export
under each E number. For example, E.1249,
and other details that were supplied with the
of cultural material not of special interest to
37 tapa cloths; E.1251, 4 ghting picks;
objects. A card index also was made. Most of
the Museum was delegated to the Director
E.1252, 3 adzes; E.1253, 2 spears; and so
these exercise books and the card index are
of District Administration and to District
on. Another potentially confusing factor is
preserved at the National Museum.
Commissioners (ibid: 9). As a guide to the
that up until 1967 the Date of Acquisition
District Commissioners, and in an effort to
(by the Museum) was recorded, not the
Mackay was appointed Preparator-in-Charge
acquire more ethnographic specimens, a
date of registration, presumably because a
of the Museum and arrived in Port Moresby
catalogue showing a summary of the types
large number of items were acquired many
in October 1964. His rst task was to assess
of material housed in the Museum was
years before they were formally registered
the situation at the Museum and develop
published. This catalogue (Papua and New
under the E system. After re-registration
a plan of action for the immediate future
Guinea Museum 1966) indicated the number
was completed, the Date of Registration of
(TPNGPMAG 1966: 25):
of objects in the collections for each District
newly arriving specimens replaced Date of
As a result of the Ellis Report of 1963, Roy
Acquisition.
The rst half of this year [1965] was spent
in appraising the present state of the
Museum and its collections and from
this to develop a programme of work to
improve the preservation and cataloguing
of the collection, storage facilities, gallery
space and exhibits, provide a workroom
with basic tool equipment, increase the
oor space by at least one extension,
promote public relations and increase staff.
The second half of the year was devoted to
putting these activities into effect.
Revealingly, Mackay goes on to report

(ibid.: 27):
Very little existed in the way of storage
facilities in 1964. Specimens were heaped
on the oor and in consequence many
labels, numbers and accompanying data
Table 2 Number of objects in PNG

Museum as at October 1965
DISTRICT
Sepik
Madang
Morobe
Northern
Milne Bay
Central
Gulf
Western
Manus
New Ireland
New Britain
Bougainville
Eastern Highlands
Western Highlands
Southern Highlands
TOTAL
OBJECTS
683
422
204
87
139
122
91
210
110
28
91
120
174
361
175
23
14
7
3
5
4
3
7
4
1
3
4
6
12
6
3017
102
(NB. Total of percentages exceeds 100 because of

rounding errors.)
Thus the material that came earliest

to the Museum includes many valuable
old objects that subsequently lost their
original registration numbers and other
documentation; and because more than
one object may have shared a registration
number, there were other confusions as
well. Further, objects were not routinely
measured as part of the registration process
until around August 1970 when E.5843 was
reached. These are the reasons why so many
objects in the Masterpieces Exhibition have
required considerable research to establish
their identity, and why a handful remain
unidentied.
Among the most important of the collections gathered in these early years, and
which emerged from research on the objects
in the Masterpieces Exhibition, is that from
the information is insufcient to identify
documented collections came from such
Dadi Wirz (the son of Swiss ethnographer
the objects referred to. From 1965 onwards,
arrangements where one part of the whole
Paul Wirz) assembled during his trip through
for each signicant collection, usually the
collection went overseas and a matching
the Sepik region in 1955 (following upon his
number of items, where they were from and
collection stayed in Port Moresby.
fathers untimely death, and burial at Wewak).
the name of the collector was provided.
These include the 63 objects registered E.346
Table 2 shows the lack of material from
museum curators and others doing long-
to 350 and E.352 to 378. Archival sources
certain Districts, particularly Gulf, New Britain,
term research in particular areas made
indicate that these items were withheld from
New Ireland and Northern (Oro) Districts
collections of material culture which they
export by the Administration. The larger
as compared with the Madang, Sepik and
presented to the PNG Museum. Many of
part of the collection was given an export
Western Highlands Districts.
these collectors provided material over a
permit and most of it is now in the Museum

der Kulturen, Basel, and the Muse national
des arts dAfrique et dOcanie, Paris (now
relocated and renamed the Muse du quai
Branly).
No doubt other early collections will be
found to originate from particular collectors,
probably administration ofcers. For example,
E.1 to 14 received in 1952 and representing
almost 110 objects from the Lake Murray/Fly
During 1966, Mackay made several eld

trips
to collect, at relatively small direct cost, a
large number of valuable and signicant
items. It is in planned collecting trips such
as these that we are likely to nd the best
means of lling the many obvious gaps
in our collections, whilst maintaining
the essential high quality of the items
collected. [TPNGPMAG 1967: 3]
River area; E.15 to 23 received in 1953 and

representing 60 objects from the Orokaiva
Many anthropologists, archaeologists,
number of years, not necessarily all at one

time, and include:
s $OUGLAS.EWTONLOWERMIDDLEAND
upper Sepik, 310 items;
s 4HOMAS3CHULTZE 7ESTRUMWESTERN
Papuan Gulf, 330 items; Mt Bosavi,
Western District, 105 items;
s !RNOLD0EREY/KSAPMIN7EST3EPIK
District, 255 items;
s ''*ACKSON3IMBAI6ALLEY-ADANG
These trips resulted in almost 45 items
s 0ETER7HITE,AKE+OPIAGO7ESTERN
around Popondetta ; and E.79 to 154 received
from the Eastern Highlands, over 230 items
Highlands (now Southern Highlands),
in 1954 and representing 410 objects from
from the Nomad River area of the Western
Eastern Highlands and Chimbu districts,
the Lower Ramu-Bogia area. Then there are
District, and six items from the Maprik area of
the two 1967 collections of about 125 items
the Sepik District.
from Wonenara, sent by Discom, Eastern
But prior to Mackays appointment and
Highlands (E.2021 to 2068) and nearly
his deliberate collection of ethnographic
20 items sent by ADC, Imonda (E.2159 to
material from particular areas, Bryan
2167). Considerable archival research will
Cranstone from the British Museum set
be necessary to nd out more about these
a precedent in 1964 by being the rst
and many other apparently anonymous
ethnographer to systematically allocate to
collections, but it can be done.
the PNG Museum a representative portion of
The Trustees published the rst of their
a collection made for an overseas institution.
140 items;
s !NTHONY#RAWFORD'ULFAND#ENTRAL
districts, 50 items; Gogodala, Western
s 'RAEME0RETTYAND!NTHONY#RAWFORD
Mendi and Tari, Southern Highlands
s 0ETER,AUER'OODENOUGH)SLAND-ILNE
Bay District, 70 items;
s 'ODFRIED@&RED 'ERRITS-ILNE"AY
Annual Reports of the Museum in February
Of his collection of around 800 objects
Northern, Madang and Sepik districts,
1965, which covered the calendar years 1963
from the Telefolmin, Ulapmin and Tifalmin
735 items and as agent for Dirk Smidt
and 1964 and included a nancial report for
peoples of central New Guinea, some 300
of the PNG Museum, from Sunuhu in
the year July 1963-June 1964. Each Annual
were allocated to the PNG Museum, although
Report thereafter referred to activities in the
intermittent registration of the collection
calendar year but nancial reports were for
between 1964 and 1970 account for less than
the nancial year. The rst published Report
200 of these items. Through the second half
included a section on New Acquisitions but
of the 1960s and into the 1970s, the best-
East Sepik District, 255 items;

s "ARRY#RAIG4ELEFOMINANDUPPER3EPIK
West Sepik District, 680 items;
s -ARKAND*UDY$ORNSTREICH'ADIO%NGA
Appendices 257
s !AND-*ABLONKO3IMBAI6ALLEY
Madang District, 100 items;
s 'EORGE-ORREN-IYANMIN7EST3EPIK
s .ANCY"OWERS+AUGELAND+ANDEP
Southern Highlands District, 40 items;
s %DMUND#ARPENTERUPPER3EPIK
items;
s 'ILBERT,EWIS!NGUGANAK7EST3EPIK
s 0ETER(UBER!MANABAREA7EST3EPIK
District, 85 items;
s (EINZAND!NTJE+ELM9ELLOW2IVERAREA
West Sepik District, 95 items;
s 7ILLIAM-ITCHELL,UMIAREA7EST3EPIK
District, 25 items;
s 7OLFGANG.ELKE-T(AGEN7ESTERN
Highlands District, 50 items;
s -ARGARET4UCKSON-ANUS3EPIK
example, there is material from around the

country collected by Chief Justice Sir Alan
s *OHN37OMERSLEY4AMBUL7ESTERN
of the Museum from 1959 until his death
Highlands District, 40 items; Long
in 1970. There is also material from all over

the country donated over a period of more
than twenty years by J.K. McCarthy, for
many years Director of the Department of
Native Affairs (renamed the Department of
Karawari, East Sepik District, 140 items;

items;
s (ANS0ETER9URI7EST3EPIK$ISTRICT
items;
s "ERNARD*UILLERAT!MANABAREA7EST
Sepik District, 255 items
s *IM2HODESAND.ATHAN,AA'ULF
District, 95 items.
s !VE3ORUM"IAMI7ESTERN$ISTRICT
items;
s *OHN!USTING/ROKAIVA.ORTHERN
District, 130 items.
These collections are an irreplaceable
contribution to the cultural heritage of the
nation.
The names of well-known government
ofcers are to be found in the Register. For
islands, Milne Bay District, 75 items.
time Trustee of the Museum. Much of his
attitude of many of their colleagues, several
collection was sent to the Branch Museum at
missionaries with a positive interest in
Goroka named after him. There were regular
material culture also added to the collections:
accessions of small numbers of objects from
s 2EVEREND2ALPH,AWTON4ROBRIAND
the Government Anthropologist, Charles
Islands, Milne Bay District, 30 items;
Julius, and a large collection made up of
s "RIAN"EAVER4ELEFOMIN7EST3EPIK
many donations from all over the country,

from the Administrator Sir Donald Cleland
and Lady Cleland. Highlands material came
collecting during his employment with the
s $AN3HAW3AMO7ESTERN$ISTRICT

s 4OM#RAIG4ROBRIANDAND7OODLARK
Despite the dismissive and destructive
items;
Sepik/Western districts, 90 items;
Island, Madang District, 15 items;

s !NTHONY#0LUMMER-AY2IVERAREA
District Administration in 1964), and a long-
from James Sinclair; Roy Mackay continued
s #HRISTIAN+AUFMANN!MBUNTIANDUPPER
Mann, President of the Board of Trustees
Madang and Milne Bay districts, 130

s *OHN&ITZ0ORTER 0OOLE"IMIN7EST
s 4OM%LLIS7ONENARA%ASTERN(IGHLANDS
Museum and when Dirk Smidt joined the

staff, he too made many and large collections.
Brian Egloff contributed ethnographic
objects as well as archaeological material
District, 30 items;
s &ATHER2EGIS3MITH.UKUAREA7EST
Sepik District, 85 items;
s $R0AUL"RENNAN7ABAG7ESTERN
Highlands District, 30 items;
s ,YLE3CHOLZ3IMBAI6ALLEY-ADANG
District, 10 items;
s +ARL&RANKLIN3OUTHERN(IGHLANDS
District, 60 items.
during his time on the staff of the Museum
Commercial dealers and collectors of
and Robert Mitton brought with him to the
ethnographic objects and tribal art also
Museum most of the [West] Papuan material
contributed to the Museums collections,
(some 175 pieces) that is in the Museum,
sometimes as donations, sometimes through
going on to add collections from places in
conscation, and often by sale to the
Papua New Guinea, for example, Southern
Museum. Unfortunately, this material tends to
Highlands (225 items), Manus (150 items)
be poorly documented:
and East Sepik (40 items), before his untimely

death in 1977.
Other government ofcers who collected
material now in the National Museum
include:
s &RED0ARKER+UNDIAWA#HIMBU$ISTRICT
65 items;
s !#*EFFRIES+IKORI'ULF$ISTRICTITEMS
s *OHN+ELLY.OMAD7ESTERN$ISTRICT
items;
s "RUCE,AWES%ASTAND7EST3EPIK
districts, 35 items;
s *OHN0ASQUARELLI%ASTAND7EST3EPIK
s -ARK,ISSAUER%AST3EPIK$ISTRICT
items;
s 7AYNE(EATHCOTE%ASTAND7EST3EPIK
s -ORRIS9OUNG3EPIK-ADANG-OROBE
and West New Britain districts, 720 items;
s "ARRY(OARE%AST3EPIK-ADANGAND

Southern Highlands districts, 240 items;
Table 3 Growth of the PNG Museum

Ethnographic Collections 1963-1975
s 2UDI#AESAR%AST3EPIK-ADANGAND

Gulf districts, 60 items;
s -AARTEN"ORKENT%AST3EPIK-ADANG
and Morobe districts, 130 items;
s 3EIZEDCOLLECTIONALLAREASOF
Papua New Guinea, 140 items;
s 3EIZEDCOLLECTION0APUAN'ULF
items.
There are many other collectors, some of
whom provided excellent documentation,
but without further research it is not clear
to which of the above categories they
belong. There were also large archaeological
collections made by various researchers,
perhaps the most visible in the Register
numberItem number. The rst collection

recorded under this system was 75.1.1
to 100 (a collection of 100 pots from ve
Year2
Artifacts
(N)
Cost of Artifacts
($)
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
440
200
300
1500
1160
900
1700
1500
1570
1760
2450
2910
590
650
530
1600
2450
2030
1830
6280
16,180
10,260
11,170
177,320
103,250
10,700
16,980
344,250
TOTAL
Note: Figures for the number of artifacts and their

cost have been rounded to the nearest 10
being Jim Specht, J. Peter White, Ron
provinces acquired from Lynne Hosking and

Margaret Tuckson). A Register recorded a
summary of each collection as it came into
the Museum but more detailed information
for each object was recorded on an Artifact
Registration Form. These forms were led
under the Year and Collection number. The
Register that I accessed commenced in 1975
and ended in 1989. I do not have summary
information about incoming collections since
the end of 1989.
The most signicant collections
registered under the system commencing
in 1975 through to 1989 were the following
(gures are approximate), most being from
Vanderwal, Brian Egloff, Ian Hudson and
annual basis, the number of artifacts received
anthropologists, museum curators and others
James Rhoads. Many of these archaeologists
and the amount spent on the purchase of
doing long-term research in particular areas:
also added to the ethnographic collections.
artifacts.
Repatriations from overseas museums
These gures show marked growth in
during this period include two New Ireland
the museums ethnographic collections in
malagan masks and a malagan gure from
1966 following the Ellis Report of 1963 and
the Museum fr Vlkerkunde (now Museum
the appointment of Roy Mackay in 1964.
der Kulturen), Basel, in 1961; a Tolai iniet
The next marked increase was in 1973 and
gure from the Queen Victoria Museum and
1974 as a result of the major grant of $5
Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania, in 1966;
million for cultural development from the
and ten items from the Southern Highlands
Australian government. Expenditure on
District (a yupin gure and stone objects)
artifacts dropped signicantly in 1975-76
from the National Museum of New Zealand,
as the Museum budget was oriented to the
Wellington, in 1974. One of the malagan
construction, furnishing and stafng of the
masks and the yupin gure are in the
new museum building at Waigani.
The last published Annual Report of the
75.1, several provinces, 100 pots;

s "4HURSTON7EST.EW"RITAIN
Province, 60 items;
s +RISTIAN,AGERKRANTZ
Wuvulu Island, 35 items;
s -ARK-OSKO-EKEOPEOPLE
Central Province, 75 items;
s !,#RAWFORD
Gogodala people, Western Province,
250 items;
s $"ALLANTYNE#ENTRAL0ROVINCE
135 stone tools;
s 'ODFRIED@&RED 'ERRITS3UNUHU
Masterpieces Exhibition (MPNrs 40 and 194

respectively).
s ,YNNE(OSKINGAND-ARGARET4UCKSON
The next twenty-ve years

The registration numbering system was
Trustees was for the nancial year July 1975
changed in 1975, perhaps to reect the birth
June 1976 (TPNGPMAG 1976b). The growth
of Papua New Guinea as an independent
of the Museums ethnographic collections
nation. The E numbering continued until 30
during the period 1963-1976 covered by the
September 1975 and E.17274 was reached.
published Annual Reports of the Trustees is
Thereafter, the numbering commenced
summarised by Table 3 which shows, on an
according to the system: YearCollection
East Sepik Province, 50 items;

s %LIZABETH"ROUWER-ADAKPEOPLE
New Ireland Province, 35 items;
s 3+OBAYASHI-ADANGAND
Morobe provinces, 35 items;
s "ARRY#RAIGCENTRAL.EW'UINEA
and upper Sepik, 650 items;
s !LBERT'VAN"EEK"IAMIPEOPLE
Appendices 259
Western Province, 140 items;

s 2*AND(&3HERIDAN.EW)RELAND
Province, 50 items;
s -ARY!YRES-OREHEAD2IVER
s -ARSHA"ERMAN+ANDRIAN
area, West New Britain Province, 130
items;
s !LISON3TOKESSEVERALPROVINCES
70 items;
s 2OSS"OWDENAND"AIVA)VUYO
Kwoma people, East Sepik Province, 35
sago-spathe paintings;
s /#HRISTENSEN7ESTERN
25 items;
Highlands Province, 445 stone tools;
s 2OWENA(ILL.ORTH3OLOMONSAND
s 3HUJI9OSHIDA-AY2IVER)WAM
Eastern Highlands provinces, 15 items;
upper Sepik, 85 items;
84.143, Eastern Highlands Province, 15
s 3TUART+IRSCH9ONGGOMPEOPLE7ESTERN
items; 85.69, East New Britain Province,
Province, 80 items.
PNG National Museum staff and
5 items;
s )VAN-BAGINTAO!NGAPEOPLE%ASTERN
ofcers of other PNG government cultural

institutions who collected material include:
Highlands Province, 65 items;

s $ON.ILESSEVERAL
s 2OBERT-ITTON-ANUS

ITEMS3UNUHU%AST3EPIK
provinces, 75 musical instruments;

s 0AMELA3WADLINGNORTHCOASTOF
Province, 25 items; 76.32, [West] Papua,

75 items;
[West] Papua, 15 items;

s 7ILFRED4OMO3OUTHERN
s -ICHAEL'UNN
s $IRK3MIDT+ILENGEPEOPLE7EST
Tabar Islands, New Ireland Province, 70
New Britain Province, 45 items; 77.82,
items;
78.30, 79.62, middle Ramu, Madang
New Guineans, the largest being purchased
Province, 395 items;
from:
s 2OBERT$EPEW!WIN

people, Western Province, 70 items;
s 0AULAND*ACKIE3ILLITOE
Wola people, Southern Highlands
s 'EORGE#ORBINAND#HRIS)SSAC
s 'EOFFREY-OSUWADOGA4ROBRIAND
Islands, 120 items;
s 2ESONGA/MBONI+AIKUAND"RIAN
items; 85.101, Madang Province, 20
83.73, 83.95, Mountain-Ok, West Sepik
stone tools;
s -ARK"USSE"OAZI
people, Western Province, 100 items;
s 0IETERTER+EURS3IASSI)SLANDS
Morobe Province, 25 items;
s -AUREEN-AC+ENZIESEVERAL
provinces, 40 string bags;
s *ACK3WEENEY3UKIPEOPLE
s 4!KIMICHI7ESTERN0ROVINCE
items;
s (ELEN$ENNETT%AST3EPIKAND/RO
provinces, 45 items;
s (ERMANNAND+EMPF-ADANG
Province, 45 items;
84.103, 85.54, 85.86, 86.2, 86.31, 86.80,

87.18, 87.46, all Simbu Province, 280
55 items;
s 2OBIN(IDE3IMBU0ROVINCE
83.97, 83.99, 84.39, 84.42, 84.60, 84.86,
Egloff; 77.80, Gulf Province, 90 items;

85.59, East Sepik Province, 275 items;
East New Britain Province, 25 items;
s $UNGUL5MBA
s "ARRY#RAIG
Sulka people, East New Britain Province,

s 'EORGE#ORBIN"AININGPEOPLE
Highlands Province, 110 items.

Many collections came in from Papua

s 2ESONGA/MBONI+AIKUMIDDLE
Ramu, Madang Province, 15 items;
s 3OROI%OEMIDDLE2AMU
Madang Province, 115 items; 81.29,
81.67, Sepik River, 20 items; 83.116, Gulf
s 2OWENA(ILLAND&RANCIS"AFMATUK
items;
s 3IRISO!VA#ENTRAL0ROVINCE
items;
s !LBERT3USUVE'ULF0ROVINCE
items;
s 0IM+OROPE
86.101, 87.31, 87.65, Western Highlands
Province, 75 items.
Commercial dealers and collectors
of ethnographic objects and tribal art
81.46, six very old gures/masks moved
contributed through donations, conscation,
to a local primary school from a cave
but mostly by sale to the Museum. Morris
near Panamecho, New Ireland Province;
Young, operating as Island Carvings and
s 4HEODORE-AWE3OUTHERN

s 2OWENA(ILLAND#HRIS)SSAC3ULKA
later as manager of the government owned

Village Arts, was responsible for some 540
items, including a series of 175 wooden
East New Britain Province, 20 items;
bowls from the Siassi Islands. After Youngs
s !NDREW3TRATHERN3OUTHERN
death, some 65 items were obtained from

s "AIVA)VUYO-ILNE"AY0ROVINCE
Village Arts. Maarten Borkent was the source

for 55 items, Rudi Caesar for some 250 items
from East Sepik and Gulf Provinces, and 60
83.71, 84.82, 84.95, 86.102, consisting
items were obtained from Joe Chans PNG
of about 2775 items from several
Art. Loed van Bussell contributed small
provinces, two of which are in the
numbers of items several times, the largest
Masterpieces Exhibition (MPNrs 148,
accession being for some 30 masks from East
149). Between 1979 and 1992 nine
New Britain Province (87.22). Allyn Miller of
selections took place, 3,297 items being
the Handcrafts Development Branch of the
returned to Papua New Guinea while
PNG Department of Industrial Development
2675 were retained by Queensland.
was the source for 260 items from various
The documentation programme has
provinces over a number of years.
been completed and the remaining
Conscations included 70 items from the

Gulf Province (77.10), seized from Knezevic
and Gueroult in 1976, 105 items from West
Sepik Province (78.59) seized from H. Dutch,
2277 items comprising spears, bows

and arrows await selection (Quinnell
2000: 97).
s -ACLEAY-USEUM5NIVERSITYOF3YDNEY
and over 40 items originating from East Sepik
Camilla Wedgewood Collection, 84.48,
Province (80.61) seized from M. Stummer.
consisting of 37 items from Manam

Island;
Table 4 Growth of the PNG National

Museum Ethnographic Collections
1976-1989
Year
Artifacts
(N)
Acquisition
budget
(Kina)
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
19863
1987
1988
1989
1610
950
1360
1510
880
1190
370
2230
1270
600
1150
700
110
200

25,000
25,000
25,000
25,000

Total
14,130
An important purchase from an overseas
s 5NIVERSITYOF0ENNSYLVANIA
private collector, Patricia Withofs (81.48),
a necklace of nassa shells and two
acquisitions as this information is sometimes
consisted of a male gure as suspension
infants hands, East Sepik Province;
recorded in the Register and sometimes not.
hook (MPNr 127), a canoe gope from the Fly
s $R&+'-ULLERRIEDSSTONEAXE ADZE
River, and three war shields (including MPNr
collection in the Australian Museum,
only (gures rounded to nearest 10) as some
138).
consisting of over 140 items collected
entries in the register did not state how
during 1937-38 from the lower eastern
many items there are, some collections are
collections from local to national level also
Ramu, Madang Province, was rst
non-ethnographic (skeletal, archaeological),
occurred:
placed in the National Museum on loan
and some entries are of items that may have
and later altered to a repatriation about
been registered long ago but had lost their
1998.
registration numbers and had to be re-
Transfer of the ownership and care of
s 5NITED#HURCH#OLLECTION
Kiriwina, Trobriand Islands, 250 items;
s 5TU(IGH3CHOOL#OLLECTION
Kavieng, New Ireland, 150 items;
s -ANUS0ROVINCIAL'OVERNMENT
There were also large archaeological

collections made by various researchers,
The number of artifacts are approximate
registered.
Table 5 gives an approximation of the
including Jim Allen, Nick Araho, Chris Ballard,
number of items from each province as at
Jack Golson, Paul Gorecki, Chris Gosden,
1989 (rounded to nearest 10) and a rough
Les Groube, Pat Kirch, Andre Rosenfeld,
notion of how well the material culture of the
Jim Specht, Matthew Spriggs, Peter White
various language groups in each province is
and of course Pamela Swadling during her
represented. This assessment indicates that
seventeen items from several provinces,
long service as Curator of Prehistory at the
something like 90% of the language groups
three of which are in the Masterpieces
National Museum.
in Papua New Guinea are poorly, or not at
Collection; 85.68, Manus Island, 60 pots.

During this period there were a number
of repatriations from overseas museums:
s !USTRALIAN-USEUM3YDNEY
Exhibition (MPNrs 47, 60, 150); and

88.34, one Manus Island oil jar;
Table 4 shows a variable rate of
all, represented in the collections. Those
acquisition of artifacts from 1976 until
provinces whose language groups are best
1989, falling off rapidly after the mid-1980s,
represented include Simbu (20%), Southern
79.48, one Gogodala drum; and the
presumably due to budget restrictions. I was
Highlands (19%), Gulf (18%) and West and
MacGregor Collection, 80.66, 81.35, 83.6,
unable to discover the amount spent on
East Sepik (13%).
s 1UEENSLAND-USEUM"RISBANE
Appendices 261
Table 5 Ethnographic Collections of the PNG National Museum in 1989 analysed by number of language groups
represented
Province
No. of
items
% of Total
collection
in inventory
No. of
languages
Languages
well
represented
Languages
partly
represented
Languages
poorly/not
represented
West and East Sepik

Madang
Morobe
Oro
Milne Bay
Central
Gulf
Western
Manus
New Ireland
East New Britain
West New Britain
North Solomons4
Eastern Highlands
Simbu
Western Highlands
Enga
Southern Highlands
4240
1240
1340
400
1950
780
1000
690
*190
280
140
160
110
460
130
*890
140
1390
27.3
8.0
8.7
2.5
12.5
5.0
6.5
4.4
1.2
1.8
0.9
1.0
0.7
3.0
0.8
5.8
0.9
9.0
167
174
94
29
54
29
28
43
33
22
17
33
21
23
10
7
8
21
14
3

1
1
1
4
2

1

3
8
7

1
2
1

2
2
2

1
1
145
164

27
51
28
23
41

22
17
31
21
20
8

7
17
15530
100.0
8135
30
27
629
Total
NOTE: * These gures were provided by Pamela Swadling, pers. comm., 25 July 1995. The lists for these Provinces had been lost but the computer catalogue I have,
not complete for all E numbers, has Manus 185, WHP 894 and Morobe 1344 items.
It must be kept in mind that these gures

are extremely rough approximations only.
registered twice.
Although the Registers have now been
collection in other institutions. A collection

that was once complete, then divided, can
For one thing, Table 2 suggests that by 1965
computerised, there are many errors, either
be reunied virtually on paper and on a
around 3000 items were in the Museum.
in the original data or as a consequence of
computer, making it more useful for research.
Table 3 indicates that between 1966 and
the computerisation process. Improvements
If that person is alive, we can ask if there
1975, another 16,000 items were added and
in the quality of the information provided
are eld notes that will provide information
Table 4 shows that from 1976 to 1989, a
by the Registers can be made only through
additional to what is held by the National
further 14,000 items were added. The total as
careful research over many years. This is not
Museum. If the collector is no longer alive,
at 1989 ought therefore to be around 33,000
a state of affairs peculiar to the PNG National
we can search for such information among
items. However, Table 5 includes only half
Museum. All museums, throughout the world,
papers held by relatives or that may have
that number of items.
have the same problem, to a greater or lesser
been lodged in an archive somewhere.
Many entries in the Registers are of
extent.
Such methods are proving invaluable for

enriching collections of dusty old artifacts,
archaeological material but the provincial

listings used for Table 5 refer only to
Conclusion
making them come alive, and therefore more
ethnographic material. Many objects are
People may well ask what is the signicance
relevant and useful for the people of Papua
lacking sufcient data to assign them to
of knowing who made all these collections. If
New Guinea. During my time as Curator
a language group, some have never been
we know who collected certain material, we
at the PNG National Museum in the early
registered and some may even have been
can nd out if there are other parts of their
1980s, I was impressed that many people
said to me that they wanted their artifacts

the physical tokens of their way of life, their
culture represented in the collections of the
National Museum so that their children and
their childrens children could see how they
and their parents had lived. This knowledge
of, and respect for, the past is what gives
human beings their sense of community and
personal identity and establishes a secure
base from which to cope with the rapidly
changing circumstances of contemporary life.
Notes
1
Throughout this summary, only ethnographic
specimens that is, those of recently historical
and contemporary traditional material culture,
will be noted, not natural history specimens,
archaeological and human skeletal material, or
items of non-traditional culture such as those
of the Modern History collection.
2
Some gures refer to the nancial year and
some to the calendar year.
3
Apparently there were 1500 items of the
MacGregor collection returned from the
Queensland Museum in 1986 which were not
yet entered on the Register as at 1989.
4
The number of items from Bougainville
(now North Solomons) as at October 1965
(see Table 1) was 120 so some items must

have been missed when staff compiled the
Provincial Inventories.
This total is far in excess of the oft-nominated
750 languages for Papua New Guinea, mostly
because many languages cross provincial
boundaries and thus have been counted
more than once for the purposes of this table.
A more accurate tabulation would avoid
reference to provinces and be tabulated by
alphabetic order of name of language or
perhaps more usefully presented according to
the family tree structure of the relationships
of languages as generally determined by the
linguists at the Australian National University
(Wurm and Hattori 1981).
Appendices 263
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Julius, Charles MPNrs 108, 109
175, 181, 182
Caesar, Rudi MPNrs 14, 49, 61, 62, 115, 154
Kaufmann, Christian MPNr 156
Scholz, Lyle MPNr 136
Cleland, Lady Rachel MPNrs 203, 204
Klap, Ms Penny MPNr 151
Schultze-Westrum, T.G. and S. MPNrs 117, 118
Craig, Barry MPNrs 3, 86, 139, 140, 174, 177,
Knezevic and Gueroult MPNr 96
Sepik Primitive Arts MPNrs 89, 91, 92
Lakatoi Artefacts MPNr 100
Smidt, Dirk MPNrs 4, 11, 99, 131, 132, 153, 207
Lawes, Bruce MPNrs 9, 128 (with Oscar
Somare, Michael MPNr 75
180
Crawford, A.L. MPNrs 142, 143, 184
Donaldson, P. MPNr 205
Meyer), 152, 187, 191
South Pacic Artefacts MPNrs 55, 169
Leahy, Richard MPNr 170
Tuckson, Margaret MPNrs 68, 69
Lockyer, E.R. MPNr 194
United Church Collection MPNr 85
Groenveldt, Mr C MPNr 137
MacGregor, Sir William MPNrs 148, 149
Unknown MPNrs 10, 13, 17, 18, 21, 30, 31, 39,
Heathcote, Wayne MPNrs 6, 8, 41, 57, 66, 67,
Mackay, Roy D. MPNrs 1, 2, 186, 199, 200
Gerrits, Dr. G MPNrs 5 (with Dirk Smidt), 20,

35, 36-8, 71, 73, 79
48, 52, 54, 58, 64, 78, 84, 95, 98, 101, 102,
104, 114, 123, 135, 141, 158, 159, 160, 168,
McCarthy, J MPNrs 42, 43
178, 179, 183, 188, 189, 190, 206,
Miller, Alyn MPNr 51
Van Beek, Albert MPNrs 87, 88
113, 129, 133, 134, 144, 192, 208, 209
Hedlund, R.J. MPNr 119
Mitton, Robert MPNrs 33, 65, 90
Village Arts MPNrs 26, 28, 76
Hoare, Barry MPNrs 12, 15, 16, 19, 27, 34, 44,
National Museum MPNrs 195-98, 201, 202
Wirz, Dadi MPNrs 22, 29, 97, 110, 122, 124, 125
45, 50, 80, 81, 93, 106, 107, 112, 116, 146,
Nochinson MPNr 130
Withofs, Patricia MPNrs 127, 138
157, 176, 185
Patterson, W.R. MPNr 193
Young, Morris MPNrs 25, 77, 105, 145, 147
General Index 277
Index of Masterpieces
Note: Identication of languages based on
(p. 82), MPNr 68 (p. 99), MPNrs 187-89
the following sources;
(p. 119), MPNrs 190-92 (p. 120), MPNr 84
Laycock, D. 1973. Sepik Languages Checklist

and Preliminary Classication. Pacic
Linguistics, Series B, No. 25. Canberra:
(p. 186)
Bosmun speakers, MPNr 38 (p. 35), MPNr 78
(p. 102), MPNr 81 (p. 105)
(p. 96), MPNr 149 (p. 179), MPNr 85

(p. 195)
Kominimung speakers, MPNr 146 (p. 168),
MPNr 53 (p. 218)
Department of Linguistics, RSPS, ANU.

Wurm, S.A. and S. Hattori. 1981. Language
58 (p. 225)
Kilivila speakers, MPNr 20 (p. 88), MPNr 73
Chambri speakers, MPNr 64 (p. 94), MPNr 74
Kopar speakers, MPNr 79 (p. 102)
Atlas of the Pacic Area. Canberra:
(p. 101), MPNr 207 (p. 184), MPNrs 91-2
Kwanga speakers, MPNr 5 (p. 78), MPNr 71 (p. 99)
Australian Academy of the Humanities/
(p. 199)
Kwoma speakers, MPNrs 208-9 (p. 58), MPNr

171 (p. 108), MPNr 174 (p. 109), MPNr 176
Japan Academy.
Zgraggen, J.A. 1975. The Languages of the
Madang District, Papua New Guinea.
Elema people? MPNr 93 (p. 194)
(p. 110), MPNr 177 (p. 111), MPNr 180
Enga speakers, MPNr 193 (p. 122)
(p. 112), MPNrs 178-79 (p. 113), MPNr 183

(p. 114), MPNr 80 (p. 115)
Pacic Linguistics, Series B, No. 41.

Canberra: Department of Linguistics,
Gapun speakers, MPNr 41 (p. 212)
RSPS, ANU.
Gogodala speakers, MPNr 184 (p. 121
Kwomtari speakers, MPNr 56 (p. 205)

Manambu speakers, MPNr 104 (p. 188)
Huli speakers, MPNr 194 (p. 123), MPNr 142

Abau speakers, MPNr 145 (p. 167)
(p. 173)
186 (p. 117)

Adzera speakers, MPNr 72 (p. 97), MPNr 83
(p. 106)
Alamblak speakers, MPNrs 159, 160 (p. 142),
Iatmul speakers, MPNr 39 (p. 32), MPNrs 21-2
Melpa speakers, MPNr 144 (p. 175)
MPNr 11 (p. 65), MPNr 158 (p. 72), MPNr
Mendi speakers, MPNr 143 (p. 173)
65 (p. 94), MPNrs 66-7 (p. 95), MPNr
Mikarew speakers, MPNr 14 (p. 51), MPNr 44
127 (p. 147), MPNr 123 (p. 149), MPNrs

106-7 (p. 189), MPNr 98 (p. 196), MPNr 99
(p. 144), MPNrs 166-67 (p. 145)
(p. 197), MPNr 97 (p. 198), MPNrs 101-2
124 (p. 137), MPNr 125 (p. 138)

Asmat speakers, MPNrs 137-38 (p. 176), MPNr
(p. 200), MPNrs 108-9 (p. 201), MPNrs 51-2

(p. 207), MPNr 57 (p. 208)
Baining speakers, MPNr 55 (p. 224)

Bam speakers, MPNr 105 (p. 190)
(p. 216)
Misima speakers, MPNr 35 (p. 40), MPNr 36
(p. 41)
Murik speakers, MPNr 12 (p. 48), MPNrs 11112 (p. 126), MPNr 48 (p. 210)
Igana speakers, MPNr 49 (p. 217)
Mutu speakers, MPNrs 25, 27 (p. 37), MPNr 28
Kalam speakers, MPNr 136 (p. 172)
Muyuw speakers, MPNr 37 (p. 41)
(p. 39)
90 (p. 191), MPNr 13 (pp. 232-33)

Bahinemo speakers, MPNrs 168, 170 (p. 153)
Mekmek speakers, MPNr 110 (p. 134)
(p. 62), MPNr 18 (p. 63), MPNr 10 (p. 64),
MPNrs 161-62 (p. 143), MPNrs 163-65

Angoram speakers, MPNr 113 (p. 134), MPNr
Mayo speakers, MPNrs 172-73 (p. 108), MPNr

175 (p. 110), MPNrs 181-82 (p. 114)
Abelam speakers, MPNrs 1, 2 (p. 74), MPNrs 6,

7 (p. 75), MPNr 169 (p. 77), MPNrs 17, 185,
Manus Island, MPNr 75 (p.104)
Kambot speakers, MPNr 4 (p. 52), MPNr 152

(p. 128), MPNr 50 (p. 215)
Kara speakers, MPNrs 199, 200 (p. 243), MPNrs
Nafri speakers, MPNr 33 (p. 29)

Nalik speakers, MPNr 40 (p. 221)
Banaro speakers, MPNrs 115-16 (p. 129)
201-2 (p. 244), MPNr 196 (p. 246), MPNr
North New Ireland area, MPNr 47 (p. 220)
Bau speakers, MPNr 70 (p. 98)
197 (p. 247), MPNr 195 (p. 249), MPNr 198
North-eastern Kiwai speakers, MPNr 117
Beami speakers, MPNrs 87-8 (p. 192)

Bisis speakers, MPNr 29 (p. 33)
Bitara speakers, MPNr 141 (p. 167)
Biwat speakers, MPNr 122 (p. 133), MPNr 46
(p. 209)
Boiken speakers, MPNr 8 (p. 81), MPNr 9
(p. 250)
Karawari speakers, MPNr 205 (p. 139), MPNr
206 (p. 183)
(p. 159), MPNrs 118, 129 (p. 160), MPNr

130 (p. 161), MPNr 62 (p. 226), MPNr 59
(p. 227), MPNr 61 (p. 228)
Keapara-Aroma speakers, MPNr 150 (p. 178)

Kerewo speakers, MPNr 119 (p. 155), MPNrs
133-34 (p. 157), MPNr 94 (p. 193), MPNr
Olo speakers, MPNr 145 (p. 166), MPNr 100

(p. 186)
Index of Masterpieces
Orokolo speakers, MPNrs 131-32 (p. 164),

MPNr 148 (p. 177), MPNr 60 (p. 230)
MPNr 121 (p. 147), MPNr 126 (p. 149),

MPNr 128 (p. 151)
Tigak speakers, MPNr 203 (p. 236), MPNr 204

(p. 237)
Sepik Hill speakers, MPNr 89 (p. 185)

Pasismanua speakers, MPNr 147 (p. 180)
Purari speakers, MPNr 82 (p. 105), MPNr 120
Siassi speakers, MPNr 16 (p. 87), MPNr 77 (p. 103),

MPNr 103 (p. 190), MPNr 54 (p. 219)
(p. 162), MPNr 95 (p. 194)
Wahgi speakers, MPNr 151 (p. 154)

Tabar speakers, MPNrs 23-4 (p. 91)
Romkun speakers, MPNrs 153-54 (p. 130),

MPNrs 155-56 (p. 131), MPNr 157 (p. 132)
Tami speakers, MPNr 26 (p. 38), MPNr 76

(p. 104)
Telefol speakers, MPNr 3 (p. 85), MPNr 140
Sawos speakers, MPNr 19 (p. 70), MPNr 15

(p. 71), MPNr 63 (p. 93), MPNr 69 (p. 100),
Urama-Gope speakers, MPNr 96 (p. 193)
(p. 171)
Tifal speakers, MPNr 139 (p. 170)
Watam speakers, MPNr 30 (p. 33), MPNr

34 (p. 34), MPNr 114 (p. 127), MPNr 45
(p. 210)
Wogamusin speakers, MPNr 32 (p. 31), MPNr
31 (p. 32), MPNr 86 (p. 187)
Wogeo speakers, MPNrs 42-3 (p. 214)
General Index 279
General Index
Note: words followed by [people] are terms
Arani 133, 134, 150
Beek, Albert G. van 191, 261
conventionally used by ethnographers to re-
Arapesh [people] 73
Beier, Ulli 42, 125-28, 162-63, 213
fer to particular speech communities and/or
Arawe Islands 180
Bekapeki 152, Fig. 76
the names given by linguists to the languag-
Archaeological collections 261, 263
Bela 169, Fig. 87
es spoken by those communities. Where a
Aris, Peter 125-27, 213
Beltjens, Peter 53
page number is followed by -n and a number,
Aromot Island 87-8, Fig. 17
Benoir, Jean 92
this refers to the endnote number on that
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Berman, Marsha 262
page (eg. 251-n19 is endnote 19 to be found
(AGNSW) 133-34, 136, 150
Berndt, Ronald 178
Asanggumban (Asangamut) 136, Fig. 69
Bevan, Theodore 229, 252-n30
Asaro [people] 223
Biami [people] 260, 261
Asmat [people] 176, 190, 232-35, Fig. 106
Big Murik 213, Figs 23-5
Abau [people] Fig. 7
Asumbwi of Korogo 206
Bilbil Island 98
Abegini (Abegani) 216
Austen, Leo 157-58
Bimin [people] 260
Abelam [people] 73-7, 82, 100, 116-17, 204,
Austing, John 260
Binandere [people] 251-n19
Australian Institute of Anatomy, Canberra 6,
Biro, L. 102
on page 251).
Figs 48, 49
Ablingi Harbour Fig. 88
Admiralty Islands 104
Adulu 160
44
Australian Museum, Sydney 5, 6, 8, 44, 251n22, 263
Bishop Museum, Honolulu 8

Bisis [people] 32
Bisorio 138
Adzera [people] 9, 105, 106, 251-n19
Australian War Museum, Melbourne 6
Biwat [people] Fig. 67
Afupnok of Komdavip Fig. 84
Austronesian 26, 28, 30, 97, 98, 181, 223
Blackwater River 59, 251-n22
Aibom 100, 185, 188
Auyu [people] 176
Boagis 40, 42
Aitken, Thomas 182
Ava, Siriso 262
Boazi [people] 262
Akimichi, T. 262
Avatip 188
Bobonggara 23
Alamblak [people] 138, 140-43, 251-n23, Figs
Awar [people] 204
Bodrogi, Tibor 102, 189-90,236, 238, 251-
71-3
Awin [people] 262
n4&5
Alfendio [people] 138
Awok 234, 235
Bogia 259
Allen, Jim 263
Ayres, Mary 262
Boiken [people] 73, 81-2, 100, 118-20, 187,

251-n19
Amanab 205, 260

Ambonwari 185
Bafmatuk, Francis 262
Bongos 107
Ambunti 56, 115, 260, Figs 36, 61, 63
Bahinemo [people] 152-54, 187
Bonnefoy, Maurice 143
Amongabi 140
Baining [people] 204, 223-24, 262, Fig. 104
Border Mountains 187, 196
Amphlett Islands 98
Ballantyne, D. 261
Borkent, Maarten 261, 262
Andoar 137-38
Ballard, Chris 263
Bosmun 33, 49, 105
Anga (Kukukuku) [people] 181, 262
Bambai (Tomelekau), Benson 240
Bougainville 265-n4
Anguganak 260
Bamu River 155, 193, 225
Bowden, Ross 56, 107-9, 115, 262
Angoram [people] Figs 68, 70
Banaro [people] 128, 129-31
Bowers, Nancy 260
Angoram [place] 129, Fig. 6
Bangwis Figs 34, 35
Brennan, Paul 260
Antefuga 133, 135, 150
Barok [people] 3, 91
Breri [people] 132-33
April (Niksep) River 152-54, 165, 187, Fig. 76
Bateson, Gregory 61
Brignoni, Serge 160
Arafundi River 138
Bau [people] 98
British Museum, London 5, 259
Araho, Nick 263
Beaver, Brian 260
Brouwer, Elizabeth 261
Aramia River 27, 121, 193, Figs 8, 64
Bedamuni (Beami) [people] 191-92
Brown, George 177
Brugenauwi 110
Dark, Philip J.C. 88, 102
Gadio [people] 138, 259
Bue 239
Dauneng 133, 150, Fig. 67
Gahom 153
Buepis 234
Dennett, Helen 52, 54, 251-n9, 262
Gaikarobi 188
Bhler, Alfred 2, 135, 136, 219
Depew, Robert 262
Galis, K.W. 30
Buka Fig. 12
Dibiri 193
Gamei [people] 204
Bukaua Fig. 17
Dimiri 100
Gamnanenbak (Sikaiyum) 140, Fig. 72
Bulmer, Ralph 252-n24
Dinam 216
Gapun 211, 213
Bundi [people] 223
Donaldson, P. 138-40
Gardi, Rene 77
Burridge, Ken 251-n19
Dornstreich, Mark & Judy 259
Gawa Island 40-2
Busse, Mark 262
Dorsey, George A. 135-36
Gell, Alfred 2
Bussell, Loed van 263
Dubumba Fig. 77
Gerbrands, Adrian A. 191, 234-35
Dye, Wayne 153
Gerrits, Godfried 40, 42, 77-80, 259, 261
Caesar, Rudi 52, 132, 216, 261, 262
Gibu 162
Camilla Wedgewood Collection 263
Eastern Highlands 259, 262
Glass, Patrick 178
Campbell, Shirley 3, 42
East New Britain 263
Gnau [people] Fig. 14
Carpenter, Edmund 260
Edmiston, Pat 142
Goaribari Island 44, 106, 154, 157, 158, 193
Central New Guinea 84-6, 169-71, 187, 259,
Egloff, Brian 240, 245, 246, 247, 260, 261
Gofabi 191
Elema [people] 43-5, 155, 162-63, 177, 193,
Gogodala [people] 26, 121, 193, 259, 261, 263,
261, 262
Central Province 262
195, 204, 223, 229
Figs 8, 64
Chambri Lake 59, 100, 185
Elip Valley (Eliptaman) 86, Figs 84-5
Gogol River 98
Chan, Joe 263
Ellis, Tom 260
Goldman, Philip 152-53
Chenoweth, Vida 181
Ellis, W.F. 8-9
Goldwater, Robert 1
Chimbu [people] 259
Enga [people] 122-23
Golson, Jack 263
Chimbut 142, 251-n23, Figs 71, 73
Eoe, Soroi Marepo 14, 262
Goodenough Island 259
Chowning, Ann 3
Era River 44, 155, 158-60, 177, 225
Gope area 158-9, Fig. 78
Christensen, O. 262
Ewore 251-n19
Gorecki, Paul 263
Cleland, Donald & Rachel 20, 260
Ewta River 176
Gosden, Chris 263
Cletus Smank of Tambanum 252-n25
Gourlay, Ken 181
Collingwood Bay 105
Fatmilak 222
Groube, Les 263
Corbin, George 223-24, 262
Field Museum, Chicago 135
Groves, W.C. 236
Craig, Barry 14-n2, 165, 259, 261
Finschhafen 37
Guam River 128, 131-33
Craig, Tom 260
Fischer, Hans 181, 185
Guiart, Jean 63
Crane Expedition 53
Fisoa 236
Guma Figs 94, 104
Cranstone, Bryan 259
Fly River 263
Gunn, Michael 106, 222, 236-38, 262
Crawford, Anthony 121, 259, 261
Forge, Anthony 73, 76, 116, 140, 209, 251-n23
Gutok of Tongwindjamb 109-10, 112, Figs
Cultural Property Legislation 6-8, 9, 11, 16, 17,
Fountain, Ossie 85
251-n15
60, 62
Fox, Peter 9
Frankel, Hermione 30
Haberland, Eike 63, 142
Dairam Hitam River 176
Franklin, Karl 260
Haddon, A.C. 160
Danyig 183
Friede, John 160
Hallinan, Peter 246
Darapap 126, 213, 251-n9, Fig. 15
Frobenius Institute 63, 135
Hamson, Michael 187
DArcy Galleries, New York 143, 145
Frost, Steven 85
Hauser-Schublin, Brigitta 60, 73, 76, 206
General Index 281
Haus Vlker und Kulturen, St Augustin 136
Japtambor 234
Kikori 22, 195, 260
Heathcote, Wayne 140, 150, 165, 213, 260
Jeffries, A.C. 260
Kilenge [people] 87-8, 219, 262
Heintze, Dieter 222
Juillerat, Bernard 206, 260
Kilivila [people] Figs 18, 57, 58
Helfrich, Klaus 219, 246
Julius, Charles 258, 260
Kirch, Pat 263
Hermann & Kempf 262
Kire (Giri) [people] 204
Hide, Robin 262
Kaiku, Resonga Omboni 262
Kiriwina 263, Figs 18, 57, 58
Hill, Rowena 240, 241, 245, 262
Kaimari 160
Kirsch, Stuart 262
Hoare, Barry 66, 87, 200, 216, 261
Kairiru [people] Fig. 16
Kiwai [Island and people] 190, 193
Hogbin, Ian 214-16
Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss-Expedition 165
Knezevic & Gueroult 263
Holden, Gordon 63
Kalam [people] 169
Kobayashi, S. 261
Hosea Linge of Libba 246
Kaluli [people] 192
Koiwat 100
Hosking, Lynne 261
Kambot [village and people] 44, 52-4, 56, 135,
Kombai 176
Huber, Peter 260
251-n11, Figs 29, 30, 32
Komdavip 169, Figs 84-5
Hudson, Ian 261
Kambrambo (Kambaramba) 44, 209
Huli [people] 122-24, 169, Fig. 86
Kambrindo 138
Humboldt Bay 30, Fig. 13
Kamfegolmin [people] 169
Kooijman, Simon 2
Hunstein Range 152-54
Kaminimbit 151
Kopar [village and people] 49, 127, 129
Huon Gulf 37-8, 87, 219, 251-n5
Kamula [people] 177
Korogo 71, Fig. 96
Huppertz, Josene 52-4, 251-n8&9
Kandep 260
Korogopa 251-n11
Hurley, Frank 43, 160, 225, 229
Kandingei 60, 66-7, 208, 252-n25
Korope, Pim 262
Kandrian 180, 262
Kova , John 54, 251-n9
Kanganaman 61, 63-6, 189, Figs 41-4
Kraimbit 251-n22
206-9, 232, 251-n7, Figs 37, 38, 40-5, 74,
Kara [people] 247, Fig. 9
Krmer, Augustin 239, 241
91-3, 96
Karadjundo 129
Kubkein 31, 187
Idam Valley 165
Kararau 69, 151, 196, Fig. 45
Kchler (Kuechler), Susanne 240-50
Igana 217
Karau 211, Fig. 97
Kuk 23
Ilikimin [people] 86
Karawari (Korewori) River 7, 59, 138-46, 183-
Kumun 118
Iatmul [people] 32, 56-69, 150, 183, 188, 198,
Kominimung [people] 128, 129, 131-33, 165,

168, 217-18
Imigabip 85
84, 260, Figs 71, 73
Kundiawa 260
Imipiaka 123
Kasprs, Aloys 128, 132-33
Kundima 140
Imonda 259
Kate [people] 189
Kwanga [people] 73, 77-80, 100, Figs 50-3
Inantikin 86
Kaufmann, Christian 115, 142, 143-46, 252-
Kwoma [people] 56, 107-15, 116, 262, Figs 33-
Indabu 196
n24, 260
6, 60, 61, 63
Inyai [village, people] 138, 142, 143-46
Kaugel 260
Isago 121
Kaulong [people] 180
Issac, Chris 262
Kelly, John 260
Ivuyo, Baiva 262
Kelm, Heinz & Antje 260
Laa, Nathan 260
Kwomtari [village and people] 205-6, 252n26, Fig. 95
Kennedy, George 145
Lagerkrantz, Kristian 261
J.K. McCarthy Museum, Goroka 9, 22-3, 260
Keram River 46, 52-6, 100, 128-30, 216
Laiagam 122
Jablonko, A. & M. 260
Kerewa (Kerewo) [people] 44, 157-58, 160,
Lakalai [people] 3
Jackson, G.G. 259
225, Fig. 77
Lake Kopiago 259
Jangimot (Janain) 126, 210
Keurs, Pieter ter 262
Lake Kutubu 22
Japandai 208
Kiki, Albert Maori 45, 162-63
Lake Murray/Fly River 259
Langenia Fig. 103
Madsen, Mr 143-45
Langules, Pierre 92
Magalsimbip 169, Figs 82-3
Mikarew 51, 52
Lapita 97
Magendo 136
Miller, Allyn 225, 263
Latoma 145
Magim 136
Milne Bay region 98, 259, 260, 262
Lauan Fig. 9
Mahanei Fig. 7
Mindimbit 208
Lauer, Peter 259
Mailu [Island and people] 26, 97, Fig. 10
Misima Island Fig. 19
Laumann, Karl 133, 135-38
Maliba (Bekapeki) Fig. 76
Misingi 132
Lawes, Bruce 133, 150, 260, Fig. 75
Malinowski, Bronislaw 39, 40, 42, 195
Mitchell, William 260
Lawton, Ralph 88, 260
Malu 187
Mitton, Robert 30, 260, 262
Leach, Edmund 178
Mamiya, C.J. 45, 194
Mivimbit (Mebenbit, Mevenbit) 69, 188, 196,
Lehner, Henry 53
Manam Island 46, 263
Leonhard Schultze River 187
Manambu [people] 182, 188, 198
Miyak [people] Fig. 69
Lesu 236
Mandak [people] 223
Morakau of Murik Lakes 125, 128
Lvi-Strauss, Claude 2
Mandok Island 88
Morehead River 262
Lewis, Albert Buell 43, 135, 160
Manmanim of Magalsimbip Fig. 82
Morobe 260, 261
Lewis, Gilbert 260
Mann, Alan 7, 8, 9, 10, 63, 138, 260
Morren, George 260
Lewis, M.J. 206
Mansamei 7
Mosko, Mark 261
Lewis, Phillip 222, 238-39
Manus 260, 262, 263
Mosuwadoga, Geoffrey 12, 13, 14, 262
Libba 238
Manus Provincial Government Collection 263
Motu [people] 26, Fig. 11
Lincoln, Louise 248
Mappi River 176
Mount Bosavi 191, 259
Lindt, J.W. 177
Maprik 135, 259, Fig. 49
Mount Hagen 172, 260
Lipset, David 33, 46, 48, 49, 127-28, 210, 251-
Maramba 135, 136-38, 251-n22, Figs 68, 70
Mountain-Ok (see Central New Guinea)
Marap Nr 2 66
Mulderink, Anthony 87
Lissauer, Mark 260
Marawat 100
Mullerried F.K.G. 263
Liversidge, Jeff 132, 217
Marbuk 48
Murik Lakes 33, 46-9, 125-28, 129, Figs 15, 23-
Lockyer, E.R. 122, 124
Margarima 122-24
Long Island 260
Massim [region] 39-42, 97
Murray, Hubert vii, 5, 6-7, 11, 14, 20, 44, 257
Lower Ramu 259
Mawe, Theodore 262
Muschu Island 46
Lower Sepik 33, 125-28, 186, 189, 205, 210
May, Patricia 97-100, 187, 251-n16
Muse de lHomme, Paris 206
Lumi 165, 260, Fig. 80
May River 260, 262
Muse National des arts dAfrique et Ocanie,
Lurang, Noah 219, 222, 238, Fig. 102
McCarthy, J.K. 260
n9
McLean, Mervyn 181
196, 205, 207-9
208
8, 65, 97, 99, 100
Paris 63, 259

Museum fr Vlkerkunde (Museum der
Mbagintao, Ivan 262
Meagoma (Karalti) Fig. 78
MacGregor, William vii, 5, 6, 7, 11, 20, 257
Mekeo [people] 261
MacGregor collection 5-6, 13-14, 177, 263,
Mendam 126, 211, 213, Figs 26-8, 99, 100
Museum fr Vlkerkunde, Berlin 165
Mendi [people] 122, 154, 169, 259, Fig. 87
Museum fr Vlkerkunde, Frankfurt am Main
265-n3
Kulturen), Basel 135, 143, 145, 150, 259,

261
Mackay, Roy 9, 10, 240, 258, 259, 260, 261
Mtraux, Rhoda 251-n12
MacKenzie, Maureen 262
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 1, 150
Museum of Primitive Art, New York 1, 63, 213
Macleay Museum, Sydney 252-n30, 263
Meyer, Anthony 150, 251-n18
Musgrave, Anthony 5, 12
Madak [people] 261
Meyer, Oscar 133, 150
Mutu [people] Fig. 17
Madang 259, 260, 261, 262
Mianmin [people] 169, 260
Madau Island 40
Middle Sepik 32, 56, 59-72, 93-5, 146-52, 186,
63
Nafri 30
General Index 283
Nagri 110, Fig. 61

Namau [people] 43, 44, 155, 193-94, 225, 229,
Figs 21, 79
Namblo River 56
Orokolo 155, 157, 162-63, 177, 204, Figs 22,

105
Rabaul Museum 6, 14, 165

Ramu River 33, 128-29, 216-17, 262, 263
Oksapmin [people] 259
Rauit Fig. 14
Otsjanep 176, 234, Fig. 106
Reah, H.M. 122
Nangusap Fig. 46
Repatriation 6, 11, 13-14, 20, 44, 177, 261, 263
Narabutal of Kiriwina 42
Pacic Arts Association 4, Fig. 102
Rhoads, James 260, 261
Narian Fig. 19
Pakua of Libba 238
Rhodes, Jim [sic see Rhoads]
Narokobi, Bernard 14, 19
Palimbei 196, 200, Figs 37, 91-2
Ride, W.D.L. 9, 10, 13
National Cultural Property 8, 11, 63, 84-5, 140,
Panachais 240, 241
Rivers, W.H.R. 7
Panamecho 240-50, 262, Fig. 108
Rockefeller, Michael 234, 235
Panzenbock, Franz 139
Romkun [village and people] 131-33, 217
Papuan Gulf 43-5, 97, 105-6, 155-64, 192-95,
Roscoe, Paul 80-2, 118
150, 196, 213, 240, 255

National Museum of Australia, Canberra 6,
14, 44
National Museum for Ethnology, Leiden 191
National Museum of Ireland, Dublin 252-n30
National Museum of NZ, Wellington 261
225-30, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263

Papuan (Hubert Murray) Ofcial Collection 6,
14, 14-n2, 44
Rosenfeld, Andre 263

Ruboni Range 51, 216
Ruff, Wallace 47, 50, 54, 56, 63
National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 5
Parker, Fred 260
Neich, Roger 122-24
Pasquarelli, John 260
Samap 49
Nelke, Wolfgang 260
Pasismanua [people] Fig. 88
Samo [people] 191, 260
New Ireland 91-2, 219, 232, 236-50, 262, 263,
Paterson, W.R. 122, 123
Sanchi River 56, 107
Perey, Arnold 259
Sanio [people] 152, Fig. 76
Peter, Hans 260
Sawos [people] 59, 60, 66, 69-71, 133, 150-52,
Fig. 59
Newton, Douglas 2, 31, 44, 45, 63, 110, 15253, 154, 157, 158-59, 160, 182, 187-88, 198,
Pfeiffer, Marianne 150
213, 225, 229, 259
Pie River 160
Schefold, Reimar 148
Nggala [people] 31
Plummer, Anthony C. 260
Schindlbeck, Markus 60, 69-71
Niles, Don 262
Popondetta 259
Schlesier, E. 251-n4
Nomad River 259, 260
Porapora 48
Schmidt, Joseph 210
North-eastern Kiwai [people] Fig. 78
Port Moresby Museum 6
Schmidt, Karl P. 53
North Solomons 262, 265-n4
Porter-Poole, John Fitz 260
Schmitz, Carl 106
Notsi [people] Fig. 103
Powdermaker, Hortense 236
Scholz, Lyle 169, 260
Novep, Simon 52, 54, 251-n9, Figs 29-31
Pretty, Graeme 9, 14-n3, 259
Schouten Islands 33, 214
Nuku 107, 260
Prince Alexander Mountains 45, 73-82, 116-
Schultze-Westrum, Thomas 159-60, 252-n29,
Nukuma [people] 56, 107, 111, 115, 116, Fig. 61

Nyaurengai 150, Fig. 74
20
Purari Delta/River 106, 155, 160, 162, 177, 193,
229, Figs 20, 21, 79
Olimandji of Gaikarobi 71
Olivilevi Fig. 58
Olo [people] Fig. 80
Omadasep 234
Omarakana Fig. 57
Oppenheimer, Stephen 26
259
Schurcliff, Sidney 53, 61
Schuster, Gisela 153-54
Schuster, Meinhard 135, 153-54
Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery,

Launceston 8, 261
Queensland Museum, Brisbane 5, 6, 14, 177,
263, 265-n3
Quinnell, Michael 14-n1
Oro Province 262

Orokaiva [people] 3, 259, 260
182-83, 188, Figs 39, 46, 47, 75
Schwimmer, Erik 2, 3, 205

Seized Collections 11, 261
Sengseng 180
Sepik region 1, 45-9, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263
Shaw, Dan 260
Sheridan, R.J & H.F. 262
Raabe, Eva 135, 251-n13
Shotmeri 196, Figs 38, 39
Siassi Islands 37, 38, 87-8, 102, 189, 219, 262
251-n5
Vanderwal, Ron 261
Siep, William 132, 217
Tangu [people] 251-n19
Vanimo 30
Sikaiyum (see Gamnanenbak)
Tari 259
Vitiaz Strait 37-8, 98
Sillitoe, Paul 169
Tatau [Island and village] 238, Figs 102, 107
Voogdt, H. 135-36
Sillitoe, Paul & Jackie 262
Telban, Borut 140, 183, 185
Simbai Valley 169, 259, 260
Telefolip 84, 86, Figs 54-6
Wabag 260
Simbu Province 262
Telefolmin (Telefol) [people] 84, 259, Figs 54-
Wabia 169, Fig. 86
Sinclair, James 260
6, 81, 84, 85
Wagner, Roy 3
Singarin (Tsingarin) 129,135
Telefomin [place] 85-6, 259, 260, Fig. 81
Wagu 154
Sio 98
Thurnwald, Richard 77, 128, 130-31
Waiko, John 14
Smidt, Dirk 2, 10-11, 13, 51-3, 77, 79, 128, 129-
Thurston, B. 261
Walomo 30
30, 131-33, 168, 185, 209, 211, 213, 216,
Tifalmin (Tifal) [people] 259, Figs 82, 83
Wangbin 169
217-18, 234, 251-n21, 252-n28, 260, 262
Tjamangai 77
Wantoat [people] 204, 223
Smith, Regis 260
Tjitak [people] 176
Wapo Creek 155, 158-60
Solomon Islands 26
Tobadi 30
Warasei [people] 56, 107
Somare, Michael 1, 3, 10, 12, 104, Figs 1, 4
Tolembi 60, 69-71, Fig. 47
Warenu, Simeon 240
Sorum, Ave 260
Tomo, Wilfred 262
Washkuk Hills 56, 107
South Australian Museum, Adelaide 9, 222,
Tongwindjamb 109-10, Figs 33, 60, 62
Washkuk Village Fig. 89
Torricelli Mountains 31, 187
Wassmann, Jrg 60, 67, 146, 148, 206, 232,
252-n30, Fig. 102

Southern Highlands 260, 261, 262
Spearritt, Gordon 188
Specht, Jim 261, 263
Speiser, Felix 2, 44, 61, 126, 209
Spriggs, Matthew 263
Trobriand Islands 3, 39-42, 88-9, 98, 177-78,

195, 260, 262, Figs 18, 57, 58
Tuckson, Margaret 97-100, 187, 251-n16, 260,
261
Turama River/Delta 155, 157, 162
Stokes, Alison 262
251-n12, 252-n25
Watam [Lagoon and village] 33, 48, 127, 209,
211, 213, Figs 66, 90
Wauchope, E.J. 251-n22
Weiner, Annette B. 88-9
Welsch, Robert 135
Strathern, Andrew 262
Ubuo 159
Wepenang, Zacharias 54
Stummer, M. 263
Ugutagwa 79
West New Britain 87, 260, 261
Suki [people] 262
Ukiaravi (Ukiravi) 44, 160, Fig. 21
[West] Papua 260, 262
Sulka [people] 204, 262, Fig. 94
Ulapmin [people] 259
Western Australian Museum, Perth 9
Sumariup 138, 143-46
Umba, Dungul 262
Western Highlands 262
Sumnik, E.C. 45, 194
Umboi Island 87
Western Province 262
Sunuhu Nr 2 77-80, 259, 261, 262, Figs 50-3
Umeda [people] 2
White, Peter 259, 261, 263
Susuve, Albert 262
Umlauf, J.F.G. 136
Wielgus collection 135-36
Swadling, Pamela 262, 263
United Church Collection 263
Wilium Fig. 80
Sweeney, Jack 262
University of Pennsylvania Museum 263
Williams, Francis Edgar 43-5, 157, 160, 194, 229
Upper Sepik 31, 196, 205-6, 259, 260, 261
Wilson, Lindsay 240
Urama (Uramu) Island 44, 158-60, 194, 225,
Wingei Fig. 48
Tabar [Islands and people] 91, 219, 222, 223,

232, 236, 245-46, 262, Fig. 107
229
Wirimbi [people] 123
Tambanum 129, Fig. 40
Usher, Ernest Sterne 43
Wirz, Dadi 133-35, 136, 138, 150, 259
Tambigenum 135, 136
Utu High School Collection 263
Wirz, Paul 44, 135, 159, 259
Tambul 260
Tami Islands 37, 38, 87, 102, 189-90, 219,
Withofs, Patricia 263

Vailala River 157, 162-63, 177
Wogamus(-in) [people] 31, 188, Fig. 89
General Index 285
Wogamush River 152
Yabim [people] 37, 189-90
Yimas [people] 138-40
Wogeo Island 214-16, Fig. 101
Yabob Island 98
Yonggom [people] 262
Wogupmeri River 138, 183, Fig. 72
Ya 205
Yoshida, Shuji 262
Wola [people] 169, 262
Yambi Yambi 32
Yotefa Bay 30
Womersley, John S. 7, 10, 260
Yamok 133, 150-2
Young, Morris 87, 260, 262
Wonenara 259, 260
Yan of Asanggumban Fig. 69
Yuaroma 135, 138
Wongan (Wangam) 213
Yangoru 118-20, 187
Yuat River 32, 133-38, 209, Figs 68-70
Woodlark Island 98, 260
Yaruna 124
Yuo Island Fig. 16
Wosera area 77
Yasyin [people] 56, 107
Yuri [people] 260
Wowobo 252-n29
Yaul 100
Wumod 169
Yellow River 260
Zgraggen, John 128
Wurabai 206, 252-n26, Fig. 95
Yentschan Fig. 93
Zee, Pauline van der 232-35, 252-n31
Wuvulu Island 261
Yimar [people] 142
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-JWJOH

ii Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes

Barry Craig, Mark Busse, Soroi Eoe

David Becker, Anthony L. Crawford

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS

University of Hawaii Press

Published and designed in Australia by

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data has been applied for.

Copyright 2010 Barry Craig, Mark Busse and Soroi Eoi

iv Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes

Foreword Sir Michael Somare vii

Preface Thierry Bernadac and Jacques-Olivier Manent viii

Acknowledgements Barry Craig ix

Chapter 1 Introduction Barry Craig 1

Sources of Illustrations 276

Sources of Masterpieces 277

Index of Masterpieces 278

General Index 280

vi Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes

Tolerance comes about through u

because their parents have not passed onto

with, the National Museum and Art Gallery of

standing. It is important for our people and

them the reason behind why a certain dance

Papua New Guinea, it gives me great pleasure

their children to understand why some of

is performed. A people are just people if they

to be involved once again in the promotion

their ancestors built sacred houses and

do not know their story.

of Melanesian art and culture by making a

adorned them with spirit masks. They must

few remarks in this outstanding publication,

be able to access information on why others

gratitude for the contributions of Sir William

Living Spirits with Fixed Abodes.

tattooed their bodies and what these tattoos

MacGregor, Sir Hubert Murray and other

As the founding Prime Minister, and in the

For this reason I acknowledge a debt of

mean. They must know who their traditional

colonial administrators who, for the purpose

course of Papua New Guineas thirty years of

trading partners were and how these trading

of establishing a future museum in this coun-

nationhood, I have been concerned about

relationships can be improved, strengthened

try, collected artefacts that are no longer

the conservation, preservation and docu-

and adapted to suit their future environment

being made today but have been replaced

mentation of our rich heritage and the evolu-

through the introduction of a new technol-

tion of our art and culture in todays rapidly

My other concern is that we are driven

ogy and a new way of life.

essential services to our rapidly growing pop-

these items, that have been collected and

must be empowered with the knowledge

ulation. Though important, the preservation,

kept for us, their proper place by ensuring

that we are a diverse nation of people and

conservation and documentation of our his-

that they are identified, classified and pre-