Hei-tiki pendant
nephrite jade with red sealing wax
19th century CE
Maori culture
NewZealand

#handmade #maori #culture #carved #nephrite #jade #pounamu #newzealand #Aotearoa #landofthelongwhitecloud #indigenous #native #tribal #oceanic #art #oceanicart #maoriart #maoriculture #tribalart #heitiki

This Wapinyan ancestor figure (Ngwallndu) comes from the Wosera Abelam people residing in the East Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea. Integral to the fabric of the spiritual life of the Wosera Abelam people is the growing and exchanging of yams. Although the primary role of this object is to honor deceased ancestors, every object of artistic production, including this figure, would be displayed at the annual Yam Festival. Produced after a respected elder passes away, this figure would have been kept in the Spirit House (Haus Tambaran) in a prominent place. Small figures are also made to represent Wapinyan and have been variously identified as "long" yam children, yam spirit portraits, and as specifically named clan ancestors. These may be male or female and are found in Spirit Houses as well as ceremonial yam warehouses. At the beginning of the yam growing cycle, small seedlings are placed against them to encourage "long" yam cultivation, and female figures are said to specifically look after the development of their yam counterparts.

Male ancestor figure (Ngwallndu)
carved wood
19th century
Wosera Abelam people
East Sepik, Papua New Guinea

#handmade #carved #wood #ancestorfigure #ngwallndu #tribalart #oceanic #oceanicart #woseraabelam #eastsepik #papuanewguinea #ritualfigure #statue #culture #art #oceanicart #c1800s #religion

The Elema people of the Papuan Gulf in southeast New Guinea formerly practiced an elaborate cycle of masked rituals. While some mask types were sacred, others, such as this eharo mask, were created primarily for amusement. To the Elema eharo were "maea morava eharu" ("things of gladness"), danced as a prelude to more sacred rituals. Eharo represent supernatural beings as well as humorous figures, such as lecherous old men. They were made and worn by young men from neighboring villages at the request of the village hosting the ceremony. As they entered the host village, the women pelted them with shredded coconut to neutralize their seductive powers. Now harmless, the eharo danced surrounded by large groups of women to the amusement of the assembled crowd.

photograph circa 1920s of Elema people dancers wearing Eharo mask during an entertainment prior to a religious ritual.

Mask (eharo)
barkcloth, cane, paint, fiber
Early 20th century
Elema people
Papua New Guinea, Orokolo village, Papuan Gulf

#dance #mask #eharo #elemapeople #papuanewguinea #ritual #amusement #entertainment #tribal #oceanic #oceanicart #tribalart #papuanart #handmade #art #orokolovillage #papuangulf

Apouéma masks (or apuema, pwemwa, dagak) are traditional mourning masks from the Kanak people of New Caledonia, often representing deceased high chiefs to manage mourning. Created with wood, vegetal fiber, and sometimes human hair, they symbolize the link between ancestors and the living world.

Apouema mask
carved wood
late 19th century
Kanak people
Grande Terre, New Caledonia

#oceanicart #oceania #tribalart #apouema #mask #funeral #funerarymask #ritual #custom #belief #culture #religion #kanakculture #newcaledonia #grandeterre

Little striped shore crab fella 🐚🦀
Inspired by a photo I took on my last walk by the beach, I absolutely love sea life 💙💙
#oceanicart #marinelife #stripedshorecrab #smallartist #animalart #animals #seacreatures

Dong Son culture, centered in Vietnam, spread its influence and trade network across Southeast Asia, reaching even islands near Papua New Guinea through extensive trade of bronze artifacts like drums, tools, and ornaments, showing links to PNG through shared bronze types and trade routes after the Lapita network, with some bronze axes identified as Dong Son-style found in PNG as evidence of this prehistoric exchange. Many Dongson inspired cultural objects have been found around Lake Sentani, and there is a theory that the interlocking, repetitive scrolled patterning depicted here descends from that artistic tradition. The dish has been carved in the form of a stylised turtle, with the handle representing the head. The turtle, along with the hornbill, frog and varan, are clan ancestors. Unlike purely ceremonial objects, such bowls were utilitarian and were the property of women.

Turtle bowl
carved wood and pigments
19th century or before
Donson culture influenced artifact
Lake Sentani area, West Papua New Guinea

#tribal #tribalart #oceanicart #papua #lakesentani
#turtle #bowl #19thcentury #dongsonculture #inspired

Bulul sculpture
Kiangan style
carved wood, fabric, shell
early 20th century
Lucon island, Philippines

#handmade #oneofakind #tribalart #tribalsculpture #oceanicart #philippines #bululsculpture #kianganstyle #early20thcentury #ricegod #guardian #fertility #ritual #belief #sculpture #art #religion

A unique tradition within Batak sculpture are the puppets known as si galegale. In former times, si galegale appeared at funerals, where they served as stand-ins for the sons of men who had no male children to perform their mortuary rites. Moved by a complex system of internal strings controlled by a puppeteer, si galegale participated in funerary dances alongside the deceased's family. With the aid of moistened balls of moss inside its head, some were even able to shed tears for their dead fathers.

Sigale Gale puppet head
carved wood, pigment, shell
19th century
Batak people
Sumatra Island, Indonesia

#funeral #puppet #sigalegale #batakpeople #sumatra #indonesia #carvedwood #oneofakind #19thcentury #oceanicart #tribalart #art

SEPIK MASK
Bahinemo 'Garra' Hook Mask
wood, pigments
early 20th century
Hunstein Mountain Range
Papua New Guinea

#mask #hookmask #sepik #papuanewguinea #carved #wood #pigments #early20thcentury #tribal #oceanic #art #tribalart #oceanicart

Korwar Figure
carved wood with shell inlay
19th to early 20th century
Geelvink Bay, West Papua New Guinea

#tribal #oceanic #tribalart #oceanicart #indonesia #papuanewguinea #korwar #ancestorfigure #religion #ritual #ancestorworship #geelvinkbay #carvedwood #shell #antique

'Malagan' Figure
carved wood, pigment
Papua New Guinea
late 19th century

#tribalart #oceanicart #malagan #papuanewguinea #newireland #carvedwood #sculpture #tribalsculpture #art #culture #figure #ancestor #ritual #initiation #belief

Rare & early Shield
Wood, pigments, binding handle, grass fringe
Late 19th century
Ramu river, East Sepik Province
Papua New Guinea

#tribal #oceanic #oceanicart #papuanewguinea #ramuriver #eastsepik #shield #carvedwood #pigment #warshield #handmade #late19thcentury #tribalart

Masks from the Kanak people were used during funerary ceremonies to honor chiefs and connect with the ancestors. Carved from wood and decorated with fibers, shells, and natural pigments, each mask represents a spirit that mediates between the living and the dead. Their formal language, with stylized features and strong presence, reflects a social and spiritual order deeply rooted in Kanak culture.

Mask
carved wood, pigment
19th century
Kanak People
New Caledonia

#tribal #mask #tribalart #tribalculture #oceanicart #oceania #kanakpeople #newcaledonia #ritual #ancestor #ancestorworship #funeral #spiritual #social #culture #religion #ritual

This intricately decorated human skull, bound with rattan and adorned with shell ornaments, served as a sacred vessel for ancestral spirits. Created by Indigenous Melanesian communities, it symbolized reverence, protection, and the enduring presence of the ancestors within daily life.

Ancestor Skull
skull, fabric, shells
Papua New Guinea
19th Century

#skull #ancestors #papuanewguinea #antique #tribalart #oceanicart #ritual #protection #magic #handmade #art

One of the greatest Nias statues (siraha salawa) extant, representing an important chiefly ancestor. This statue has a well-documented history in Europe, as it once belonged to the cosmetics magnate Helena Rubinstein. She was dubbed "the empress of beauty" by Jean Cocteau, as much for her outstanding collection of art as for her business acumen. This statue was the subject of a famous 1926 photograph taken by the famed Dadaist and conceptual artist Man Ray. "The Moon Rises over the Island of Nias" appeared on the cover of an inaugural exhibition at the Galerie Surréaliste entitled Tableaux de Man Ray et objects des îles. On that occasion, Man Ray's photographs were displayed alongside more than sixty sculptures from Indonesia and the Pacific Islands that had been loaned from the legendary collection of André Breton.

La lune se lève sur l'île de Nias
gelatin silver print
1926
Man Ray
(1890-1976)

#manray #laluneselevesurliledenias #gelatinsilverprint #photo #dada #surrealism #indonesia #tribalart #niasisland #sirahasalawa #tribalsculpture #ancestorworship #sculpture #carvedwood #oceanicart #helenarubinstein

MASK DEPICTING A HERO
Cirebon Style, Java, Indonesia
Early 20th century
Wood, pigment

#tribal #mask #tribalart #oceanicart #handmade #wood #pigment #cirebonstyle #java #indonesia #ritual #protection #fertility #initiation #culture #sculpture #early20thcentury

"Kayanic Dayak" refers to art and cultural traditions of the Kayan and related groups of the Dayak peoples, indigenous inhabitants of the island of Borneo. The term "Kayanic" specifically describes the artistic and cultural affinities of the Orang Ulu, or "upriver people," in the region, including groups like the Kayan, Kenyah, and Bahau, who share common aesthetic traditions rooted in the interior of Borneo. The term is used to describe related Dayak sub-groups, most notably the Kayan and Kenyah people, who are among Borneo's most accomplished artists. Kayanic art is characterized by elaborate wood sculpture, beadwork, and other forms of artistic expression found in traditional items such as burial sites, funerary structures, and decorative elements for longhouses and artifacts like baby carriers. These artistic traditions are tied to the Dayak peoples' history and culture, which includes practices like animism and, in the past, headhunting. The Kayanic tradition originates from the interior of Borneo, particularly in the middle Mahakam basin of East Kalimantan (Indonesia) and parts of Sarawak (Malaysia).

Kayanic Dayak shrine guardian mask
wood, shell
19th century

#kayanic #dayak #shrineguardian #mask #wood #shell #19thcentury #borneo #indonesia #malaysia #kayanicart #oceanicart #tribalart #art #ritual #protection #fertility #initiation #culture #sculpture

‘Whale Wisdom’ channels the deep #mysticism of oceanic #consciousness. With ethereal tones and symbolic grace, it evokes ancient intelligence of #whales —guardians of memory and spirit. A visual meditation on intuition, nature, and the unseen currents of knowing. #whaleart #intuitiveart #oceanicart

Uli figures are wooden statues from New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. Like their neighbors to the north and south, the artistic traditions of the peoples of central New Ireland formerly focused largely around mortuary rites. In contrast to the intricate malagan carvings of the north, artists in central New Ireland produced less ornate but more permanent figures known as uli, which were kept and reused many times. No longer made today, uli were displayed as part of lengthy fertility rites involving the exhumation and reburial of human skulls, which accompanied the planting of sacred plants. When a newly carved uli was brought out, a shaman assisted in inducing the spirit of the deceased chief to enter the carving, and after the ceremony, the work was kept in the "men's house" where it would continue to aid the successor and his people. Uli figures appear hermaphroditic, having both a phallus and prominent breasts. This blending of male and female features possibly symbolized the fertile and nourishing powers of clan leaders, who were expected to provide for the other members of the clan. The Uli figures probably symbolized the connection between paternal and maternal life energy in initiation ceremonies.

Uli Figure
carved wood, pigments
late 19th century
New Ireland, Papua New Guinea

#uli #ulifigure #newireland #papuanewguinea #oceanicart #tribalart #fertility #initiation #protection #ritual #statue #sculpture #religion #religiousfigure

These shields are worn tightly under the armpit, slung over the shoulder with a rope, to protect the warrior's torso when using his bow. It is light and easy to maneuver. It is distinguished from the warrumbi shields of the same region by its carved "U" shaped structure at the top. These were used to protect the warrior's head. The anthropomorphic image is generally considered to be an ancestor, protecting the warrior. The red represents the color of victory (and also of revenge for the dead).

"Korkor" or "Elayaborr" archer shield
carved wood, pigment
Mendi people
19th century pre-contact
Mendi Valley, Southern Highlands
Papua New Guinea

#tribal #tribalarts #oceanic #papuanewguinea #mendipeople #mendivalley #southernhighlands #oceanic #oceanicart #korkor #elayaborr #shield #warrior