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

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