mask, wooden

human history

wooden mask

rattan fringe attached; dance mask; from the Lower Sepik River; this mask represents one of the ancestors of the tribe, it would be worn with brightly coloured nuts and a grass covering which completely hides the wearer; it represents on of the ancestor spirits who harass young boys when they are undergoing their initiation; the initiates are required to overcome their terror and resist the attacks of the spirits to show that they are men.

Accession number: 1930.16 Last Update: 20 Aug 2021
Place
Lower Sepik/Sepik Region/New Guinea (PRE 1975)
Accession Number

1930.16

Other Id

33982 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific

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mask, wooden 33982
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