wig

The bulk of this headdress is a wig of human hair set on a basketwork frame and covered by a barkcloth sheet. It is decorated with cuscus fur and a bunch of cassowary plumes. A bamboo leaf ornament with incised geometric designs is attached to the lower back and green beetle carapaces are strung on cane strips at the front. Kalam men wore these wigs at smy dance festivals where their visitors were feasted on pork and taro, their sons had their nasal septa pierced for wearing ornaments, and their wives’ relatives were compensated for all the hard work that the women had invested in the gardens and pig-raising. (Pacific Jewellery and Adornment by Roger Neich and Pandora Fulimalo Pereira, 2004)