Abelam Figure - Sepik - Papua New Guinea

Large wooden ancestral spirit figure (93 cm) of the Abelam tribe from East-Sepik, Papua New Guinea. This statue was kept in the hut of the chief of the tribe.
The Abelam people live in the Prince Alexander Mountains area of the East Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea.  The Abelam people are well known for the monumental Ceremonial Houses or Haus Tambaran where all important ceremonies take place inside.
The Abelam people north of the Sepik River practice perhaps the longest and most spectacular initiation cycle of any New Guinea people. Beginning in childhood, each Abelam male must pass through eight separate initiation rites over the course of twenty to thirty years, before he is a fully initiated man. Each successive ritual requires both a physical ordeal and the viewing of increasingly elaborate displays of sacred objects in specially constructed chambers within the men’s ceremonial house. This process continues until the final rites, in which the initiate is shown the largest and most sacred of all displays—the brilliantly painted figures and other images portraying the powerful clan spirits called nggwalndu and ancestor figures.

Provenance: former private German collection

Shipping within 24 hours after the payment is received. Tracking number will be provided. Signature upon delivery. Fully insured.
May as well be viewed and picked up at the Asian African Art Gallery in Vessem (NL).