Headdress (Wagnen)

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-head ornaments-headdresses

Culture Abelam

Date20th Century

Made AtMaprik area, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

MediumWood and paint

Dimensions37 1/8 × 50 1/4 × 3 in. (94.3 × 127.6 × 7.6 cm)
with stand: 41 7/8 × 20 1/4 × 3 in. (106.4 × 51.4 × 7.6 cm)

Credit LineLoan courtesy of Gayle and Edward P. Roski

Object numberL.2010.4.6

DescriptionThis headdress, vernacular name known as Wagnen, was collected from the Abelam people living in the Maprik area of the Prince Alexander Mountains in Papua New Guinea. Among the Abelam, the masks and the mask dancers serve as mediators between the realms of the dead and the living. They represent the intrusion of the other world into this one, and their appearance in the village marks the beginning of a ritual period of initiation and of the yam festival. During the initiation rituals, each young man must conquer a baba spirit. Armed with a spear, his victory restores the order of time and space upset by the baba spirit. Only the men that have passed through the initiation ritual called Kara can themselves dance in the Yam Costumes. Although the masks may suggest a human face, they actually depict animal spirits. Formerly worn by warriors, these costumes are now only worn during Festival celebrations around the yam festival.

On View

On view