Spirit Board (Mindja)
ClassificationsSculpture
Culture
Kwoma
Datemid 20th Century
Collection SiteEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood and pigment
Dimensions61 × 16 1/2 × 7 in. (154.9 × 41.9 × 17.8 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number2017.10.96
DescriptionThis large wooden ceremonial spirit board, vernacularly referred to as Mindja, was collected from the Washkuk Hills in the Middle Sepik River region of the East Sepik Province in Papua New Guinea. The Kwoma are known for their unique artistic practice centered on the annual sequence of ceremonies devoted to the cultivation of yams. According to the Kwoma, the yam is a mystical food and should not be eaten until the spirits responsible for the yam's enormous growth have been properly honored. Following the harvesting of the large root vegetable, the spirits are presented with an arrangement of three ceremonies. Each ceremony requires the creation of a specific type of figure that is extravagantly decorated. In the second ceremony, involves the presentation display of the Mindja figure for the spirits. The Mindja presented here is a plank-like figure with carved yena-like face and decorated with diamond-shaped motifs representing banana leaves.On View
Not on view
