Spirit Figure (Yipwon or Kamanggabi)
ClassificationsSculpture
Culture
Yimam
Datelate 20th Century
Made AtEast Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumWood
Dimensions98 1/8 × 9 × 3 in. (249.2 × 22.9 × 7.6 cm)
Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih
Object number2013.5.25
DescriptionThis is a modern example of a yipwon sculpture made by the Yimam people of Papua New Guinea’s Korewori River. One-legged figures rested in caves for hundreds of years until their discovery in the 1960s. A major discovery, cave figures are some of the oldest Pacific Island art yet found. Stored in a special place in the men's ceremonial house, they were activated through incantations and magical substances to serve as hunting spirits.These skeletal figures vary in size but all have a large head, opposing curved ribs surrounding their "heart," and stand on one foot. The mythology behind this sculpture is that the spirit of the Sun was carving the first slit gong during his time on earth and the pieces came alive as spirit called yipwon. One day these spirits killed one of the Sun's male relatives and drank his blood. They stretched themselves out against the wall of the house and turned into wood. The Sun ascended into the sky in anger while the yipwon remained on Earth as a punishment as spirits of warfare and hunting. Large yipwon sculptures are owned collectively by clans, while smaller examples are individually owned and carried in bags by their owners to bring success in hunting and battle.
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