Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik River region, Washkuk Hills, Kwoma peoples, ca. early to mid 20th century CE. An enormous, hand-carved wooden Yena Yam Harvest cult figure shaped by a Kwoma artisan in high relief and decorated with thick layers of white, red, yellow, and black pigment. The tapered triangular lower body boasts a column of raised spiked flanked by flattened scales, and a narrow lower tip adorned with an integral, abstract frog. The top of the figure boasts a concave face with openwork eyes and lips, a phalliform nose, and plateaued brows, all beneath a flared cap surmounted with a tiered finial. A large, integral handle behind the face mask facilitates the maneuvering of this massive figure. Size: 12" W x 92" H (30.5 cm x 233.7 cm).
The Kwoma, Nukuma, and Yessan-Mayo are closely related peoples living in the hills north of the middle Sepik River in northern New Guinea. According to curatorial staff of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "These cultures share a unique art tradition associated with a religious cult centered on the cultivation of yams. A sequence of three rituals, called "yena," "minja," and "nokwi," each involving a different type of figure, is performed in honor of the yam harvest. Carved wooden heads like this example are created for yena, the first of these harvest rituals."
With prominent eyes and noses, Yena heads represent ancient and powerful spirits. During the ritual, village men assemble a pile of yams within the ceremonial house. The sticklike bases of the Yena are inserted into the yam pile; in this case the yams were most likely attached to the spiky protrusions that resemble the back of a crocodile. The men then dance and sing to honor the yena spirits. At the conclusion of the ritual, the display is dismantled, the heads stored away, and preparations for the next ritual begun.
Provenance: private Tucson, Arizona, USA collection, acquired between 1950 and 1985
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#147703
Condition
Repair to one ear, with light adhesive residue along break line. Small losses to lower body, head, and frog legs, with nicks and abrasions to body, head, and verso, with light fading to original pigmentation, and light encrustations within some recessed areas. Nice earthen deposits throughout, and fine traces of original pigmentation on obverse.