OCEANIA Flashcards
AUSTRALIA
Aborigine Culture
Auuenau 1913
Aboriginal painters frequently depicted Dreamings, ancestral beings whose spirits pervade the present, using the X-ray style that shows both the figure’s internal organs and external appearance.
MELANESIA
Asmat Culture
Asmat bisj poles, Buepis village, Irian Jaya, Melanesia early to mid-20th C.
The Asmat carved bisj poles from mangrove tree trunks and erected them before undertaking a headhunting raid. The carved figures represent the relatives whose deaths the hunters must avenge.
MELANESIA
Abelam Culture
Abelam yam mask no date
The Abelam believe their ancestors aid in the growth of their principal crop, the yam. Painted cane yam masks are an important part of the elaborate ceremonies honoring these ancestors.
MELANESIA
New Ireland Culture
Tatanua mask 19th-20th C.
In New Ireland, malignant rites facilitate the transition of the soul from this world to the land of the dead. Dancers wearing tatanua masks representing the deceased play a key role in these ceremonies.
MELANESIA
Trobriand Islands
Canoe prow and splashboard 19th -20th C.
To participate in kula exchanges, the Trobriand Islanders had to undertake dangerous sea voyages. They decorated their canoes with abstract human, bird, and serpent motifs referring to sea spirits.
MICRONESIA
Caroline Islands Culture
Canoe prow ornament late 19th C.
Prow ornaments protected canoe paddlers and could be lowered to signal a peaceful voyage. This Micronesian example may represent facing sea swallows or perhaps a stylized human figure.
MICRONESIA
Belau Culture
Men’s ceremonial house, from Belau 20th C.
The Belau men’s clubhouse (bai) have extensive carved and painted decorations illustrating important events and myths related to the clan who built the bai. The central motif is a Dilukai.
MICRONESIA
Belau Culture
Dilukai late 19th or early 20th C.
Sculpted wooden figures of a splayed female, or Dilukai, commonly appear over the entrance to a Belau bai. The figures served as symbols of fertility and protected the men’s house.
POLYNESIA
Easter Island Culture
Row of Moai on a stone platform Rapa Nui 10th-12th C.
The moai of Rapa Nui are monoliths as much as 50 feet tall. Most scholars believe they portray ancestral chiefs. They stand on platforms marking burials or sites for religious ceremonies.
POLYNESIA
Tonga Culture
MELE SITANI. Ngatu with manulua designs 1967
In Tonga, the production of decorated barkcloth, or ngatu, involves dyeing, painting, stenciling, and perfuming. Mel Sitani made this one with a two-bird design for the coronation of Tupou IV.
POLYNESIA
Marquesas Islands Culture
Tattooed warrior with war club early 19th C.
In Polynesia, with its hierarchical social structure, noblemen and warriors accumulated tattoo patterns to enhance their status and beauty. Tattoos wrapped a warrior’s body in spiritual armor.
POLYNESIA
Austral Islands
A’a late 18th or early 19th C.
A’a is the chief Rurutu ancestor god. Covering his body–and forming the features of his head–are relief figures of his progeny. A large cavity at the back of the statue held 24 more figures.
POLYNESIA
Hawaiian
Kuka’ilimoku late 18th-early 19th C.
This wooden statue of the Hawiian war god comes from a temple. His muscular body is flexed to attack, and his wide mouth with bared teeth set in a large head conveys aggression and defiance.
POLYNESIA
Hawaiian
Head of Lono ca. 1775-1780
Feather heads of the Hawaiian gods with grimacing mouths, such as this one of Lono with human hair, pearl-shell eyes, and dog’s teeth, were mounted on poles and carried in processions and into battle.
POLYNESIA
Hawaiian
Feather cloak ca. 1824-1843
Costly Hawaiian feather cloaks (‘ahu ‘ula) such as this one, which belonged to King Kamehameha III, provided the protection of the gods. Each cloak required the feathers of thousands of birds.
