Post #160301 by I dream of tiki on Fri, May 20, 2005 8:32 AM

Child in full Tambuan costume

Sikari Gramban (Iatmul tribe), Angriman Village, Middle Sepik River, Papua New Guinea

"The mask the little boy is wearing is made out of wood, tusks, shells, feathers, natural pigments."

"From Angrimun village, Wariawi subgroup: Iatmul tribe, Mwai masks, for the initiation of boys, are attached to conical shaped woven basketrybody shrouds called Tumbuans (which in turn represents a spirit from the era of the creation). When a man dons this headdress, he is magically transformed into a mythological being called a Tumbuan. Tumbuans emerge from the men's spirit house (Haus Tambaran) just prior to major ceremonies. Typically they carry a blunt spear and a stone axe. Their superficial work is to drive away women, children and uninitiated men from the ceremonial area. There real objective however is to drive away bad magic and Maselei (demons or monsters) from the area so there is no interference with the ceremony that is about to begin. Once the Tumbuan headdress is put on and the man magically transformed, it requires magic, usually carried out inside the Haus Tambaran to convert the Tumbuan back to the original man. The mask is made primarily from wood with an overlay of a mixture of clay, quicklime and a wood oil called Gwart, embedded in this are Cowrie & Nasa shells. The bird on the end of the elongated nose is a Brahimney kite which is the prime totem of the largest Iatmul clan (Gaui). Other masks with cut-out eyes and open mouths were worn by elders during initiation ceremonies. Any mask used in such ceremonies was closely associated with the supernatural because initiation involved, amongst other things, communion with the clan spirits."

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki on 2005-05-21 13:29 ]