ETHNOGRAPHY

Object Name

Nude chalk figures

Description

Male and female figures made from the chalk deposits on the Rossel Mountains, South Pacific. Each figure has a small prop underneath to stick in the ground. When a person died, these figures were set up in a sacred house beside similar figures, where they provided a residence for the spirit of the deceased. After a certain time they were destroyed. 1934 (Taken off script for Rites of Passage)

Materials

chalk

Catalogue Number

BELUM.C355.1934

Copyright

National Museums NI