Female ancestor figure "itara", late 19th / early 20th century ·  Indonesia - Timor-Leste, Ataúro Island · ID: 3053195

Description

wood, pigment, fabric, base

The traditional woodcarving of Ataúro remained virtually unknown in the West until the early 1970s.

The wooden sculptures of Ataúro consist primarily of ancestor images known as “itara.” Carved in male / female pairs, they represent early ancestral couples regarded as the founders of specific families and lineages. The figures are kept in the house of the clan leader, where they are suspended - together with other sacred objects - from a sacred rack (“ruma tara”) attached to one of the house posts.

The function of the “itara” within the religious practices of Ataúro has so far been only insufficiently documented. According to oral tradition, these figures were used in ritual acts intended to identify thieves.