Hook mask "garra" ·  Papua New Guinea, Middle Sepik, Hunstein Mountains, Bahinemo · ID: 3035963

Description

wood, painted with red, white, black and yellow pigment, bowl-shaped corpus with a large stylized face in the center, which is surrounded above and below by opposing hooks, slightly dam., abrasion of paint, rep. (hook on top in two places), metal base;
all the “garra” (= “sacred items”) of the Bahinemo are believed to have been originally created by “wimogu” and “igoshua”, a mythical couple who is said to still live on a small island at the mouth of the April River. “Garra” masks represent bush spirits and wise old men. The hooks are seen as stylized hornbill beaks which aside of their decorative effect have a symbolic meaning. Throughout South-East Asia, the Great Hornbill is related to the soul, the ancestor and the spirit world. The hornbill is associated with old men, since they are the only ones allowed to eat its flesh. “Garra” are carried in the hands of male dancers during initiation ceremonies.The rest of the time they were hung from the rafters in the Men’s House. There are two main types of “garra”, masks such as this one, and the so-called hooked “garra”.

Comparing literature

Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 266