Hook mask "garra" · Papua New Guinea - Hunstein Mountains, Bahinemo · ID: 3048913
Maureen Zarember, New York City, USA
John Giltsoff, Girona, Spain
Alex Arthur, Brussels, Belgium
Description
wood, red and yellow ochre, lime, black pigment, 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 were the focus of male initiation rites and hunting and were linked to senior men, elders of the clan and forest spirits. Each “garra” mask portrays a specific spirit whose name and powers were intimately known to the individual man who owned it.
The carved hooks represent hornbill beaks. The large hornbill is associated with the soul, ancestors and the spirit world throughout South-East Asia. The consumption of hornbills themselves, as well as the use of their spectacular feathers and beaks, were the reserve of initiated elders.
When not in use, the images were stored in the men’s ceremonial house along with other sacred objects or suspended from the rafters, safely concealed from uninitiated eyes.
Comparing literature
Meyer, Anthony J.P., Ozeanische Kunst, Vol. I, Köln 1995, p. 266