Spirit board "gope" ·  Papua New Guinea - Gulf, Wapo River, Wowobo Village · ID: 3053611

Description

wood, pigments,

The so-called spirit boards (“gope”, “koi” or “hohao”) served as the dwelling place of a specific “imunu”, whose image was depicted on the surface. They were kept, together with other sacred objects, in the clans’ shrines within the communal men’s houses and were central to the spiritual and genealogical identity of the respective community.