Spirit board "hohao" ·  Papua New Guinea - Golf, Elema · ID: 3039297

Description

wood, brown patina, white, red and black pigment, stylized ancestor spirit face in the center, framed by ornaments carved in bas-relief, nose raised in high relief, like with many older boards, piercing for attachment of ornament, slightly dam., minor missing parts, fine cracks, abrasion of paint, metal base;
in longhouses we can find an abundance of spirit boards variously called “hohao”, “kwoi”, “gope” or “titi ebiha” stored in clan and family-owned cubicles. They were used for various purposes, e. g. the male initiation.
Field collectors were told that the spirit of such boards would go into battle with the men who worshipped it - both protecting them and causing confusion amongst the enemy. The painting of the carved boards with red ochre confered “heat”, menace, or dangerous power “imunu” on these objects, and the addition of skulls, and age itself, increased “imunu”.

The object Spirit board “hohao” with the object ID 3039297 was part of the auction 81st Tribal Art Auction on October 31, 2015. The object with the lot number 71 achieved a sales price of EUR 4,500 with an asking price of EUR 3,000.

Here you will find more objects and interesting facts about Oceanian art.

Comparing literature

Hamson, Michael, Red Eye of the Sun, Los Angeles 2010, p. 16 Craig, Barry (ed.), Living spirits with fixed abodes, Honolulu 2010, p. 164