Yam cult figure "minja" · Papua New Guinea, East Sepik Province, Washkuk Hills, Kwoma · ID: 3046843
Bruce Seaman, Honolulu, Hawaii
George Craig, Green Islands, Melanesia
Michael Hamson, Palos Verdes, California, USA
Craig spent seventeen years of his life in Papua New Guinea where he worked as a crocodile hunter. Already as a young man he was enthusiastic about tribal art from this region and started collecting, which he continued throughout his life.
Description
wood, colour pigments, feathers, custom mount
“Minja” figures were used in ceremonies to aid in hunting and yam fertility.
Newton reports that the Kwoma regard the “minja” figures as representations of water spirits that live in lakes, which are sometimes seen just below the surface.
The object Yam cult figure “minja” with the object ID 3046843 was last part of the auction Voyage Tribal Art - Live Online Auction at May 23, 2020 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 59 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,500.
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Comparing literature
Craig, Barry (ed.), Living spirits with fixed abodes, Honolulu 2010, p. 111, MPNr 177