Male figure of an ancestor spirit "blaal" ·  Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée - Sepik · ID: 3034516

Description

wood, reddish brown patina, breast and shoulder with concentrical decor on the front and on the rear side, a large head with the chin reaching down to the breast, old collection number on the back “L.2/414 N.Guinea.”, slightly dam. (right ankle), missing part (right ear), socle;
according to O. Reche the ancestor figures originally were advancements or supplements of the real ancestor skulls; the idea was, that not only a natural head but a whole body should be offered as abode to the soul of the deceased. According to O. Reche it can be assumed, that the original form of an ancestor figure consisted of a natural human skull and a wooden trunk; he gives a reference sample for this theory. But this was only a transitional stage and finally was detached by such wooden whole-figure-statuettes. Present figure can easily be integrated in the row of examples Reche depicted in his article about ancestor figures.

Littérature comparée

Reche, Otto, Der Kaiserin-Augusta-Fluss, Hamburg 1913, p. 373 f.