Overmodeled ancestor skull ·  Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, Iatmul · ID: 3036178

Description

human skull and hair, cowrie shells, nassa snails, eyes with conus shell inlay, original ornamental painting recognizable, slightly dam., cracks, rest.;
the modeling paste, which is called “yiba” consists of red clay, lime and tigasso oil. The overmodeling was performed in the men’s house by a man who was not in a special kin relationship to the deceased, his modeling skills alone were important. The paste was applied directly to the forehead and the top, with the back of the skull left bare. The cranial openings were blocked with pieces of light and soft wood. The shape of the nose was formed from a strip of rattan. Then the paste was evenly distributed over the face and the features of the deceased reproduced as true to life as possible. Overnight the work in progress was left in the men’s house on a rack as the spirit of the deceased was thought to come and check it. The overmodeled skull was then left to dry for two days before being painted. After that the mortuary ceremonies could begin. They consist of three parts: “kytakamat”, “minsago” and the quiet singing “yiken kudi”. All parts were staged in the former dwelling house of the deceased.