Spirit mask

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Description

light-weighted wood (probably breadfruit-tree), white and black pigment, of narrow elongated form with stylized facial features and disc-shaped projecting beard, “Devil mask - Ponape” written in pencil on the inside of the mask, slightly dam., paint rubbed off;
such masks served for manipulating the weather, they should help to ward off typhoons and make the bread fruits ripen.

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Littérature comparée

Heermann, Ingrid, Südseeoasen, Stuttgart 2009, p. 129

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