suspension hook

Description:

Hook, cut as a human figure from a piece of heavy wood. Short arms and instead of legs it has down, against the hook a flat animal head with pointed backward ears and large eyes in white and black. Painted in red and white. pierced hole in the pan. Decorated with a crescent on the chest cut in low relief. Crooks like this are common in the middle and southern Sepik rivers. They hang both in ordinary dwellings and in cultural houses and have both profane and ceremonial significance. Their appearance gives no indication of their function. They can represent both human and animal figures, which for the owner are typical cow animals from mythology. In the family dwelling they can be used to hang up mesh bags with food to protect this from rats and dirt. The hooks hanging in the cult houses serve both ceremonial and everyday purpose. The hooks or rather the spirit (Wagen) with which the hook is loaded can be activated before eg. war raids. The important spirits, those who have significance for the whole village have their own servants/attendants who put themselves in trans and give the spirit a voice. The spirit is activated by keeping its attendants with chicken and betel nuts. These gifts are hung up on the hook and eaten by the “servant.” Only in this way can the spirit enter the servant’s body and communicate with people. The hooks that have a profane purpose in the dwelling can also be activated in this way, although they have a subordinate role compared to those that have significance for the whole society.

Location:

Papua New Guinea

Format:

image

Collections:

Museum of Ethnography

Content partner:

Museum of Ethnography

Availability:

Not specified