ARCL0113 Object Report: M.0016: Abelam Yam Mask

Figs. 1-2. Abelam yam mask, c. 1940. Abelam, East Sepik  Province, Papua New Guinea.  UCL Ethnography collections. Frontal view and reverse.

Description of object

The polychrome mask from the Abelam tribe in the East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea measures approx. 330 x 230 x 96 mm (Wang, 2016), and is made up of three components:

1)     A hand-carved piece of softwood created by reductive technologies in the shape of an asymmetric oval, resembling a human face with a prominent browbone and pointed nose. It is convex on the polished front and concave on the rough back.
2)     The traditional ritual colours possessing magical powers: red, black, white and yellow. Repainting is evident, with remnants visible beneath the upmost layer. The pigments were produced by utilising materials in the surrounding environment, applied symmetrically in semi-geometrical forms. The colours contrast each other, creating a visually vibrant ensemble.
3)     A vine string tied to the puncture on top, used as an aid in attaching it to a yam. A piece has come off, housed in a separate bag.

Fig. 3. A piece of detached fibre from the mask.

Statement of significance

The mask is linked to the most integral part of Abelam life, ritual beliefs and spirituality: the yam cultivation traditions. Yams, believed to be “sentient beings with souls” (Scaglion, 1999: 214), carry clan ancestral spirits (gwaalndu) and define a man’s status. The greatest yams receive masks such as this, the calm man, which serves to symbolise and materialise this belief. The mask humanises the yam, but also “yam-ises” the people, such as men during the now-ceased initiations (UCL Anthropology, 2019). Each mask is an individual interpretation of the gwaalndu and similar masks never exist, making it a completely unique artefact.  

Following celebrations, masks are either repainted (Ethnology, 2017), abandoned or destroyed (Hill, 2001). The mask was collected by Phyllis Kaberry in 1939-1940 (Mercier, 2019), who later donated it to the Ethnography Collections. Due to the signs of use, it can be assumed the mask was obtained after the ceremonial period prior to further repainting. The mask is a rare artefact carrying social, religious and symbolic value that embodies the tribe’s traditions in the past, an era when the Abelam still practised isolated forms of spirituality prior the arrival or globalism, colonialism, cash-crop economy and Christianity (Coupaye, 2007).

 Fig. 4. (left)  A drawing illustrating the cracks (1), chips (2), scratches (3) and fraying string (4) on the front of the mask. Fig. 5. (right)   A drawing illustrating features on the back of the mask: white feathery substance (1), hole (2), chip (3), purple colouration (4), circular brown wood defect (5), Kaberry’s signature (6), and darkened spots indicated by colouring.

Brief condition assessment

The mask is in relatively stable condition, and it is likely much of the damage present was caused by the change of conditions it underwent upon being transported from a high-humidity high-temperature village to its current location. A number of vertical cracks, scratches to the surface, small holes, chips and fraying vine are notable on the mask, demonstrated by Figs. 4-5. The paint layer is extremely friable affecting the aesthetic integrity of the mask, most notably the intricate forehead design.

Coupaye, L., 2007. ‘The Abelam’ in Shadows of New Guinea: Art from the Great Island of Oceania, Peltier, P., and F. Morin [eds.], Paris: Somogy-Editions d’Art, pp. 70-87.
Ethnology, 2017. Yam mask by the Abelam people of Papua New Guinea in Ethnology. [Blogpost] Available at: https://ethnology.wordpress.com/2017/07/03/yam-mask-by-the-abelam-people-of-papua-new-guinea/
Hill, R., 2001. ‘Traditional paint from Papua New Guinea: Context, materials and techniques, and their implications for conservation’ in The Conservator, Vol. 25., No. 1, pp. 49-61.
Mercier, D., 2019. ‘On display until the end of April: Phyllis Kaberry (1910-1977), A Woman in the Field’ in UCL Ethnography Collection. [Blogpost] Available at: https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ethnography-collections/2019/03/18/on-display-until-the-end-of-april-phyllis-kaberry-1910-1977-a-woman-in-the-field/
Scaglion, R., 1999. ‘Yam Cycles and Timeless Time in Melanesia’ in Ethnology, Vol. 38., No. 3, pp. 211-225.
UCL Anthropology, 2019. Fieldwork with the Abelam [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um47KwcTios
Wang, M.X., 2016. ‘A Yam Wooden Mask from the UCL Ethnography Collections’ in Conservations on Conservation of Cultural Heritage [Blogpost] Available at: http://uclconversationsonconservation.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-yam-wooden-maskm16a-from-papua-new.html

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