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
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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