Figure (Gra or Garra)
In former times, the focus of artistic and religious life among the Bahinemo people of the Hunstein mountains south of the middle Sepik River was the men’s ceremonial house, in which initiation and other rites took place and sacred objects, collectively called gra or garra, were kept. Bahinemo artists created two distinct forms of hook figures: flat, mask-like panels with stylized human faces bracketed by hook-shaped forms and tall slender images, intended to be seen in profile, consisting of a series of concentric hooks surrounding a central projection. Mask-like forms were associated, broadly, with forest spirits, while the slender profile images were connected with water spirits, their curving hooks identified, in some cases, as catfish whiskers. Like the hook figures (yipwon) of the Yimam people, Bahinemo hook images formerly served as hunting helpers, their supernatural powers assisting in the capture of game. They also played a role in male initiation ceremonies, in which they were carried by initiated men during dances.
Artwork Details
- Title: Figure (Gra or Garra)
- Date: late 19th–early 20th century
- Geography: Papua New Guinea, Hunstein Mountains, Gahom village, Korewori River region
- Culture: Bahinemo people
- Medium: Wood, paint
- Dimensions: H. 33 1/4 x W. 9 1/4 x D. 2 1/2 in. (84.5 x 23.5 x 6.4 cm)
- Classification: Wood-Sculpture
- Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller GIft, 1965
- Object Number: 1978.412.851
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
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