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Spirit Canoe (Wuramon)

mid-20th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 350
Asmat spirit canoes (wuramon) are ceremonialcarvings in the form of supernatural vessels. Wuramon are created for a one-time use during emak cem (the bone house feast), a ceremony that celebrates the spirits of the recently dead and the initiation of young boys. After being secluded within a ritual house for several months, the boys emerge one by one and crawl across the wuramon on their bellies. As each crosses the vessel, he is transformed from a boy into a man. Once across, he is seized by a man who cuts designs into his body; these heal into permanent scarification patterns that mark him as an adult. Crewed by spirits, the wuramon has no bottom to its hull, as spirits do not require a complete hull for their journey. The spirit figures have a dual nature: their outer forms portray supernatural creatures, but each is named for a specific recently deceased ancestor, whose spirit it embodies. A turtle (mbu), a fertility symbol because of the numerous eggs it lays, appears near the center of this wuramon. Behind it is an okom, a dangerous Z-shaped water spirit. The other figures, gazing down through the bottomless hull, represent menacing water spirits (ambirak) or human-like spirits (etsjo). A hammerhead shark is depicted on the prow.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Spirit Canoe (Wuramon)
  • Date: mid-20th century
  • Geography: Indonesia, Papua Province (Irian Jaya), Yamas village, Utumbuwe River region
  • Culture: Asmat
  • Medium: Wood, paint, sago palm leaves
  • Dimensions: H. 20 1/2 in. × W. 16 in. × 340 in. (52.1 × 40.6 × 863.6 cm)
  • Classification: Wood-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.206.1558
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

Audio

Cover Image for 1749. Spirit Canoe (Wuramon)

1749. Spirit Canoe (Wuramon)

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