Hair Ornament
Not on view
The intricate woodcarvings of the Biwat people of the Yuat River served largely as personal ornaments worn in the hair or attached to the belts or armbands of dancers. The imagery of the hair ornament seen here is strikingly similar to the hook figures (yipwon) of the Yimam people. Sepik peoples are linked by complex exchange networks, and the form of this Biwat ornament was possibly inspired by the small hook figures carried by Yimam men as hunting charms. In addition to the decoration of the human body, Biwat artists created a variety of ornaments to adorn sacred flutes such as small flute stoppers, which originally served to seal the upper end of a hollow bamboo flute.
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