Ancestor figure

Visual ambiguity was strongly valued by artists in the Sepik River region, who aimed to dazzle and disorient their viewers with innovative, impressive designs. This carving once stood in the deepest recesses of a Kambot ceremonial house, where the bright intensity of the painted figure was intended to "blind" young initiates who entered the sacred space. Carved from a single massive tree trunk, in its original state the figure was integrated into the men’s ceremonial house as a post that helped support the roof. At some later date, when the house for which it was originally carved decayed and was rebuilt, this figure was cut from the post and preserved. In 1955, the carving was photographed in situ, tied to a supporting post in the new structure.

Periodically, the carving was repainted to refresh the vibrancy and spiritual efficacy of its decoration. Three crescent-shaped kina (shell ornaments) on the figure’s chest reference the prestige of men’s ceremonial regalia. A neck and mouth peek out from underneath a tumbuan, a mask with a long, pointed nose that recalls the flutes played during important rites. Two other faces with large white mouths and piercing red eyes appear on this mask, enhancing its foreboding presence. According to Kambot artists familiar with this carving, the dynamic figure represents a powerful spirit named Serampam.

Originally, Serampam was accompanied in the ceremonial house by a smaller carving that had been carried to the village by the community’s ancestors when they first migrated into the area. By the middle of the 20th century, following the arrivals of German and later Australian colonial authorities and missionaries, villagers were encouraged to give up their ancestral carvings and convert to Christianity, and this figure was removed from its ceremonial house.