Artist Statement: The malu boards of the Sawos people of Papua New Guinea illustrate the curvilinear style that characterizes the carving of the Middle Sepik River. Created by the Sawos, malu are traded to the neighboring Iatmul people who use them in the context of the initiation ceremonies that mark the passage of boys to manhood. If a boy should die during the initiation process, the malu are displayed to the village women to indicate that a death has occurred.

The complex imagery of these objects incorporates bird, mammal, and insect forms, many of which represent totemic species. Hornbills, important totemic birds, are incorporated into the openwork carving.

$1,900.00 CDN

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