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Katir
Robin Sisia
Libba Village, New Ireland
Papua New Guinea
2008
Wood (Alstonia sp.), snail shell (Turbo petholatus), coconut husk fibre, black paint (charcoal), yellow paint (yung plant), white paint (lime), earth pigment
37" X 77.5" X 8.5"
$14,000.00 CDN
CAT# LIB 0804
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Katir is the "big name" given to this carving arrangement. The Sisia family and their chief, David Taupis, also call it a "soul canoe", lending weight to this sometimes disputed term.
The elaborate openwork on the central and end portions of this design depicts flying fish and chilulu birds. Two snake-like creatures with bird heads rise on opposite sides of the central figure, a masalai spirit of short stature. Taupis describes masalai:
"Masalai are different kinds of spirits that live together in the bush. Masalai is also the name of the place where the spirits meet: spirits for pigs, snakes, bush people, and others. Those spirits fight; they can kill somebody.
"The real stories we've got in our area come from our masalai, through those spirits. If you've got the talent, you dream at night, you see what those masalai show you because they know you, you are from the same place: they show you these types of malagans and you can carve them."
The large, tusked fish doubled at the base of the piece is called "the big one" or "big mouth", longula or is (spellings uncertain). In keeping with similar depictions, the figure attached to the tongue on the right-hand side is probably at the point of death (compare with Valik).
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