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Arrival of the First Yam
Claytus Yambon
(Iatmul Tribe)
Korogo Village, Mid-Sepik
Papua New Guinea
1999
wood, shells, natural pigments
80" x 16" x 20"
$ 5, 500.00 CDN
CAT# KO 9901
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Arrival of the First Yam
"Long, long ago in the mountains belonging to the Abelam people, there lived two eagle brothers, Yumbungawi and Wanjungawi. The former is the elder shown on the head of the woman, while the younger brother is at the base of the work, beneath his sister Numbutakua.
"The job of the two brothers was to hunt humans, and to eat only the bodies, giving away the heads to their sister. She enjoyed the flesh and kept the skulls in a bilum bag. When the bag became full she removed the oldest skull and used it as a stool to sit on. The rest of the village was upset by this and decided to kill them. They tried to kill the two eagles, but because they have wings they could escape to the Sepik River. However, their poor sister could not manage to escape. She was captured and killed while sitting on her skull stool.
"Before her heart stopped, however, she gave birth to two yam brothers: Niain, the elder, and Kalak, the younger. When they looked in the bilum, the villagers found yams between the skulls. They placed them in the ground and they grew. Ever since, the planting of the yams is accompanied by ceremony in memory of the arrival of the first yam.
"This carving also commemorates this event. The two eagle brothers represent the first eagle brothers on the Sepik River. They enjoyed eating fish more than human flesh, so they decided to live there forever. The mask at the back represents the elder Yam brother.
"This legend is very important and I am not free to discuss the rest of the carving details on this piece."
-Claytus Yambon
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