Accession No
E 1916.143.217
Description
Koe. Ceremonial tablet. Irregular oval of soft wood, pierced at top. Carved with design of human face and crocodile and painted in white and black, border of chevrons and irregular curved lines. Belonging to Omara (?Komara) crocodile totem, obtained in the Navara ravi.
Place
Oceania; Melanesia; Papua New Guinea; Gulf Province; Purari Delta; Naman District; Pai-i-ara
Period
Source
Haddon, Alfred Cort [collector and donor]
Department
Anth
Reference Numbers
E 1916.143.217
Cultural Affliation
Koriki
Material
wood; pigment
Local Term
Koe
Measurements
155mm x 30mm x 583mm
Events
Description (CMS Description)
Ceremonial tablet. Irregular oval of soft wood, pierced at top. Carved with design of human face and crocodile and painted in white and black, border of chevrons and irregular curved lines. Belonging to Omara (?Komara) crocodile totem, obtained in the Navara ravi.
Duplicate record read, "Belonging to Omara (crocodile) totem. (?Komara). Obtained in Navora ravi. Pai-i-aral. Accession book gives no details."
Event Date 1/8/1998
Author: maa
Context (Related Documents)
Alfred Haddon had this ceremonial tablet photographed upon his return to Cambridge, see N.35970.ACH2
Event Date 6/2/2024
Author: Jos Dudding (Admin)
Context (Amendments / updates)
A gope, (spirit or ancestor board), kept in the men's house. Also called kwoi or hohao, depending where it was made. Powerful spirits (imunu) were associated with a specific location in the landscape, rivers, or sea, and were linked to the specific clan within whose territory they dwelt. Individual imunu inhabited gope boards and their image appears on the front.
Event Date 1/5/2024
Author: Guey-Mei Hsu
FM:113628
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