IDNO

T.68650.MFL

Description

A woman lighting a cigarette with burning wood taken from the fire. To her right is a limbum container holding freshly made sago. In preparing sago, stones are heated in the fire while the sago is stirred in a small amount of water. When the stones are red hot, tongs are used to dip them in the sago, turning it into a jelly-like substance. It is served on leaves or plates with other green leaves and protein. The debris on the ground suggests that this photograph was taken in a garden and/or newly developed hamlet. Such debris would not be seen in a village [Andrew Moutu 20/02/04]

P. K. Townsend (1971:19) provides the following description of sago preparation among the Sanio speakers of this area: "The women extract starch from the trunk of the sago palm by scraping and pounding the pith, and then rinsing and draining it in a trough. They prepare the starch for eating by roasting it in leaf wrappings or mixing it with hot water to make a stiff pudding.". [Mark Elliott 05/03/04]

Place

Oceania Melanesia; Papua New Guinea; East Sepik Province; Wogamus River; Yareno

Cultural Affliation

Yakuo

Named Person

Photographer

None

Collector / Expedition

Date

?12 June 1967

Collection Name

Macfarlane Collection

Source

Macfarlane, Alan

Format

Transparency

Primary Documentation

Other Information

T.67481 to T.68999 and T.74937 to T.74998 were found in the box now numbered C494/.
T.68640 to T.68657 were found in the plastic slide sheet now numbered C494/60/.

This catalogue record has been updated with the support of the Getty Grant Program One. [Mark Elliott 05/03/04].