IDNO

T.170013.GIJ

Description

Close-up view of an elaborately carved and painted malangan (or malanggan) female figure on display in an exhibition. She holds a fish in her hands and stands on the back of a cockerel.
The figure is now in the care of MAA, reference 1890.176. [PB 26/09/2023]

Place

Oceania Melanesia; Papua New Guinea; Bismarck Archipelago; New Ireland

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Jones, Gwilliam Iwan (known as G.I.)

Collector / Expedition

Date

circa 1980 to 1989; 1984

Collection Name

Jones Collection

Source

Format

Colour Transparency

Primary Documentation

Other Information

T.169937.GIJ - T.170148.GIJ were located together in a Agfa transparency box, now numbered C756/.

MAA Exhibition: The malangan figure is on display in the Maudslay Gallery, and captioned: "Malangan Figure. Malangan sculpture are part of a rich ceremonial cycle that commemorates the dead in the northern part of New Ireland. They are produced several years after the death of the person they recall... The malangan ceremonies are a means of gathering and re-distributing the rights and duties of the dead and chanelling their life-force to the next generation. They are originally destroyed after use, but their sale to outsiders is considered by New Irelanders to be an appropriate and profitable means of disposal." [PB 26/09/2023]