Sago Spathe Paintings Sago spathe The paintings are part of the Sawiyano creation myth. According to their creation myth, the creator Awoufaise first brought paintings into being, then created the Sawiyano (male) ancestors from the paintings. This knowledge is imparted to men at the yafi-nu ritual house, prior to the first initiation connected with that ritual house.
The yafi-nu (men's ritual) house is the most-sacred of the three types of Sawiyano ritual houses. Most of the paintings in the Museums collection come from a ritual house built in the early 1980s. The initiation cycle was not completed due to dissension among the senior men who were responsible for keeping the initiation going. The paintings were recovered from the ruins of the structure in 1987 by Phillip Guddemi, a graduate student in cultural anthropology at the University of Michigan. Some paintings which would normally be present were not found. Examples of these were commissioned from local artists.
The round nunu (boys' initiation) house is said to have been common to several of the groups in the Left May language group area. This type of house was to have been a collaboration between the Sawiyano (or Ama) people and the Youna (Iteli or Rocky Peak) people, and specifically between subgroups of these who had been traditional enemies. The paintings were hung from the ceiling of the conical ritual house, and small holes in them indicate where they were attached to this ceiling by hooks made from the mandibles of small marsupials. A small room was built between the ceiling of the nunu and the apex of its cone; in this room senior men came and shook the ceiling and the attached paintings, in order to frighten the women and small uninltlated boys who were below. |
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89-17-1 This painting is of water flowing around
stones, the native term being topai iwo. At the base and at the
top there are two shorter ripples which are white and outlined in black
with white dot trim. The ripples at the top are more curved than those
at the base. In the center there is a large elongated ripple in the shape
of a handlebar moustache. There is a smaller ripple to the right of it
(looking from the base) which is curved in the same direction. To the
left of the large ripple is an elliptical shape with a red dot within
it. All are white and outlined in the black with white dot trim except
at the top of the large ripple. There are no white dots, just a darker
black one. Also, about a third of the way up, there is a small white dot
outlined in the same trim. |
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89-17-2 This painting is of poso which represents a limbum
palm bark water container. Limbum is a generic Neo-Melanesian
term for hardwood palms. The design resembles the letter E in all sorts
of positions. They are white and are outlined in black with white dots
and they are on a red background. |
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89-17-3 This painting is of iwounu which represents a meander
in a river or stream. The abstract design is a smooth flow of curves,
curlicues and lines. It is white outlined in solid black within a red
space. The black lines form an X in the bottom half of the painting. |
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89-17-4 This painting is fu alumo sowo which is a floating
plant that has anchored on floating trees or at the water's edge It is
found on stagnant lakes and has an edible fruit. The design has two white
arrows pointing towards each other. They are outlined in black with white
dots. The red background makes a large X at the center. |
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89-17-5 This painting is of ulawi powiyoi which represents
the female ulawi sacred design. The ulawi is feminine
in gender, and is one of the two most sacred designs along with aiyasimoki.
It is an abstract design with the center looking like two arrows joined
and pointing away from each other. The design is white outlined in a black
border on a red background. |
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89-17-6 This painting is of yapu yapuwoi which represents
the Sepik River. It is an abstract painting of a meandering red flowing
in between shapes of white outlined in a black with white dot border. |
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89-17-7 This design is mianminani fakomo which is found
on shields of the Mianmin people. The red background forms three Xs lengthwise
along the middle. The rest of the design is white with black and white
dot trim. They look like palm leaves. Along either side of the center
of each X, there are red circles outlined in black with white dots. |
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89-17-8 This painting is tomoki or a large boulder. It
is an abstract design with a dark center which is black with white dots.
The rest is white outlined in black with white dots and red beyond the
trim. |
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89-17-9 This painting is mianminani fakomo which represents
the design found on the shields of Miamin people. The design is abstract
using a white backbone design at the base leading to more angular forms
at the top. It is white outlined in black with white dots and is on a
red background. |
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89-17-10 This painting is of wiyo sosolima which represents
the imperial pigeon. The abstract design is white outlined by a black
with white dot border and is on a reddish-brown background. The center
design runs the length of the painting. It narrows a great deal at the
center where there are five oval shapes outside the design. They are white
with a black and white dot border. |
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89-17-11 This painting is of the leaf of a limbum palm which
is used to make bows. The Sawiyano term is toni sowo. Its abstract
design has four large swirls along the center and several smaller ones
along the edges. Two of the largest ones on the top half are G-shaped.
They are base to base so that one is upside-down. The colors are bright.
The shapes are white with black and white dot trim and the area outside
the trim is deep red. |
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89-17-12 This painting was commissioned of a local artist, Lapuwo
of Ama and Kavia villages, to complete the range of paintings within this
collection. |
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89-17-13 This painting is of popuwanoni namoli ku which
represents the back markings of the spirit woman. The design on this painting
is abstract in that it has no particular shape to it. The central part
of the white design runs lengthwise down the painting. Towards the top
and the bottom the design begins to have curlicues. |
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89-17-14 Painting of Yu molo fiyouhe l, the leaf of the
wild limbum palm. Abstract meandering pattern of white with black
sedging and white dots on a red ground. |
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89-17-15 This painting is of mulono which means leech. This
design is of leeches sitting on a leaf. The paint on this painting is
lighter in color. The white design is most likely the leaf. It is outlined
in black with white dots. The pale red of the design wanders in and out
of the white and most likely represents the leeches. One shape in particular
at the top center looks like a leech. |
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89-17-16 This painting is of a large lizard, sosu. The lizard
is black with white dots and has four legs. It is laying on a white surface
which is outlined in black with white dots. The background is red. |
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89-17-17 This painting is of apu which represents a crab.
The peripheral designs resemble the creeper vine. They are white and are
outlined in black with white dot trim. The crab is black with white dots
and has lots of black legs. It is on a red background. |
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89-17-18 This painting represents the sago leafstalk. Its native
term is tokwano. The white design is abstract and is on a red
background. The white is outlined in black with white dots. The attention
is focused to the white circle about a third of the way up the painting.
On both sides of the circle, there is a white leaf-like shape. |
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89-17-19 This painting is yapu yapuwoi, which is the Sepik
river, with waves. The design is as abstract as a meandering river. The
white shapes are outlined in black with white dot trim. The red surface
meanders throughout these white shapes. |
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