Image 20
Malagan Pole
Papua New Guinea (New Ireland)
19th century
Polychrome wood
101 inches high
Gift of the Morse Foundation 68.9.3

• The story of an old woman named Tsenabonpil (sane-ah-BONE-pill) and a monstrous pig explains the traditional social organization of the people of New Ireland.
• The importance of the natural world to the people of New Ireland is evident in their traditional malagan (MAH-la-gan) festival, mythology, and art.
• The composition, colors, and subject of this pole are all characteristic of northern New Ireland sculptures called malagan.

The people of Lesu (LES-sue) fled their New Ireland homes to a nearby island to escape a frightening monstrous pig named Luana (loo-AH-na). Luana ate people. The people left behind the old woman Tsenabonpil, fearing that her severely swollen leg would sink their boat.

Tsenabonbil gave birth to twin boys, Daror (DAH-roar) and Damuramurari (dah-moo-rah-moo-RAH-ree). When they were older, Tsenabonpil told the boys they must kill the evil pig, Luana. After many adventures they managed to capture and kill the pig. Tsenabonpil then attached some of the pig's hair to a coconut and floated it out to the exiled Lesu people to let them know that Luana was dead.

When the Lesu people returned in their canoes, Tsenabonpil assigned them their social structure. She designated the two marriage classes - the Eagle and the Hawk - and gave names to the many clans. She gave the Lesu knowledge of magic, medicine, and crafts. When Tsenabonpil was done, she and her sons disappeared forever.

New Ireland
New Ireland is a province of Papua New Guinea (pop-poo-ah noo GI-nee) and the second largest island in northwest Melanesia. It forms part of the Bismarck Archipelago. Tropical rainforests cover much of the island, and a wide variety of birds, reptiles, and sea animals live there. Mammals are scarce, except for marsupials, pigs, and dogs. The importance of the natural world to the people of New Ireland is evident in their traditional social structure, mythology, festivals, and art.

Malagan
One of the central events in the social, economic, and aesthetic life of New Ireland communities is the malagan, a festival held in honor of deceased clan members. The elaborate funeral rites and festivities commemorate ancestors as well as help the souls of the dead depart the world of the living and acclimate to the world of the dead. The malagan festival, which may be held several months, or even years, after a person's death, brings together large social groups and provides an opportunity for the moiety and clan to express solidarity.

Elaborately carved sculptures are important aspects of the malagan festival. On the northern coast of New Ireland a clan member commissions a carver to make special sculptures to be revealed during festival performances. Depending on the number ordered, a single commission may take several months to complete. The ritual process of producing malagan sculptures is complex and time-consuming; it is as much a part of the festivities as the performance itself. After the sculptures are carved and dried, they are placed in an enclosure built in or near the cemetery. Sea-snail shells are placed into the eye sockets of the figures. Only then can the sculptures be painted.

The dramatic unveiling of the malagan figures at the end of the festivities is accompanied by generous feasts and dances at which the spirits of the dead are believed to be present. The sculptures serve little or no practical function after a festival and are often left to rot.

Malagan Pole
Standing more than eight feet tall, this malagan pole is made up of many intricately intertwined animals and humans. At the top, a man crouches on a frigate bird, and at the bottom, a woman stands on the head of a wild pig. In the middle of the pole is a complex GEOMETRIC design, called a mataling (MAH-ta-ling), or "eye of fire." At its center is an eye INLAID with snail shell. A pair of dark, elegantly decorated frigate birds face the "eye of fire." The lengthy tail feathers of the upper bird are held by the man and blend into the feathers of another bird at the very top of the pole. The lower bird's tail, held by the woman, hangs in front of the pig at the bottom of the pole.

White, orange-red, and black pigments are the main colors of this pole, and traces of a bright yellow pigment are visible around the central design. When this pole was made, most pigments were still made from natural materials: white from lime powder, red from red ocher, black from charcoal ashes or burned nuts, and yellow from vegetable matter.

The designs on the wild pig's head (see details) show the northern New Ireland painters' preference for breaking down large surface areas into small, decorative, patterned parts. The boar's ears, eyelids, and long snout are all striped. Around its large white tusks are many small teeth, indicated by orange-red lines.

Meaning
The human figures on the malagan probably refer to ancestors, and the birds to air; together they allude to the interrelatedness of all things. Because each malagan commemorates a specific individual in a particular ceremony, its meaning is known only to those present at that ceremony. The same image may mean something different to everybody. For example, to one person the pig at the bottom might stand for the community's source of food and to another it might recall the mythic story of the monstrous pig Luana.

Look
1. Tell the story of Tsenabonpil. The story of Tsenabonpil came from the people of New Ireland, the same people who made this malagan pole. Find a wild pig on the malagan pole. (Head of a pig on the bottom of the pole.) Find a woman. (Crouching on top of the pig.) How do you know it's a woman? (Prominent breasts.) Find three birds on the pole. (Pair of birds on either side of the center and one at the top.) Find a man. (Between the two birds on the top half of the pole.) There is a GEOMETRIC design on the pole that New Ireland people call a mataling, or "eye of fire." Can you guess where it is? (Exact center.)

2. When this pole was made, artists painted it with natural pigments. What colors do you see painted on the pole? (Red, black, and white.) Where do you see colors other than red, black, and white? What color are the eyes of the two human figures and the eye at the center of the pole? Are these colors painted? How can you tell? Explain that eyes are INLAID sea-snail shells.

3. The New Ireland artists who carved and painted this pole divided large surface areas into decoratively PATTERNED parts. Show detail of image 20, side view of pig. Where do you see patterned parts on the pig's head? (Separate color and pattern around the eye, mouth, teeth, ear; crescent shape between the eye and mouth; red-and-white stripe along the top of the head; rectangle below eye and ear.)

4. POSITIVE SHAPES occupy space, just like you do. The spaces around positive shapes are called NEGATIVE SHAPES. Show detail of image 20. Where are the negative shapes in this part of the malagan pole? (Negative shapes exist all around the female figure on the bottom of the pole, as well as in front of the figure created by the extended bird tail. Accept a variety of answers as all of these areas may be difficult to see in any one detail image.)

Do the negative shapes make this sculpture appear sturdy or delicate? (Many small negative shapes create a feeling of lightness and delicacy.) What else has the artist done to make this huge sculpture look delicate? (Small geometric designs painted all over the sculpture contribute to its delicate appearance.)

2. Malagan sculptures may take months to carve. The malagan festival culminates in the unveiling of malagan sculptures. After the festival is over, the sculptures are often left to rot. Why do you think the people of New Ireland leave the sculptures to rot after the malagan festival? (Once the festival for which they were created is over, the sculptures are no longer of any use to the community.)

3. Malagan sculptures are hidden until the final day of the malagan ceremony. When they are unveiled, guests make a token gift to gain admission to the display. Where do we keep our art objects? (Museums, galleries.) What do we call an unveiling of art objects at a special exhibition? (An opening.) Do guests ever make a "token gift" to gain admission to these places? (Some museums charge admission fees or suggest donations.)

4. New Ireland artists employ the technique of ASSEMBLAGE. What does that word mean? (A form of art involving the assembly and arrangement of unrelated objects, parts, and materials in a kind of sculptural collage.) Could you have an assemblage of people? How is a malagan festival an assemblage? (A malagan festival brings together large social groups and provides an opportunity to reestablish bonds between neighbors and friends.) Can you think of an example of an assemblage of ideas?