Malagan frieze

This frieze, made in around 1910, is from New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. It shows the battle between opposites, represented by birds and snakes - you can see them twisted around each other. The main figure is a cockerel.

The frieze is made from wood decorated with bright colours and sea snail operculae (the shiny trapdoor-like flaps which close the openings of shells). It measures 109.65cm long. It is one of the most elaborate of its kind in museum collections. Originally, this frieze would have been displayed on a pole in front of a malagan display house as part of memorial ceremonies.

A malagan frieze
see larger version

Malagans are the many things associated with death rituals. They can also be ceremonies and dances relating to other times in a person's life, like birth (and can even include Christian ceremonies and symbols like statues and stained glass windows).

The two most important types of malagan are:

• special ceremonies to remember a person after they have died, and
• the masks and sculptures used at those ceremonies

These memorial ceremonies are bonding experiences for the New Irelanders, strengthening social, artistic and economic ties. They usually take place several months after death, and meet three main purposes:

• a religious role
• to help the living remember the dead
• to help the soul to leave the world of the living

The New Ireland idea about 'soul' is quite complicated. There is evidence that New Irelanders believe in three kinds of soul for each person:

• the life-force or tatanu which stays near the body after death
• the part that leaves the dying person through their mouth and moves to the land of the dead
• the ghost-like spirit, ges, which looks like the person and dies with them

The malagan ceremonies can involve the whole society, and may take place over several years. In some areas they are still a major part of the New Island's culture and life.

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