Dance ornament in the form of a stylised bird, from commemorative ceremony (malagan)

This dance ornament in the form of a stylised hornbill bird was made for the final part of a malagan ceremony. Representing an ancestral spirit, one end was held in the mouth during the ' birds fly home' dance, to send off a dead person's spirit.

This openwork carved wooden ornament shows the stylised head and beak of a hornbill, intertwined with a human figure whose head is at the top and arms, apparently grasping a spear and shield, at the bottom. Its lifelike eyes are from parts of snails.

Malagan ceremonies took several days, cost a lot to organise, and often took place several years after an important person died. They commemorated that person and any others who had died, and sent off their spirits. Various dances were involved.

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