Carved wooden figure (also known as totok), from special commemorative festival (malagan)

This carved figure (totok), a stylised human grasping a bird and being attacked by snakes, represents a community's ancestral spirit in New Ireland in the Pacific. It was made for display during a funerary malagan ceremony.

This openwork carved wooden figure shows a human-like figure grasping a bird with its head outstretched towards his feet. Stylised snakes reach up from beneath his feet. The lifelike eyes are made 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.

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