Jipae funerary dance mask
Indonesia, Papua province, south of Mount Carstensz
Asmat. First half of the 20th century
Plant fibres, wood, feathers, wicker, seeds, pigments. H 200 cm
Gift of Georges Barbey in 1959; purchased from an oil prospector in Hollandia, now Jayapura
MEG Inv. ETHOC 028211
Notice
These costume-masks represent the recent dead at the jipae festival, when they return to their villages for a day and a night. The festivities end with the symbolic death of the masks, which drop to the ground and are carried to the ceremonial house. Only then can the souls of the dead leave the world of the living and join the realm of the ancestors.
Bibliography
- Colombo Dougoud, Roberta. 2014. Les collections Océanie. In: Regards sur les collections. Genève: Musée d'ethnographie de Genève, 224-225
© 2015 Musée d'ethnographie, Genève
Ville de Genève, Département de la culture et du sport