Headdress (Nalowan Nambatin avi)
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Object Label
Throughout northern Vanuatu, men mark important stages of life and gain higher levels of political power by progressing through the ranks of initiation and grade societies. Advancement through each grade requires gifting valuables, sacrificing pigs, sponsoring feasts, demonstrating leadership, and mastering guarded knowledge. These ceremonies are consequently a platform for immense artistic creativity.
On southern Malakula and Tomman Island, life-cycle ceremonies are known collectively as nalowan and involve as many as a hundred different types of headdresses. This headdress type, called nalowan nambatin avi, is used during circumcision ceremonies. The four faces represent the mythical woman Nevimbumbao and her children.
Caption
Tomman Islander. Headdress (Nalowan Nambatin avi), mid 20th century. Tree fern, vegetal-fiber paste, tusks, pigment, 30 × 32 11/16 × 30 11/16 in. (76.2 × 83 × 78 cm) [measurements include fiber]. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. N. Richard Miller, 74.215.4. Creative Commons-BY
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Headdress (Nalowan Nambatin avi)
Date
mid 20th century
Geography
Place made: Tomman, Malampa Province, Vanuatu
Medium
Tree fern, vegetal-fiber paste, tusks, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
30 × 32 11/16 × 30 11/16 in. (76.2 × 83 × 78 cm) [measurements include fiber]
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. N. Richard Miller
Accession Number
74.215.4
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more.
This is a rather enigmatic piece. It is related to grade societies, which are social organizations central to the organization of spiritual, political, and social life in the northern islands of Vanuatu.One aspect of these societies are Nalowan rituals, which are related to major life events, such as a young man's circumcision. This headdress would have been worn at one such circumcision life-cycle ceremony! The four faces represent the powerful woman Nevimbumbao and her children.¿Que es esto?
Es un tocado que sería usado durante una ceremonia de circuncisión en la Isla de Tomman. La ceremonia de circuncisión es un ejemplo de un ritual del ciclo de vida que es central para las sociedades graduados, los cuales rigen la vida espiritual, política, y social en las islas del norte de Vanuatu. Las cuatros caras representan a la mujer poderosa Nevimbumbao y sus tres niños.I find this to be very similar to modern cubist art.
and this too!Well that would be because cubists, Picasso in particular, did draw inspiration from North African masks and the arts of the Pacific Islands.These masks come from two cultural groups of Vanuatu, a series of islands in Melanesia in the Pacific ocean. Though perhaps aesthetically similar, the works of a cubist painter and these masks serve drastically different purposes.The first example you sent me for example was used in rituals tied to important life events, namely circumcision. The four faces represent the mythical woman Nevimbumbao and her children.Who would be wearing this mask during ceremonies?
An important question! This mask would have been worn by a man who has already been initiated into a particular grade of Nalowan society.It would be worn by an initiated mate at the circumcision rite of a young man. The four faces represent the powerful mythical woman, Nevimbumbao and her children.
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