nggwalndu (male spirit figure), unrecorded Abelam artist

Exhibition Label: "Roots and Journeys: Encountering Global Arts and Cultures," Jul-2011, Nancy Mahaney Nggwalndu are carved ancestor figures. More than a mere representation, the detail adorning this figure is designed to encourage a male ancestral spirit to inhabit the sculpture. In Abelam villages, nggwalndu are displayed within public view, but their true identity is kept a secret from all but the initiated men of the village. The nggwalndu “sleep” in the haus tambaran, or men’s ceremonial house, but they come into more active use during initiation rituals for groups of boys or men. In preparation for an initiation, a room in the haus tambaran is extravagantly decorated with nggwalndu figures, painted panels, and other items. For the Abelam, paint is a magical substance which imbues the nggwalndu figure with both power and beauty. In its original context, this nggwalndu figure would have been vibrantly painted, and continually repainted as the color faded. An initiate who brushes up against a freshly-painted figure transfers not just pigment onto his own skin, but the power imbued in the paint as well.