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Art-Pacific (Carolyn Leigh - Ron Perry): Guide to Artifacts

Yamok Village, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

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[Birds with man: 21k]

Figures 1 and 2: Samban carvings of ancestor figures encircled by totems of guardian wildlife. Valuables and ritual objects are hung on the samban for protection and power.

Yamok is several hours walk off the Sepik. The men carve a bird (subut) from their creation story.

[Woman in circle with fish: 10k]

In the beginning, the Yamoks say everything was fluid. A crocodile raped a woman form, but the bird pulled the woman away from the clutches of the crocodile and flew her away to the safety of the grass country. She laid two eggs, which the bird helped her tend. When they hatched, one was a human form. The other was a crocodile man (kombiomo) who now lives in the barets (channels) and raunwaras (oxbow lakes) between Yamok and Korogo. The kombiomo is more likely to be evil than kind.

Woman are said to hold the knowledge of the people, while men hold the power. The carving of a woman inside a power circle is protective, keeping the poison of sorcerers and other evil away.

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back to Guide to Sepik River Carvings

Browse Sepik River villages - Middle Sepik: Aibom | Chambri Lakes | Kamindimbit | Kandangai | Kanganaman | Koiwat and Kamangauwi | Korogo | Mindimbit | Mumeri | Palambei | Tambanum | Yamok | Yentchan | Yenichenmangua | see also Karawari and Blackwater Rvs | above Pagwi: Ambunti Mtns (Waskuk) | Hunstein | Japandai | near Angoram and below: Angoram | Imbando and Taway | Kambaramba | see also Ramu Rv

[Map of the middle length of the Sepik River, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea: 9k]

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Browse OCEANIC ART:

Melanesian art TOC | Map of art areas of Melanesia
Papua New Guinea: Highlands: body art - Bundi tapa - jewelry/dancers | Karawari and Blackwater Rivers: masks - carvings - map | Massim: artifacts- Trobriand Kula - map | Kula canoe | New Britain: Baining - Sulka - Tolai dukduk | New Ireland: Malagan | Ramu River: masks - carvings - map | Sepik River: masks - carvings - villages - map | Papuan Gulf: masks - carvings - map - Gogodala - Kukukuku
other areas: Asmat | Solomon Islands: crafts - jewelry - map
art and craft:
barkcloth (tapa) | body art | cane and fiber figures | canoes and prows | jewelry/dancers | masks - Middle Sepik | phallocrypts | pottery - Chambri | shields | story boards | suspension hooks | weapons | yam masks - fiber | yam masks - wood

INDONESIAN ART:
Indonesian art TOC | Dyak baby carriers and masks | furniture | Java folk art | Lombok baskets | Lombok lontar boxes | masks from Bali and Java | puppets

CHINA: BAI TEXTILES/ART:
China: Bai textiles/art TOC | baby carriers | baby hats | woodblock prints


Collecting New Guinea art in the field since 1964.

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https://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/nuguinea/sepikriv/sepikmid/yamok.htm | Contact Us | Art-Pacific at https://www.art-pacific.com/

Artifacts on this site were collected in the field by my husband, Ron Perry. I take the photographs, do the html, text and maps. Background in Who We Are. Art-Pacific has been on the WWW since 1996. We hope you enjoy our New Guinea tribal art and Indonesian folk art as much as we do.

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