Returned laborers, purification ritual: Kent speaks to dead cassowaries dressed as a humans, symbolizing the ancestors, in center are above ground ovens
Under copyright Constraint(s) on Use: This work is protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use of this work beyond that allowed by "fair use" requires written permission of the UC Regents. Responsibility for obtaining permissions and any use and distribution of this work rests exclusively with the user and not the UC San Diego Library. Inquiries can be made to the UC San Diego Library program having custody of the work. Use: This work is available from the UC San Diego Library. This digital copy of the work is intended to support research, teaching, and private study.
Rights Holder and Contact
UC Regents
Description
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0175 (https://lib.ucsd.edu/sca) This digital image is a surrogate of an item from the Edwin Cook Papers (Archive negative 2, Roll 9, Envelope 29-34, Frame 34) "Kent speaks to the ancestors." Manga Social Organization, p. 307. "Then the boys themselves had to prepare sacrifices to their ancestors for caring for them while they were away. This is part of that ceremony, picture 8 is also part of this. Here, if you look closely, you will see two cassowaries tied up by the neck to poles. One is to the immediate right of the old sorcerer, Kent, looking out at you and the other is on the right hand side of the picture. The sorcerer is carrying a pig-killing stick. When the birds have been thus dressed up it is thought that the ancestors come and inhabit them and watch the general proceedings. They (the birds) are spoken to as real people." MSS187, Box 44, Folder 9. [Title, Date]. Edwin Cook Papers. MSS 187. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego. [Digital Object URL]
Type
image
Identifier
ark:/20775/bb5428110q
Subject
Shell money Cassowaries Shrines Narak (Papua New Guinean people) Ancestor worship Cookery Rites and ceremonies Papua New Guinea Pacific Islands Western Highlands Province (Papua New Guinea) Oceania Melanesia
Place
Papua New Guinea Pacific Islands Western Highlands Province (Papua New Guinea) Oceania Melanesia
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
