Storyboard
About This Item
Europeans first came into contact with the Kambot people in 1913 during the German colonial period and permanently altered the community. Missionaries removed ritual objects and prohibited villagers from practicing their ceremonies. During the 1970s, Kambot artists created storyboards depicting traditional spiritual imagery to sell to foreigners. These pieces served not only to respond to the growing demands of the tourist trade but also as a way to transmit mythological traditions to younger generations. The bird and human headed figures represent spirits who inhabit the trees from which the Kambot people make their canoes.
- Date
- 20th Century
- Geography
- Kambot people, Lower Sepik River region, Papua New Guinea
- Medium
- wood
- pigment
- Context
- The Oceania collection at the Global Museum—the largest collection in the museum’s holdings—primarily consists of objects from the late 1970s and 1980s in the newly formed Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Among Papua New Guinean communities, objects serve to educate young people about their families and heritage, to celebrate cycles of life and death, to protect those who travel the waterways and forests, and to create a sense of identity and purpose within the community.
- Height
- 44.25 in
- Width
- 70 in
- Depth
- 3.25 in
- Copyright
- Copyright status unknown. Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing, and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Views
- 1241