Important ancestral male effigies in the Murik Lakes and lower Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea are generally called kandimbong. They can be personifications of clan founders, known deceased individuals and also mythical ‘culture heroes’. The conical head depicts a type of hair dressing that was common in the early twentieth century, where a man shaved his hair back from the forehead and wore a decorated fibre cap through which the hair grew so it appeared out of the top.

The bilateral symmetry and crisp lines characteristic of Murik art are evident in this figure. On the chest and shoulders are incised patterns (taganap sigia) representing initiation markings. It portrays an ancestor who is wearing a long-nosed spirit mask (brag). The red ochre called waikor and is also used as body paint for ceremonial events.

Important ancestral male effigies in the Murik Lakes and lower Sepik River region of Papua New Guinea are generally called kandimbong. They can be personifications of clan founders, known deceased individuals and also mythical ‘culture heroes’. The conical head depicts a type of hair dressing that was common in the early twentieth century, where a man shaved his hair back from the forehead and wore a decorated fibre cap through which the hair grew so it appeared out of the top.

The bilateral symmetry and crisp lines characteristic of Murik art are evident in this figure. On the chest and shoulders are incised patterns (taganap sigia) representing initiation markings. It portrays an ancestor who is wearing a long-nosed spirit mask (brag). The red ochre called waikor and is also used as body paint for ceremonial events.