Flat woven anthropomorphic figures - timbuwarra - which come exclusively from the Pangia/Ialibu area of the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, were kept in spirit houses, conical-roofed structures built some distance from the village, and apparently were associated with fertility and spirits. In ceremony they were carried or were pinned to the tall red wig worn by men. This practice was locally described as "female pinned by a penis to the wig." Collector Stanley Moriarty refers to it as a female figure representing a dead wife intended for relatives and friends to pay their respects to.

© Australian Art Department, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2005

Source:

Art Gallery of NSW