No.1 Neighbour: Art in Papua New Guinea 1956-2016

54 №1 NEIGHBOUR SING-SING The Baining people of the Gazelle Peninsula in New Britain have long been known for the creation of spectacular ceremonial masks, whose medium of soft barkcloth seems at odds with their towering sculptural forms. The Uramot Baining people create their own versions of these masks, which are worn by men in a series of day and night ceremonies. Performed during the day, these ceremonies celebrate the harvest and commemorate the dead; at night, they initiate young boys into adulthood. Today, the Uramot Baining people have extended their range of ceremonies to include the achievements and realities of contemporary life, such as the completion of a building or presentations to visiting tourists. In 2011, the Gallery commissioned Isaac Kaligur, an elder from Kainagunan, to create two towering mandas masks. Kaligur leads a group of young men who regularly perform the celebrated snake or fire dance at major festivals, such as the annual National Mask Festival held in Kokopo, East New Britain. Taking place at night, the snake dance is a popular spectacle for tourists, who travel to the village to await the arrival of the bush spirits. In the performance, the singing and percussion of an all-male orchestra gradually builds as an enormous bonfire is lit in the village clearing. Dancers, painted in black and wearing barkcloth kavat masks and leaf costumes, then enter the clearing until as many as five are dancing in front of the orchestra. As the performance appears to plateau, the masked dancers run through the fire in a frenzied state. One by one, they kick the burning logs, puncturing the darkness with glittering clouds of embers, as the orchestra continues to layer sound in waves. During our visit, 1 Kaligur explained that the masked men invite dangerous bush spirits into the village to placate them so they can be driven off. We were also taken into the forest to see where young initiates are first introduced to these spirits using the kavat masks. As part of their initiation, the boys are permitted to assist with the creation of the masks, at which time they are taught the meaning of the patterns and designs and, ultimately, how to perform the masks. While the kavat may be danced for all to see, this information remains the sacred knowledge of initiated men. Conversations about commissioning the towering mandas masks carefully navigated this coded knowledge and involved detailed discussions of the patterns Kaligur has permission to use. Danced as part of the finale for daytime ceremonies, these masks, although worn by men, are believed to have feminine identities. The impressive form of the single appendage mask, known as Rarapka , consists of a headdress and a superstructure over three metres tall. As part of a trip to the Gazelle Peninsula in 1972–73, researcher George A Corbin observed that the men dancing with the mandas masks performed in ‘slow movements . . . said to symbolize the slow growth of garden trees and plants’. 2 The construction and performance of the day and night masks enact an intricate relationship the Baining share with nature, as well as those forces from other realms. With their creations, Isaac Kaligur and his team provide us with rich insights into the imaginative and inspiring ways the Baining negotiate their complex world. 1 Gallery staff visited the Gazelle Peninsula in 2011 as part of preparations and planning for ‘The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art’, 2012. 2 George A Corbin, ‘Chachet Baining art’, in Expedition [Penn Museum, Penn.], vol.24, no.2, winter 1982, p.12. ALLANA MOVANA Rarapka 2011 PP.56–7 Snake dance performance by the Baining people, Kainagunan, Gazelle Peninsula, East New Britain, 2011 / Photograph: Michael O’Sullivan BAINING MASKS RUTH M c DOUGALL