Melanesian Artefacts:

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People: Porapora people

Linguistic Family: Porapora or Grass Family, Ramu Super-Stock, Sepik-Ramu Phylum.

District or Village: Lower Keram or Porapora Rivers, Angoram District, East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.

Collected: This piece was obtained in the period 1968-70 from a priest in the Marionberg diocese. It is likely that the piece was collected from the field in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

Description: The dagger has a heavy clay head which has been moulded onto the bone of a cassowary. The face has prominent brows over eyes which are represented by cowrie shells and an open mouth with pursed lips. The septum has been broken away from underneath the nose and a transverse fracture has been expertly repaired. Line markings using a light brown ochre on a black ground have been painted on the face which is framed with small cowrie shells. A number of cassowary feathers have been used as a headdress for the dagger. The overall length of the dagger is 270mm.

Background: Ceremonial objects such as this type of dagger are often worn on the upper arm and held by a woven cane ring. During the ceremony the dagger will be drawn and a mock lunge made on the ancestral figure. This act allows the participant to gain inner strength and confidence and at the same time adds colour and importance to the dagger.

History: This ritual bone dagger is considered to have come from the Porapora area (Porapora or Keram rivers). Daggers are not common to this area and the way that the head is moulded sets it apart from the other daggers.

Comparison Reference: See " Wooden Objects", pages 58-61, Berlin 1966.

Provenance: Private Collection from 1960-8 and acquired by LukLuk Gallery from a tribal art gallery in Melbourne in 1990.

Artefact Code: ML001.