Producer unknown to us
Melanesia, Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea, New Ireland (Niu Ailan)
Late 19th century
Wood (Alstonia Scholaris) carved, sea snail (Turbo petholatus), lime, red ochre, color pigments, coconut fiber
Purchased in 1904 by Ludolf Kummer, planter and trader in New Ireland.
Inv. No. 68353
The center of the statue and ancestor figure toktok from northern New Ireland is dominated by a human male figure. Such figures were created specifically for the malanggan celebrations after the death of a person, at the end of a very long period of mourning. The stele was intended to absorb the life energy of the deceased and to pass it on to his descendants. Once the figure had served its purpose, it was left to decay.
This figure is dominated by its massive head, which also defines the outer dimensions of the stele. The relatively delicate and therefore subordinate body is additionally organized by a system of struts depicting motifs from the animal kingdom. The figure holds a bird in front of its body, possibly a flying fish with its head pointing downward. On either side of the figure’s bent legs, snakes are biting the figure’s elbows. Snakes symbolize death. The carved chest ornament (kapkap) indicates that the deceased must have been a person of rank. The strut on the back again represents a flying fish.
Ancestor figures like these and larger ancestor steles that had been erected over several days stood in front of the large display house. They were nailed into the ground with a stake.
The collector Friedrich August Hagenauer worked for the Moravian Church in Australia, but seems to have visited some Melanesian islands from there. In 1899, he sent the ancestor figure to the Herrnhut museum along with 68 other ethnographic objects from Australia and the Polynesian islands. We do not know how he came into their possession.