JUNGLE GEOMETRY: New Ömie Paintings from Papua New Guinea
Past exhibition
Faith Jina'emi Papua New Guinean, b. 1957
Vision'e/uge dela, sabu ahe, dahoru'e ohu'o ohu'o visuanoe - Eel bone jewellery for initiation nasal septum piercings, spots of the wood-boring grub, Omie Mountains and teeth of the freshwater river fish, 2022
natural pigments on nioge (barkcloth)
111 x 67.5 cm
22-016
The lines that run through the work are known as orriseegé or 'pathways' and provide a compositional framework for the designs. The or'e (path) designs are ancient and originate from...
The lines that run through the work are known as orriseegé or 'pathways' and provide a compositional framework for the designs. The or'e (path) designs are ancient and originate from the time of the Ancestors and relate to the intricate footpaths that run through food gardens and garden plots.
The arches represent vison'e, jewellery for the nasal septum piercing. This jewellery was made in the time of the ancestors from either a long, thin cylindrical shell or from the bone of a small freshwater river eel, uge. In more recent times the vison'e is fashioned from the chest-bone ofa tub-or'e (Dwarf Cassowary). This piercing was a very important part of the Ömie rites of passage for boys and girls. This maturity ritual took place during feasts such as brideprice ceremonies. For
those who may be interested, the full vison 'e piercing ritual has been described in greater detail by anthropologist, Marta Rohatynskyj, in her writing, "The Larger Context of Ömie Sex Affiliation", in Man (New Series), Vol. 25, No. 3 (Sep., 1990), Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, p. 444
The black, infilled sawtooth designs are dahoru'e, the design of the Ömie mountains. These design relate to the sacred ancestral geography of Ömie territory.
The chevrons are visuano'e, the teeth of the freshwater river fish.
The spots that have also been incorporated into this design are sabu ahe representing the spots which can be seen on the sides of a wood-boring grub. This grub is sacred to Ömie people as it plays an important part within the creation story of how Huvaimo (Mount Lamington) came to be volcanic. It is a traditional sor'e (tattoo design) which was most commonly tattooed running in one line under both eyes.
The arches represent vison'e, jewellery for the nasal septum piercing. This jewellery was made in the time of the ancestors from either a long, thin cylindrical shell or from the bone of a small freshwater river eel, uge. In more recent times the vison'e is fashioned from the chest-bone ofa tub-or'e (Dwarf Cassowary). This piercing was a very important part of the Ömie rites of passage for boys and girls. This maturity ritual took place during feasts such as brideprice ceremonies. For
those who may be interested, the full vison 'e piercing ritual has been described in greater detail by anthropologist, Marta Rohatynskyj, in her writing, "The Larger Context of Ömie Sex Affiliation", in Man (New Series), Vol. 25, No. 3 (Sep., 1990), Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, p. 444
The black, infilled sawtooth designs are dahoru'e, the design of the Ömie mountains. These design relate to the sacred ancestral geography of Ömie territory.
The chevrons are visuano'e, the teeth of the freshwater river fish.
The spots that have also been incorporated into this design are sabu ahe representing the spots which can be seen on the sides of a wood-boring grub. This grub is sacred to Ömie people as it plays an important part within the creation story of how Huvaimo (Mount Lamington) came to be volcanic. It is a traditional sor'e (tattoo design) which was most commonly tattooed running in one line under both eyes.