Mionomehi Oriseegé (Ancestral Paths): Barkcloth from Omie
Past exhibition
Dapeni Jonevari (Mokokari) Papua New Guinean, Ömie, b. 1949
Guai, ujawe soru'e (asimano'e (taigu taigu'e, odunaigo'e, vinohu'e)) ohu'o dahoru'e
natural pigments on nioge (barkcloth)
107 x 68 cm
832027
Underground initiation sites, men's ceremonial initiation tattoos (Heads of men (with pattern of a leaf, jungle vines, siha'e fruit design of the bellybutton)) and Omie mountains. The borders and lines...
Underground initiation sites, men's ceremonial initiation tattoos (Heads of men (with pattern of a leaf, jungle vines, siha'e fruit design of the bellybutton)) and Omie mountains.
The borders and lines that run through the nioge are pathways which provide a compositional framework for the designs. Dapeni interrupted the usual path of the orriseege with a rectangular design, guai. Guai ate ancestral underground sites/chambers usually situated in the forest outside of the village where boys and girls lived in seclusion and were tattooed for initiation into woman hood or manhood. This initiation rite is known as the Ujawe ceremony. Men's entire bodies would be tattooed while only the cheeks of women were tattooed. Dapeni's father told her how her grandfather lived in a guai where he underwent his initiation tattooing. Palms and logs were placed over the pits to provide shelter as well as cover and hide them from passer-by. The circular designs are asimano'e, the heads of living men complete with ears and eyes. Dapeni explains how this design is uehorero (her own wisdom) and came to her in a dream. The surrounding streams of zig-zagging lines and their curling off shots are also traditional sor'e. The streams of zig-zags are taihu taigu'e and would often be tattooed on the upper arms of buys for their initiation into manhood. The design is very old and some Omie people tell of how it originated from a pattern seen on a leaf. The curly ends are odunaigo'e, a climbing jungle vine with thorns and tendrils. The small diamond designs represent the fruit of the sihe tree. Sihe is a yellow fruit found in the rain forest and often eaten by cassowaries. In the time of the ancestors during times of tribal warfare, the Omie male warriors had no food while they were defending their borders so they survived by chewing the sihe fruit and spitting the pulp out.The siha'e design is sometimes also called vinphu'e, the men's tattoo design of the belly button. The diamond shape was tattooed around men's navals during the Ujawe initiation rite.
The borders and lines that run through the nioge are pathways which provide a compositional framework for the designs. Dapeni interrupted the usual path of the orriseege with a rectangular design, guai. Guai ate ancestral underground sites/chambers usually situated in the forest outside of the village where boys and girls lived in seclusion and were tattooed for initiation into woman hood or manhood. This initiation rite is known as the Ujawe ceremony. Men's entire bodies would be tattooed while only the cheeks of women were tattooed. Dapeni's father told her how her grandfather lived in a guai where he underwent his initiation tattooing. Palms and logs were placed over the pits to provide shelter as well as cover and hide them from passer-by. The circular designs are asimano'e, the heads of living men complete with ears and eyes. Dapeni explains how this design is uehorero (her own wisdom) and came to her in a dream. The surrounding streams of zig-zagging lines and their curling off shots are also traditional sor'e. The streams of zig-zags are taihu taigu'e and would often be tattooed on the upper arms of buys for their initiation into manhood. The design is very old and some Omie people tell of how it originated from a pattern seen on a leaf. The curly ends are odunaigo'e, a climbing jungle vine with thorns and tendrils. The small diamond designs represent the fruit of the sihe tree. Sihe is a yellow fruit found in the rain forest and often eaten by cassowaries. In the time of the ancestors during times of tribal warfare, the Omie male warriors had no food while they were defending their borders so they survived by chewing the sihe fruit and spitting the pulp out.The siha'e design is sometimes also called vinphu'e, the men's tattoo design of the belly button. The diamond shape was tattooed around men's navals during the Ujawe initiation rite.