Chapter 31:
Elders, “Big Men,”
Chiefs, and Kings
By:
Cheryl & Eleanor
The Islands of Oceania
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Oceania, also known as the South Pacific island group, has four
major regions:
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Melanesia – “islands of the blacks”
Micronesia – “small islands”
Polynesia – “many islands”
Australia – “land to the south”
Archeologists have studied that the islands have been inhabited for
tens of thousands of years. Researchers have found that early
habitation dates of forty or more thousand years ago to the sites on
the island continent of Australia. Sites on the island of New Guinea
and some nearby islands of the Bismarck Archipelago were
populated more than thirty thousand years ago. The Melanesian
islands and Micronesia were populated two to three thousand years
ago. The last islands of Oceania humans colonized were those of
Polynesia.
Melanesia
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Includes New Guinea, the islands of the Bismarck
Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New
Caledonia, Vanuata, and the Fijian Islands
Art forms of Melanesia seem to have a variety of
historical overlays of styles and symbolism
Their cults and art forms address a host of
legendary ancestral and nature spirits
Even though masks are shown rarely in
Polynesia, they are central to many Melanesian
spirit cults
Melanesia
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Today, New Guinea is a part of two countries, West Papua
and East Papua
When the two land masses were connected during the ice
ages, people settled on the island and on the nearby
continent of Australia for tends of thousands of years
The ecosystems had highlands with snow-capped mountains
and a variety of tropical and subtropical forest regions, and
also low-lying tropical river systems
Since these ecosystems were various, they gave numerous
adaptations for survival, such as intense agriculture and
husbandry
Melanesia
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The descendants of the early settlers in New Guinea spoke
non-Austronesian languages (aka Old Papuan)
These descendants tend to organize in egalitarian social
units with political power vested in groups of older men and in
some areas older women
Later, seagoing migrants to New Guinea and the other
Melanesian islands spoke Austronesian languages (aka
Malayo-Polynesian)
These languages are related in areas of Southeast Asia,
Indonesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
These cultures frequently had chiefs at the top of the social
system, with various people under their power socially,
politically, and economically
Asmat Art (West New Guinea)
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Revolve around mythological ancestral beliefs associated
with competition, warfare, and head-hunting
They filled their art with symbols of ancestors, as well as
animals and insects associated with head-hunting (fruiteating bat, hornbill, heron, cockatoo, and praying mantis)
The Asmat headhunt was a way of maintaining a balance of
spirit power: when a person dies, either by natural causes or
murder, it was attributed to the loss of the person to a taking
away of ancestral power
In order to restore a balance, an enemy’s head must be
taken to avenge one’s relative’s death and to add to one’s
communal spirit power
Ancestor Poles to Honor the Dead
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The Asmat erect ancestor poles mark the death of
their men, often due to head-hunting, warfare, or
sorcery
The lifelike standing figures on the poles’ vertical
axis represent individuals who have died
After ceremonies, the Asmat discard the poles in
the nearby swamp to begin a symbolic deathrebirth cycle
War Shields to Protect the Living
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War shields were very important because warfare
was very common; however, today the Asmat
simply sell war shields, but they are still an
important part of the culture
The war shields are kept in the men’s house
where initiated men sleep separately from the
women and children – they are placed near each
man’s section for ready access in time of need
The Asmat believed the images on the war
shields had the power to help protect the warrior
behind the shield
War Shield
Abelam Art (East New Guinea)
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The Abelam people are agriculturalists living in
the hilly regions north of the Sepik River
They painted the façade of their decorated men’s
houses with representations of ancestral spirits
connected to the fertility of the gardens
By itself, the house represents male and female
generative and fertility notions
Iatmul Art (East New Guinea)
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The Iatmul live along the middle Sepik River in Papua New
Guinea in their big saddle-shaped men’s ceremonial houses
The house represents a monstrous female ancestor
They placed carved images of clan ancestors on the five
central ridge-support posts and on the twelve roof-support
posts on both sides of the house
The house’s interior is subdivided into three parts (a front,
middle, and end) representing the three major clans who built
the house
The Iatmul house and its female ancestral figures symbolize
a reenacted death and rebirth when a clan member enters
and exits the second story of the house
Ceremonial Men’s House
Sulka Art (East New Britain)
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The non-Austronesian-speaking Sulka people are
mostly known for elaborate surreal masks used in
ceremonies of birth, initiation, men’s house
dedications, and mortuary rites
They make two basic types of masks:
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Hemlaut, which has a large umbrella-like form on top of
the mask
Susu, appears in several distinct forms, including an
anthropomorphized cone-shaped form called a GitvungSusu
The Sulka associate the Gitvung-Susa mask with
the initiation of youth into adulthood
Malanggan Art (Northern New
Ireland)
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To honor the dead, the Austronesian-speaking
peoples of the island of northern New Ireland in
Papua New Guinea use elaborately carved
polychrome sculptures called malanggan
The rituals both honor ancestors and initiate
youths in adulthood
After the malanggan rites conclude, the
community disposes the sculptures and leaves
them out to decay
Artists carve new malanggan sculptures for each
commemorative rite
Malanggan mask for lifting taboos
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The malanggan rites include a
dramatic taboo-lifting mask
called Matua
The mask is made from wood,
feathers, vegetal materials and
paints
There is a tongue-like shape
inside the mouth representing
the Matua eating a human
liver, showing its cannibal-like
attributes
The spirit’s ears are made of
large carved and painted
planks set into the sides of the
mask
Micronesia
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Areas considered Micronesian have mostly
cheifmanship governments
All micronesian cultures are centered
around fishing, trading, and long distance
boating to trade with other societies
Made many crafts, carved canoes
Tended to abstract natural forms
Belau Art
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Put much effort into creating men’s
ceremonial houses (previously mentioned)
Women were warned to stay away from
men’s houses, houses were decorated with
ocean themes, protected by dieties
Men’s houses called “bai”
Polynesia
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Polynesia was one of the last settled areas
on earth
Polynesian societies are typically
aristocratic
Made art forms for spiritual purposes mana
The counterpart to mana was tapu
Like good and bad, godly and taboo
Polynesia
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Polynesian artists excelled in carving wood,
stone, and ivory
Were usually full monochromatic human
figures
Made a backcloth called tapa which played
a CRUCIAL role in clothing, bedding, cloth
in general
The art of tatooing was also very developed
Rarotungan Art
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Rarotungans were moderately isolated,
which allowed distinct reigonal styles
Carvings from R are feature bodies with
many bodies attached, perhaps to
symbolize ancestors
Rarotungans used carved dieties up into
the 1800s, included fisherman’s gods, with
tapa etc.
Kukailimoku (war god)
Hawaiian and Marquesean art
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The hawaiian art very different from
rarutunguan, much more fierce looking,
larger, nearly 6 feet tall
In the Marquesean islands tatooing was a
sign of social status
Tattoos increased their MANA
Tattooed warrior with war club
Maori Art
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Maori people of new zealand cherished
decorative embellishment and curvilinear human
figures
The maori peoples decorated their own bodies all
over with tattoos
Created sculptures which feautured same tattoo
patterns
Meeting houses played an important role in maori
life, were community centers and a symbol of
cultural identity
Australia
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The Aboriginal people spread throughout
Australia
Had a special relationship with the land
they lived on
Mainly hunter-gatherers
Developed complicated aboriginal myths
Hunter and kangaroo
Aboriginal Art
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Created batiqued bark paintings
Very detailed design oriented