Viewed early August 2013

The collection of art that we saw displayed at Samgik was quite different to most of the art of the Maprik area seen in published sources, and in real objects in various collections. The images here have been enhanced to correct problems due to very compromised light conditions and time constraints.

The culture and language groups are listed below, as far as we were told. There was too much happening and too little time to collect any of the stories associated with the works, or even to get the artists names and details.

Nevertheless, what you can see is that the most of the sculptures look like ancestor figures, male and female. There are also many smaller carved animals and birds, and an impressive snake. These appear to be clan totems and some are attached to the tall carved figures.

  

The images do show a very unusual art style, or representation tradition. This material is stylistically quite unusual compared to that of their famous neighbours to the north and east the Abelam. It is different again to published Wosera material to their south. And it also differs overall to the material of the Ilahita Arapesh to the west, whose work is represented with material from a Sunuhu haus tambaran (neighbours to the west of Ilahita) collected in the late 1970s by F Gerretts and held in the National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) in Port Moresby. There is, however, some similarity with some Ilahita art, and notably there is a new inverted heart shaped piece that was obviously done recently in concert with artists making new work at Ilahita for display at the joint Brikiti – Ilahita festival held on the 9th August 2013. More on that later. In the art on the haus tambaran front there is clear similarity to the art of the Abelam of Brikiti and Apengai.

 

The material in the entry room collection is more public objects, some is prosaic, and the group of objects is quite varied, indicating maybe a few different artists. The work in the inner room was generally stronger in its sense of presence, and more pieces were bigger, and the same hand or hands was evident in groups of objects.

Most of the carved and ‘painted’ timber pieces were coloured with ochres or what looked like chalk, charcoal and pastels, including some touches of pale blue, aqua and lemon. The expressions on the faces and the detail of figures looks naive at first on some, but at a second glance has power and character.

So the art here was a surprise on a number of levels. There may well be other sources and earlier collections from this culture area that maybe known in material held overseas. But, if so they must be more obscure than is the case for the Abelam, Wosera and Arapesh. The arts here seem also to be undergoing a revival of interest and skill development and pride in their cultural distinctiveness, again in spite of majority disparagement or hostility —at least that is what has been inferred. But, time and research needs to be invested to get a proper and reliable account of the cultural change issues here. Here and for most of the Maprik and surrounds!

It looks to me like this could be a new wave of art manifesting at Samgik, celebrating and telling traditional stories, but with enough remove from strict training to be exploratory, and to have a refreshing informal vitality.

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Now here are a few details given to us on the 8th August 2013 :

There was an opening of Wama Guest House, SAMGIK, 12th June 2012 by MP John Simon.

These guys met us and took us around — Beni Dua, Daniel Malken, Jurex Guralangu, Lawrence Francis. The big man with the Culture group badge etc was Lawrence Yupi.

The two who won best Yam prizes: Linson Toby and Jesse Kamblapi who come from the BkM culture group and the BAL clan. I think it was their group who danced at the haus tambaran.

DANCE GROUPS at SAMGIK They danced as we arrived at the Guest House
1 BAL culture group— I think they also performed in front of the haus tambaran
2 NINGALIMBI did the dance with the log
3 WAMA culture group big man culture rep – Lawrence Yupi

EXCHANGE GROUPS linked to Samgik KAMU language group. SAMGIK, NINDIGO, SARAGAKUM, NINGALIMBI (3) *same language group – Ilahita Arapesh, LAINGA*, KATNIKUM, GWELIGUM, NERIKUM

ART for SALE

In the rooms inside the Wama Guest House at Samgik we were told this information :
Closed room : All men’s house stuff (no women of the area can come in here) : the whole collection of big figures etc for sale PGK 40,000
Entry room : all the stuff PGK 30,000

Wama culture bilums were on display and for sale at the Wama guest house.
Dance groups can be hired to perform.