With its nickname as the “Little Paradise at the Eastern Edge of Indonesia,” Papua can anesthetize millions of tourists who visit there. How come? In addition to presenting traditions and West Papua art, this island with abundant natural wealth is considered unique. It is because it has two divided regions, one in Indonesia and the other in Papua New Guinea.
Psychedelic West Papua Art
1. Pikon
In the Balinese language, the word Pikon or Pikonane itself means sound. This traditional Papuan musical instrument generally comes from the Dani tribe. It is where people in the tribe often play it shortly after work.
Interestingly, it is said that people who often play Pikon think that this instrument produces discordant sounds. But, along with the times, now the Pikon musical instrument has a melodic sound. Also they often play it for purely entertainment events.
The authenticity of the Pikon traditional musical instrument is what makes it known. It is because the fact that not everyone can play this musical instrument, you know. Even according to the Papuan people, Pikon is a relatively dificult to play.
2. Asmat & Mimika
The Asmat and the Mimika carved monumental and recognizable memorial poles. Headhunting, fertility, and ancestor worship are the highest motivation for many Asmat rites and social customs there..
Their ceremonial poles (bijs) are enormous, intricate works of art customarily built per the ancestors’ instructions. Bijs fervently cherish the worldview of a warrior society centered on cyclical cannibalism and retribution.
The renowned Asmat battle shields exhibited excellent quality and were first collected by Europeans in the early 20th century. Flying foxes, praying mantises, hornbills, and other headhunting themes were etched in free-flowing asymmetrical patterns with timeless charm and brightness.
The British Museum, de Young Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Yale University Art Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Brooklyn Museum are renowned institutions with magnificent examples of West Papua art in their collections. Other institutions include the National Museum van Wereldculturen, Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Universita di Florence, Musée du Quai-Branly, Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Staatliche Museen.
Writings by Dirk Smidt, Simon Kooijman, Jac Hoogerbrugge, Christian Kaufmann, Raymond Corbey, Suzanne Greub, Anna Karina Hermkens, and Philippe Peltier provide academic insights on West Papua arts and culture.
3. Cenderawasih Bay
The inhabitants of the nearby islands and Cenderawasih Bay in Northwest Papua have a charm for producing ancestor sculptures, canoe decorations, carved and painted architectural boards, outstanding beading, drums, and intricately embellished utilitarian things.
The memorial monuments known as korwar are of great value. The shamanic experts created these sculptures to house the spirits of the dead and perform priestly duties by acting as a bridge between the living and the dead.
Shamanic expert made these sculptures in smaller sizes to use in auguries and exorcisms, to protect people from harm, and to fight disease. They carved the most impressive korwar and covered them in ornate latticework. The most outstanding and unforgettable korwar specimens include revered ancestors’ skulls.
4. Lake Sentani & Humboldt Bay
The Lake Sentani bark drawings show a variety of spirit forms and fantasy patterns. These ornate bark sculptures of West Papua arts, or maro, are popular worldwide. Also, the Western collectors have long awarded them. Even, it greatly affects Surrealism art movement in the West.
These lucid compositions, which first appeared in Paul Wirz’s collection in 1921 and were later added to by Jacques Viot and others, quickly gained popularity in Paris. Andre Breton, the surrealist manifesto’s author, and famous practitioners of primitive art like Max Ernst, Matisse, and Joan Miró were all influenced by Maro..
Canoe prow decorations, embellished house panels, and exquisitely painted bark cloths were among the carving specialties of Humboldt Bay. Their art is stylistically distinct from that of Lake Sentani itself.
5. Raja Ampat Islands
The interaction between people, the sea, the sky, and the clouds are the focus of the people who live on these beautiful isles. The missionary F. Kamma said that ghosts were pervasive in this area and required constant appeasement.
Kamma documented 66 collective rituals covering life’s aspirations, significant events, and pertinent periods. A single altar gave rise to the most popular collection of Raja Ampat figures. They recreated some here. In 1930, they gathered them near Mayalibit Bay. Fan naggi, literally “to nurture heaven,” is how three of the shrine’s statues represent. In contrary, the other figures are hunched over in different commanding stances.
Wrapping Up
West Papua refers to a vast and diverse region with remarkable cultural and ecological variety and several other adjacent islands to the west. In this area, 250 different languages are spoken. This is the intersection where Melanesian aesthetic traditions meet Indonesian aesthetic practices in the field of fine West Papua Art.
