Gallery Label
This dancing figure is another form of the traditionally cone-shaped Sulka dance headdress. The double-sided headdress is made of bark strips and pithy fiber wrapped over a wood frame, with attached hands, feet, and breasts, all made of wood.
The headdress, originally more vibrant, has faded to its current pink color. Unique to Oceanic indigenous plants and minerals, particularly in this region of New Britain, the blues, greens, pinks, and yellows make Sulka art vibrant and more colorful than that of other Pacific cultures.
This headdress was made to accompany an equally colorful cloak costume and was intended for disposal after its use in ceremonial dances. These commemorations marked important social-passage celebrations, such as births, initiations, marriages, and the deaths of important members of society. Taking as long as six months to produce one, these headdresses were left out in the elements to decay after their one-time use. They were believed to bring dignity and ancestral spirit power to the wearer, because the figure was seen as a temporary resting place for spirits.
