New Ireland Malagan statue in at the Metropolitan Museum of Art museum, New York, USA. New Ireland is part of the Bismarck Arch
New Ireland Malagan statue in at the Metropolitan Museum of Art museum, New York, USA. New Ireland is part of the Bismarck Archipelago, situated north of New Guinea, and has an estimated population of 100,000. The Dutch first encountered the island in 1616, and today New Ireland is a province of Papua New Guinea. Nineteen different languages are spoken on the island, and it is divided by a chain of mountains into three distinct regions: northern, central, and southeastern. The art of New Ireland traditionally centered on mortuary ceremonies and feasts to honor the dead. In northern New Ireland, the name given to these elaborate ceremonies is malagan, which is also the term used for the carved and painted sculptures associated with the ceremonies. The preparation for a malagan ceremony begins after a funeral, and can last anywhere from a month to several years. During this time, performances are organized, feasts are prepared, and carvers are hired to create complex sculptures that usually incorporate multiple figures within its design (). Since these preparations require a great deal of wealth in the form of pigs and shell money, it is not uncommon for families to combine their resources and sponsor a ceremony for more than one individual.
Size: 5120px × 3401px
Photo credit: © Sergi Reboredo / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 000., 100, 1616, african, archipelago, art, begins, bismarck, black, bright, camera, carved, centered, central, ceremonies, ceremonies., ceremony, chain, cities, city, dead., distinct, divided, dutch, elaborate, encountered, estimated, feasts, funeral, gallery, guinea, guinea., holidays, honor, icon, incons, ireland, island, languages, leisure, liberty, lights, malagan, metropolitan, moma, month, mortuary, mountains, museum, nice, nineteen, north, northern, painted, papua, part, people, photographic, photography, population, portraits, preparation, prety, province, reflected, reflection, regions:, sculptures, shoppin, shops, situated, southeastern., spoken, statue, summer, term, today, tourism, tourist, traditionally, travel, usa, usa., vacation, visitor, visitors, white, woman, york
