The ''timbuwarra'', or ''timbuwara'' (tentatively translated as "spirit of the flesh which guards the doors"
[Figure en vannerie]
at the Collection Barbier-Mueller), is a type of ritual figure produced by the
Wiru people The Wiru are a people of the Southern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. They speak the Wiru language. Among their rituals is the production of '' timbuwarra'' out of rattan.
Wiru ancestors said to be much taller than modern population and a ...
of the
Southern Highlands Province
Southern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. According to Papua New Guinea's national 2011 census, the total population of Southern Highlands (after the separation of Hela Province) is 515,511 ...
of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. ''Timbuwarra'' figures are generally made of
rattan
Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed- canopy old-growth tropical fores ...
and painted, and may serve several functions, although they are generally held to be associated with
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
rites and with the spirit world.
[Timbuwarra]
at about NSW Few are known to exist, and their purpose is generally poorly understood.
[
''Timbuwarra'' are flat, woven, and anthropomorphic.][ Usually they are made of rattan and painted with ochre pigments in earth tones;][Timbuwarra]
at the Tomkins Collection
cassowary
Cassowaries ( tpi, muruk, id, kasuari) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'' in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones) and are native to the tropical fore ...
feathers and bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under ...
s.[ They may sometimes also take the form of animals.]["Phantom Shields"]
from ''Artnet'' The figures are created by elders during times of disaster, such as disease, earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
, or famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
.[
The uses of the ''timbuwarra'' are varied; they are most often seen as guardian figures outside of ceremonial houses, which are constructed at some distance from the village.][ They would sometimes be used in ]mourning
Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...
rituals,[ and have been described as representations of dead women to which respects may be paid by friends and relatives; the status of the women and their manner of death is not known.][ Sometimes, ''timbuwarra'' would also be used during male initiation rites to teach boys about sexual behavior. One collector has recorded:
]One of these that I had had two holes down in the abdomen area – one above the other. I was told that this was used to teach the young men which hole to aim for during sex to avoid pregnancy.[Michael Hamson, quoted at the Tomkins Collection website]
They were also sometimes carried or worn by village men during fertility rites;[ when worn, they were often attached to a ceremonial wig in a fashion known locally as "female pinned by a penis to the wig".][
Once ''timbuwarra'' have outlived their purpose, they are buried to refertilize the earth from which they were formed.][ A small number, however, have found their way into Western collections in more recent years; an example exists in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, while others are held privately.][ The practice of making them died out with the coming of ]Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
missionaries in the 1950s, and few are made today.[San Saeng No.20 Autumn/Winter 200]
Leaving Together Helping Each Other
References
{{reflist, 2
Papua New Guinean culture
Southern Highlands Province