112
FIG. 27 (below): Four
dancers performing in
front of men, women,
and children of Kambot
(Ambot) village. Photo by
Fr. Franz Kirschbaum.
Historical Photo Archive,
Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum –
Cultures of the World, Cologne,
inv. 3357D.
FEATURE
a central panel that is attached to a wall and
reaches all the way up to the ridge of the roof.
On it two mythological fi gures are depicted surrounded
by lizards and what could be interpreted
as kundu drums. To the left and right of this
panel, feather mosaics are also attached to the
wall. The fi rst row shows four panel mosaics
with large spirit faces. The upper rows consist
of smaller panels with a face on top, while the
rest is decorated with geometric patterns. Despite
their small size, it is clear that these also
are of the panel-shaped type.
Paddle-shaped feather mosaics (fi gs. 17–22)
were not made to be hung from a wall, as they
lack any suspension system. Feathers cover the
entire circumference of the upper
round staff, and it is only in this
area that red parrot feathers were
included in any of the mosaics.
Given the particularly charged
nature of this color in New Guinea
societies, it is tempting to think
that they were held at this place
during ceremonies. Unlike most
panel-shaped mosaics, which were
decorated with feathers from top
to bottom, paddle-shaped mosaics
never have the lower 10 cm
covered. The fact that the wood
on this tip of the paddle is often
crushed and that mud residue can
be found only in this area indicates
that paddle-shaped mosaics
were used outside of the men’s
house and were at times resting
on the ground. When the new
display of the Ethnographic Museum of Berlin
opened in 1926, one showcase displayed a mannequin
of a masked Keram dancer with two paddle
shaped mosaics, one tucked into the crook
of each arm (Schindlbeck 2012: 41, fi g. 10).
Though somewhat awkwardly rendered, this
confi guration is similar to Damur dancers from
the lower Ramu, who also danced with a pair of
sticks (Smidt and Eoe 1999: 121). The variety of
lengths of paddle-shaped mosaics could indicate
that they were made for individual dancers. The
fact that so many of them were collected makes
it likely that they were used in pairs. Thurnwald
collected paddle-shaped mosaics in the villages
of Angarep, Gorogopa, Gabumonum, Tuyburum,
Tyamboto, Garep, and Kambaramba.
Paddle-shaped feather mosaics have a strong
visual affi nity to ceremonial spears called karkar
used in the Murik Lagoon. They represent the
children of the founding mother, Areke (Somare
1974: 32). The pointed blade of the karkar is
identical in shape to the paddle-shaped mosaics
but is carved in relief and painted. On the
top of the blade, a spirit face is represented, and
the rest of the blade is carved in geometric patterns,
except for the last 10 cm—just like paddle
shaped mosaics. The shaft above the blade
is similarly covered with feather mosaics that
also incorporate red parrot feathers or, like examples
in the Steyl Missiemuseum collection,
pieces of red textile cloth. Karkar were individually
named after spirits and were associated with
war and the killing of enemies (Peltier 2015: cat.
109). They were powerful artifacts that were not
shown publicly but carefully stored in the men’s
house with other sacred items. Very few were
ever sold to collectors, as they are instrumental
to the well-being of the clan.
CONCLUSION
Feather mosaics from the Keram River have so
far received very little attention in the literature.
This is most likely due to their rarity and to the