FEATHER MOSAICS
113
scant information gathered by the fi eld collectors
in the early twentieth century. After a century
of storage in museums in Europe and Australia,
most examples have become exceptionally
fragile and many of these feather assemblages
have been damaged.
This survey has identifi ed two different types
of feather mosaics that are designated either as
panel shaped or paddle shaped. Panel-shaped
mosaics were used for initiation ceremonies of
young men inside the men’s ceremonial house,
where they were assembled into large-scale mosaics
that covered part of or the entire back wall.
Not unlike carved and painted church façades
in medieval Europe, these feather mosaics represented
sacred images illustrating stories and
myths that became an integral part of young
men’s spiritual education.
Paddle-shaped feather mosaics are three-dimensional
assemblages that were not made to
be hung on a wall. Use-wear evidence points
to an outdoor use, possibly in connection with
masked dances. These would have been performed
outside the men’s house and most likely
witnessed by the entire community (fi g. 27).
These paddle-shaped mosaics lack the complex
fi gural designs of the initiation panels, and their
close resemblance to karkar, ceremonial spears
from the Murik Lagoon, may suggest they were
used in similar war preparation ceremonies.
In 1913, feather mosaics were readily traded
to anthropologist Richard Thurnwald for metal
tools that were already known by the villagers
from previous visitors. The large number of mosaics
that were traded within a very short period
indicates that at that time they were no longer
considered inalienable and could be exchanged
as commodities. Under the increasing infl uence
of Christian missionaries, remaining feather
mosaics were either sold or discarded. Unlike
wood carving or pottery making, the specialist
skills and knowledge for making feather mosaics
disappeared completely. While feather mosaics
still remain in today’s collective memory
of Keram elders, none have been produced for
generations.
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