Helmet Mask (Temes Mbalmbal)

Unknown

mid-20th century · Wood, vegetable fiber, pig tusks, glass, metal, paint · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

This dramatic helmet mask comes from southern Malakula Island in Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) east of Australia. Many Vanuatu peoples have complex men's secret societies, which involve a series of ritual "grades" through which individuals pass, by means of initiation rites, festivals, and pig sacrifices, in order to achieve increasing religious and social status. The two most prominent grade societies in southern Malakula are Nimangki and Nalawan. Grade rituals in each of these societies involve the creation of brightly painted figures and masks depicting powerful spirits and other supernatural beings. This mask represents the female cannibal giant Nevinbumbaan, whose son, Ambat Malondr, sits on her shoulders. Nevinbumbaan is credited with the creation of the men's Nimangki society; this mask is made and worn at various stages in the ceremonial cycle.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-20th century

Medium

Wood, vegetable fiber, pig tusks, glass, metal, paint

Culture

Southwest Malakula

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979