Basket Yam Mask - Sepik River Area, New Guinea
Basket yam masks are an essential part of the elaborate yam harvest
ceremonies and festivals put on by the Abelam people of the East Sepik
Province. Rituals associated with yams form the basis of the spiritual
life of the Abelam.
The Abelam cultivate gardens of yams (mami in tok
pisin) as their main staple crop. The yams can be stored for up to six
months. They also grow beans, taro, bananas, tobacco, maize and sweet
potatoes, as well as small cash crops of coffee, rubber and cocoa.
A population of over 40,000 people in this language group lives in
the lower inland foothills of the Prince Alexander Mountains and down
into the plains on the north side of the Middle Sepik River. The main
road through this area goes to the towns of Maprik and Hayfield which
are about 140 km from the coastal, provincial capital of Wewak. A side
road from Hayfield branches down through the south Wosera to the Sepik
River landing of Pagwi.
Unlike the stilt houses built above the flood plains of the Sepik,
the Abelam village houses hug closer to the warmth of the earth. Their
A-frame Haus Tambarans start low in the back and soar up to heights of
80 feet (27 meters) under the pitched, overhanging front with thick
thatch roofs sweeping down to the ground.
The north Abelam foothill villages cultivate the low fertile slopes
of the mountains. Their culture has been extensively documented, partly
because of their spectacular Haus Tambarans and picturesque hamlets
strung along the ridge lines of the hills.