Malagan Carving Tradition

Malagan is the carving and ceremonial complex of northern New Ireland: elaborate openwork sculptures in soft wood, figures, masks, friezes and poles worked in interlocking layers and painted in white, red, black and yellow with shell inlay for eyes, made for the mortuary ceremonies held months or years after a death to release the deceased and settle obligations. The carvings are commissioned, made in seclusion by specialists who hold the rights to particular designs, displayed once at the ceremony and then left to rot, sold or destroyed, since their purpose ends with the rite. Nineteenth and twentieth-century examples fill European museums. Carvers in the villages still work and receive visitors through Kavieng arrangements.

What you actually see

• The openwork carvings - the layered figures, masks and friezes.
• The painting and inlay - the white, red and black work with shell eyes.
• Carvers at work - the specialists in the northern villages.
• The ceremonial context - the mortuary rites the carvings are made for.

When to go

May to October in the drier season for travel. Ceremonies are not scheduled for visitors and attending one depends on timing and invitation. Workshop visits are arranged from Kavieng.

Honest expectations

The carvings are made for ceremonies, not for sale, and what visitors are shown is usually work made to be sold. Attending an actual malagan requires invitation and is not arranged commercially. Rights to designs are held by individuals and photography needs permission.

Nearby

Kavieng lies north; the Boluminski Highway runs down the east coast.