A Pair of Wanleg Cult Figures (Kamanggabi)

• Lot Sold $70,000 (Hammer Price)
• $84,000 (Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium)

KARAWARI RIVER, PAPUA NEW GUINEA  
carved hardwood, cowrie shells
LENGTHS: 286CM AND 291CM

Provenance:  
Collected by Peter Hallinan at Yimas Village, in the Karawari River area, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea 
Peter Hallinan Collection (catalogue numbers H1201 and H1202)  
Sotheby's, Fine Tribal Art, 28th November 1993, lot 17 Private collection

According to Hallinan's field notes these carvings originate from a village called Mimim on the Arpundio River, the left branch of the Karawari River.
 
Hallinan collected the carvings at Yimas Village from Benny Akuri who advised him that the carvings came from the Alanblak area (electoral sub-area) in the Karawari River. According to Benny Akuri, 'In the past we were not able to communicate with the people of the Alanblack area because of the language barrier. In receiving these two carvings we were then able to speak and understand eachothers language. This one leg carving is important and has a traditional story for the Alanblack people. Originally it was not from the Alanblack, it came from a village called Mimim which is situated along the Arapundio River (left branch of Karawari). This carving is used during warefare and tribal fights or to kill enemies. One of the figures is male and the other is female. The difference it the heart size. The female job is to stay home, cook food and look after the male' (Hallinan's field notes).
 
These carvings are classic examples of the one-legged male figures, called Aripa or Kamanggabi, which were kept in caves and used in hunting magic. The carvings of the Karawari caves first came to the attention of the artworld in the late 1960s, when people began to bring the carvings out of their caves and sell them to westerners'.
  

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