TITLE: Ancestor’s body designs, pig tusk jewellery (customary wealth) ,Ancestors’ tattoo design of the chin (tree bark pattern), spots of the wood-boring grub ,Ömie mountains, and beaks of the Papuan Hornbill

The borders and lines that run through the work are known as orriseegé or 'pathways' and provide a compositional framework for the designs. The or'e (path) designs are ancient and originate from the time of the Ancestors, They relate to the intricate footpaths that run through food gardens and garden plots.

The central inner band contains ancestral body (tattoo) designs known as sea hut'. The diamond shapes are Siha'e, representing the fruit of the Sihe tree. Sihe is a yellow fruit found in the rainforest and often eaten by cassowaries. In the time of the ancestors during times of tribal warfare, the Ömie male warriors had no food while they were defending their borders in the forest far from their villages so they survived by chewing the Sihe fruit, swallowing the juice and then they would spit Out the pulp. Within the diamond Siha'e design is the circular design, vinohu'e, the tattoo design of the navel, which was applied during the sacred Ujawé initiation rituals conducted underground in guai, isolated tattooing chambers. The Siha'e and vinohu'e designs are closely associated.

The crosshatching seen within the left side of the border is wahuho Sini sor'e, which are also body (tattoo) design of the ancestors.

The small arching designs at the centre of the left and right frames/panels are mahudan'e, pig tusk jewellery (customary wealth). Pig tusks are the traditional form of wealth for Ömie people and are often used for brideprice. These are displayed On necklaces which usually consist of two tusks bound together in opposite directions with natural bush fibre necklace-string. During ceremonies, rituals and dancing pig tusk necklaces are worn by men and sometimes, although very rarely, by high-ranking women elders. The pig tusk neckalces have mouth-pieces which male dancers bite, displaying the object to make themselves look like fierce warriors. In the time of the ancestors when tribal conflicts, village raids and retribution were an everyday part of life, no doubt this would have served a very important purpose.

The border design within each frame/panel are composed Of two designs. The small black-infilled, repeated triangles are dahoru'e, Ömie mountains. This design relates to the sacred ancestral geography of Ömie territory. The zig-zag design over the triangles is buhorianö'e, beaks of the Papuan Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus). Hornbills are the largest flying birds that can be found in the Ömie mountains. In the ancient story of how the first group of people emerged onto the surface of the earth from Awai'i underground cave at a site known as Vavago, one man (who cannot be named due to current Ömie jagor'e (law)], used his hornbill beak forehead adornment as a tool to chisel his way through the rock and into the light of the world.

The key design on the left hand side outermost orriseegé border is obohutaigu'e, and represents a pattern seen on the bark of a tree. This is traditional soru'e, a tattoo design which was applied to the chin.

The spots at the very top and very bottom ofthe work are sabu ahe, representing the spots found on the sides of a wood-boring grub. This design can also be seen in the the horizontal bands of orriseegé (pathways). This grub is sacred to Ömie people as it plays an important part within the creation story of how Huvaimo (Mount Lamington) came to be volcanic. It is a traditional sori (tattoo design) which was most commonly tattooed running in one line under both eyes. Today it is applied to Omie people's faces for dance perfomances wsith bright natural pigments.