Diona Jonevari (Suwarari) Papua NewGuinean, b. 1978
Ovi ovi’e, dahoru’e ohu’o bubori anö’e, 2022
natural pigments on nioge (barkcloth)
151 x 70 cm
22-024
TITLE: Freshwater river eel, Ömie mountains and beaks of the Papuan Hornbill, teeth of the freshwater river fish, and tattoo design of the navel. The borders and lines that run...
TITLE: Freshwater river eel, Ömie mountains and beaks of the Papuan Hornbill, teeth of the freshwater river fish, and tattoo design of the navel.
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 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.
This main design within each frame/panel is ovi ovi'e, and represents an eel with black and yellow spots found in the rivers of Ömie territory. Diona explains that this particular eel is not eaten by Ömie people.
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 chevrons within the horizontal bands of orriseegé are visuanö'e, the teeth of the freshwater river fish.
The conjoined, concentric circles seen within the upper and lower bands Of orriseegé are vinohu'e, a design which was tattooed around men's navels during the Ujawé initiation rite. Vinohu'e literally translates to 'design of the navel'. This design is related to the Siha'e design, which represents the fruit Of the Sih'e 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.
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 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.
This main design within each frame/panel is ovi ovi'e, and represents an eel with black and yellow spots found in the rivers of Ömie territory. Diona explains that this particular eel is not eaten by Ömie people.
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 chevrons within the horizontal bands of orriseegé are visuanö'e, the teeth of the freshwater river fish.
The conjoined, concentric circles seen within the upper and lower bands Of orriseegé are vinohu'e, a design which was tattooed around men's navels during the Ujawé initiation rite. Vinohu'e literally translates to 'design of the navel'. This design is related to the Siha'e design, which represents the fruit Of the Sih'e 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.