Mionomehi Oriseegé (Ancestral Paths): Barkcloth from Omie
Past exhibition
Ivy-Rose Sirimi Papa New Guinea, Omie, b. 1974
The Story of the Seven Spirit Boys and the Seven Fruits of the Tree (Mairi’e jeje ijo’oho, dahoru’e ohu’o buborianoo’e)
natural pigments on nioge (barkcloth)
93 x 57.5 cm
832032
The main tree design seen in Ivy-Rose's work is mairi'e jej ijo'oho, the forbidden tree of Lawe's Parotia. Lawe's Parotia is an extraordinary bird and is part of the bird-of-paradise...
The main tree design seen in Ivy-Rose's work is mairi'e jej ijo'oho, the forbidden tree of Lawe's Parotia. Lawe's Parotia is an extraordinary bird and is part of the bird-of-paradise family. It is black in colour and has six wires extending from its head and a golden crest on its chest. Male birds perform spectacular courtship dances for females in arenas, which are also created and tended by the male. In Omie territory, the bird is found only on the highest ridges of the mountains and it is held sacred by Omie people. If a jeje nest is disturbed the winds will become strong, the sky will suddenly become dark and stormy and the rivers will flood. If a tree where the jeje nests is cut or burnt or if it is hunted for feathers, when the perpetrator returns to the villages all the pigs in the village will have died. The continuity of this designs plays an important part in upholding the jagor'e (traditional Omie law) that protects Lawe's Parotia. This design was taught to Ivy-Rose by her father-in-law, the late Albert Sirimi, former Assistant Paramount Chief of Omie men. The black sawtooth design that can be seen in the work are dahoru'e, Omie mountains. The zig-zagging lines that form a border directly above the black sawtooth is buboriano'e, the beaks of the Papuan Hornbill. In one versions of the story of how the first Omie Ancestors emerged onto the surface of the earth from Awai'i underground cave, a man used his hornbill beak forehead adornment as a tool to chisel his way through the rock and into the light of the world.
Ivy-Rose has also painted Sahuote clan story among the design. The Story of the Seven Spirit Boys ad the Seven Fruits of the Tree. A long time ago there were Seven Spirit Boys. They wanted to live, so they decided to make a new village on a small mountain called Muj'e. They began to clean up the bush in the area to make space to build their house. When they finished cleaning up the area, they began to build their house to live in. When they finished and were living in their house, the Seven Spirit Boys organised to go hunting the next morning. So early in the morning they went hunting. While they were out in the bush, Sven Spirit Girls came down from a tree which stood beside their house. They were hanging from the tree but they were disguised as the fruit of the tree. So while the Seven Spirit Boys were hunting, seven fruits of the tree transformed into the Seven Spirit Girls. Every time that the fruits turned into the girls they would be busy sweeping up and cleaning around the house. Whenever the boys would return to the house they would see that it was very clean every time. The Sven Spirit Boys were very confused by the mystery. They said to each other, 'Ooohh, who is it that is doing this?'. So the eldest brother said, 'Ok, I have an idea. We will try to find out who it is that keeps sweeping around our house all the time. Let's go to the garden (a distance from the village) but this time we will hide our youngest brother in the corner of the house'. The young brother hid himself in the corner of the house and waited to see what was happening and who was sweeping around the house. The other six brothers went to the garden to work. After the brother left the Seven Sprit Girls came down from the tree at the back of their house. They came down very quickly and quickly swept around the house then returned to their tree and became fruit again. All the whole, the youngest brother was watching the. When the boys came back from the garden they asked their youngest brother what he had seen. He told the, 'My brothers, I saw Sven Spirit Girls come down from the tree behind our house. You see, each fruit of the tree are not actually fruits but are really the Sven Sister Girls'. Once more the elder brother told his six brother, 'Ok now we will go to the garden again'. This time they didn't work in the garden all day and travelled back to the house earlier than usual. When they arrived they saw the Seven Spirit Girls sweeping their house and they said, ' All of you Seven Sister Girls will become wives'. So they married and lived together at Muj'e village. While they were living there, the seven husbands told the wives that they would go hunting in the bush the next day and that the wives needed to prepare their morning meal before they left. So the Seven Sister wives got up early in the morning to cook food for their husbands to eat. When they finished cooking they work their husbands up and said to them, 'Wake up and eat and then you can all go hunting'. The husbands woke up and ate and then went hunting as planned. But they couldn't find any animals to hunt for meat to eat for dinner and returned home without anything. Each tome they would go hunting it was always the same - they could not find any meat. So they wives became angry at their husbands. The enxt day the Seven Spirit Husbands went out to the bush once more to try to hunt. While they were gone the Sven Spirit Wives gathered and spoke to each other. They decided they would all leave their husbands and Muj'e village. The Seven Spirit Wives left Muj'e and wen to the river. When the husbands returned to the village they couldn't find their wives. So they followed the footsteps of their wives to the river. As they approached their wives at the river, all of the wives jumped into the river and became the boukore fish named Tuboho. But as the Sven Spirit Wives were jumping into the river, the youngest brother jumped also and he turned into jovomie eel fish named ninetto.
Ivy-Rose has also painted Sahuote clan story among the design. The Story of the Seven Spirit Boys ad the Seven Fruits of the Tree. A long time ago there were Seven Spirit Boys. They wanted to live, so they decided to make a new village on a small mountain called Muj'e. They began to clean up the bush in the area to make space to build their house. When they finished cleaning up the area, they began to build their house to live in. When they finished and were living in their house, the Seven Spirit Boys organised to go hunting the next morning. So early in the morning they went hunting. While they were out in the bush, Sven Spirit Girls came down from a tree which stood beside their house. They were hanging from the tree but they were disguised as the fruit of the tree. So while the Seven Spirit Boys were hunting, seven fruits of the tree transformed into the Seven Spirit Girls. Every time that the fruits turned into the girls they would be busy sweeping up and cleaning around the house. Whenever the boys would return to the house they would see that it was very clean every time. The Sven Spirit Boys were very confused by the mystery. They said to each other, 'Ooohh, who is it that is doing this?'. So the eldest brother said, 'Ok, I have an idea. We will try to find out who it is that keeps sweeping around our house all the time. Let's go to the garden (a distance from the village) but this time we will hide our youngest brother in the corner of the house'. The young brother hid himself in the corner of the house and waited to see what was happening and who was sweeping around the house. The other six brothers went to the garden to work. After the brother left the Seven Sprit Girls came down from the tree at the back of their house. They came down very quickly and quickly swept around the house then returned to their tree and became fruit again. All the whole, the youngest brother was watching the. When the boys came back from the garden they asked their youngest brother what he had seen. He told the, 'My brothers, I saw Sven Spirit Girls come down from the tree behind our house. You see, each fruit of the tree are not actually fruits but are really the Sven Sister Girls'. Once more the elder brother told his six brother, 'Ok now we will go to the garden again'. This time they didn't work in the garden all day and travelled back to the house earlier than usual. When they arrived they saw the Seven Spirit Girls sweeping their house and they said, ' All of you Seven Sister Girls will become wives'. So they married and lived together at Muj'e village. While they were living there, the seven husbands told the wives that they would go hunting in the bush the next day and that the wives needed to prepare their morning meal before they left. So the Seven Sister wives got up early in the morning to cook food for their husbands to eat. When they finished cooking they work their husbands up and said to them, 'Wake up and eat and then you can all go hunting'. The husbands woke up and ate and then went hunting as planned. But they couldn't find any animals to hunt for meat to eat for dinner and returned home without anything. Each tome they would go hunting it was always the same - they could not find any meat. So they wives became angry at their husbands. The enxt day the Seven Spirit Husbands went out to the bush once more to try to hunt. While they were gone the Sven Spirit Wives gathered and spoke to each other. They decided they would all leave their husbands and Muj'e village. The Seven Spirit Wives left Muj'e and wen to the river. When the husbands returned to the village they couldn't find their wives. So they followed the footsteps of their wives to the river. As they approached their wives at the river, all of the wives jumped into the river and became the boukore fish named Tuboho. But as the Sven Spirit Wives were jumping into the river, the youngest brother jumped also and he turned into jovomie eel fish named ninetto.