OMIE REVEALED: Bark from Papua New Guinea
Past exhibition
Diona Jonevari (Suwarari) Papua NewGuinean, b. 1978
Dahoru'e
natural pigments on nioge (barkcloth)
146 x 63 cm
838761
Dahoru'e, buboriano'e, ve'i ija ahe, odunaigo'e, jo'o sor'e, sabu ahe 2017 ohu'o siha'e. Omie mountains, beaks of the Papuan Hornbill, bone of the lizard, jungle vine, uncurling fern fronds, spots...
Dahoru'e, buboriano'e, ve'i ija ahe, odunaigo'e, jo'o sor'e, sabu ahe 2017 ohu'o siha'e.
Omie mountains, beaks of the Papuan Hornbill, bone of the lizard, jungle vine, uncurling fern fronds, spots of the wood-boring grub and fruit of the Sihe tree.
Th elines that run through the work are known as orriseege' (paths/pathways) and provide a compositional framework for the designs. The border design within each frame is composed of two designs - the triganles are dahoru'e, Omie mountians, and the zig-zag design over the triangles is buboriano'e, the breaks of the Papuan Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus). Hornbills are the largest flying birds that can be found in the Omie mountains. The plant motif is odubaigo'e, a climbing jungle vine with sharp thorns. Diona origanilly observed this old Emate clan design at Gojavobehi village where Chief of Emate clan men, Nathan Gama, was making a kukuhone (bamboo smoking pipe). This is one of the designs he was etching onto its surface. The design with row of black squares and dots is ve'i ija ahe, the bone of the lizard. Diona learnt this design from her father-in-law, Emmanuel Jonevari.. This is the story for the ve'i ija ahe design, as told to Diona by Emmanuel.
"In the time of the ancestors, there were two lizards as evene' that lived on Huvaimo (Mt Lamington), a male and female. The lizards were very large and their heads were predominantly red and black in colour with some yellow also. We Ömie people can never kill or eat the lizards because they live in a secret place on the banks of jov'e Iliri (the Iliri River) Sometimes our ancestors would see the lizards sun-baking on a flat stone by the river but they are fast and retreat quickly. The stones and rocks where the lizards live are yellow and when the water of the Iliri River flows through this area it turns a milky colour."
The spots within the orriseege are sabu ahe, representing the spots which can be seen on the sides of a wood boring grub. This grub is sacred to Ömie people as it plays an important part within the creation story of how Huvanimo (Mount Lamington) came to be volcanic. It is traditional soru'e (tattoo design) which is commonly tattooed running in one line under both eyes.
The diamond design represents 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 villagers so they survived by chewing the sihe fruit, swallong the juice and then they would spit out the pulp. The siha'e design is sometimes also called vinohu'e, the men's tattoo design of the bellybutton. The diamond shape was tattooed around men's navel during the Ujawe' initiation rite.
Omie mountains, beaks of the Papuan Hornbill, bone of the lizard, jungle vine, uncurling fern fronds, spots of the wood-boring grub and fruit of the Sihe tree.
Th elines that run through the work are known as orriseege' (paths/pathways) and provide a compositional framework for the designs. The border design within each frame is composed of two designs - the triganles are dahoru'e, Omie mountians, and the zig-zag design over the triangles is buboriano'e, the breaks of the Papuan Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus). Hornbills are the largest flying birds that can be found in the Omie mountains. The plant motif is odubaigo'e, a climbing jungle vine with sharp thorns. Diona origanilly observed this old Emate clan design at Gojavobehi village where Chief of Emate clan men, Nathan Gama, was making a kukuhone (bamboo smoking pipe). This is one of the designs he was etching onto its surface. The design with row of black squares and dots is ve'i ija ahe, the bone of the lizard. Diona learnt this design from her father-in-law, Emmanuel Jonevari.. This is the story for the ve'i ija ahe design, as told to Diona by Emmanuel.
"In the time of the ancestors, there were two lizards as evene' that lived on Huvaimo (Mt Lamington), a male and female. The lizards were very large and their heads were predominantly red and black in colour with some yellow also. We Ömie people can never kill or eat the lizards because they live in a secret place on the banks of jov'e Iliri (the Iliri River) Sometimes our ancestors would see the lizards sun-baking on a flat stone by the river but they are fast and retreat quickly. The stones and rocks where the lizards live are yellow and when the water of the Iliri River flows through this area it turns a milky colour."
The spots within the orriseege are sabu ahe, representing the spots which can be seen on the sides of a wood boring grub. This grub is sacred to Ömie people as it plays an important part within the creation story of how Huvanimo (Mount Lamington) came to be volcanic. It is traditional soru'e (tattoo design) which is commonly tattooed running in one line under both eyes.
The diamond design represents 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 villagers so they survived by chewing the sihe fruit, swallong the juice and then they would spit out the pulp. The siha'e design is sometimes also called vinohu'e, the men's tattoo design of the bellybutton. The diamond shape was tattooed around men's navel during the Ujawe' initiation rite.