Japandai Village (Art-Pacific.com: New Guinea tribal art and Indonesian folk art)

Figure 1: Aibom meri with shell eyes and jewelry ( bilas), a grass skirt and human hair.

Japandai is across the river and not far upstream from Pagwi. It is considered to be part of the Middle Sepik. The carvers have a reputation for copying other village's mark or style in carvings made for sale.

The men carve a unique statue representing an Aibom woman carrying a Chambri pottery fireplace on her head. During a long conflict with a neighboring village, these statues were set up in the village and gardens with offerings placed in the "fireplace" in a successful effort to fight the competing sorcerers' black magic. This figure has become popular and is also carved in Yenchenmangua.

back to Guide to Sepik River Carvings

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Artifacts on this site were collected in the field by my husband, Ron Perry. I take the photographs, do the html, text and maps. Background in Who We Are. Art-Pacific has been on the WWW since 1996. We hope you enjoy our New Guinea tribal art and Indonesian folk art as much as we do.

Japandai Village, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea