Yipwon: Impressive Cult Figure of Arambak Tribe

A Kamanggabi cult hook, Arambak Tribe, Karawari river, This large and impressive cult figure known as Yipwon are from the lower Karawari river area, carved from a single large piece of timber, the whole figure is seen in profile, the large head at the top is followed by a series of concentric hooks, the base of the figure is an unusual double leg form, 250 high. Provenance: Acquired from Wayne Heathcote (1973), extract from letter from Wayne Heathcote 'To the best of my knowledge the Karawari hook is stone carved, I bought it as such, and the people at the time held the piece in very high ceremonial importance, and were reluctant to part with it. Other Notes: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, describes these figures as 'Local oral tradition describes the origin of these distinctive images. When the spirit of the Sun, who formerly inhabited the earth, was carving the first slit gong (a large musical instrument), the pieces of wood chipped from the carving came to life as spirits who lived with the Sun in the men's ceremonial house. One day these spirits killed one of the Sun's male relatives and drank his blood, after which they stretched themselves out against the wall of the house and turned back into wood. Angered by their act, the Sun ascended into the sky while the Yipwon remained on earth as patron spirits of warfare and hunting. Large Yipwon images such as this one were owned collectively by clans, while smaller portable examples were individually owned and served as amulets, carried in net bags by their owners to bring success in hunting and battle.