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NEWSLETTERS Volume 1, 2004
Art of Papua New Guinea
New Guinea is the epitome of wild places
and wild things. It is the largest and highest
tropical island in the world. The island is
split between two countries. On the western
half of the island is Papua, which used to be
known as Irian Jaya, and is part of
Indonesia. On the eastern side of the island
is an independent country known as Papua
New Guinea. New Guinea is one of the last
remaining truly wild places.
Eighty percent of Papua New Guinea’s people live subsistence lifestyles in rural areas. There are 817 living and distinct languages in this region. That is one-eighth the world’s languages in just one-thousandth of its land area. All of these different tribes and cultures have there own unique way of expressing themselves, through the use of feathers, shells, paint, wooden carvings, woven baskets and masks, buildings, body piercings, etc. Much of the art found along the Sepik River can be recognized because of the crocodiles that are so prevalent in their work. The people have lived their lives around the river and therefore crocodiles, so the animals play an important role in their everyday lives. Dugout canoes are the main transportation in this area. Canoes are just like cars elsewhere. Canoes with the larger, more beautiful prows represent a higher status. Most dugout canoes have a crocodile carved in the prow. These canoes generally last five to seven years. When the canoe can no longer be used, the prow is often cut off and sold to artifact dealers. The rest of the canoe is used to create masks or other artwork.
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Zoological Park has acquired a collection of
this Papua New Guinea Art and it is now on
display in Gomek’s pavilion. These original
pieces are visually stunning and each has a
fantastic story behind it. We have pieces that
are just a few inches long, to some that are
more than six feet tall. We also have some
original pieces for sale in our gift shop.
These make unique gifts as well as one-of-a-kind
decorations for your home.
In this issue...
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