Taph (lime stick)

With its distinctive beak, the bird on the top of this 'taph' (lime stick) was identified by Justin Kami of Tambanum village as the 'maingie', or palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), a totemic emblem of a particular clan group in the Sepik belief system.

Among the Iatmul, who originated from the Sawos-speaking region north of the Sepik River, tribes are broken down into many 'ngaiva' (patrilineal totem clans), which are divided into moieties called 'nyowe' (sun) and 'nyame' (mother/earth). This duality arises from Iatmul origin myths. In the primordial waters, there lived a dual being in the form of a crocodile, Karokmali – Jamburamali. The spirit Karambuangga separated these beings: Jamburamali became the sky and Karokmali remained below and became the earth.

[entry from Exhibition Guide for 'Melanesian art: redux', 2018, cat no 8]