B19 Flutestopper Sepik River Sawos Village mid 20th Century

Item #                 .B19 Description      .A Sepik River Flutestopper from Sawos Village collected in 1961. Along the Sepik one common way of proving that the spirits were indeed attending ceremonies was to provide them with a voice, and this was the function of the sacred flutes. When the flute was playing, normally in pairs and out of sight, the initiated and the uninitiated alike believed that the spirits were present. The real essence of the power of the spirit was incorporated into the elaborately carved stoppers. This is a nice example. Size                       .130cm * 12cm (51″ * 5″) Price                    USD$650