House Post

The Lower Sepik region in northeast New Guinea encompasses the lower reaches and tributaries of the Sepik and Ramu Rivers together with the neighboring Murik Lakes and offshore islands. Owing in part to the widespread exchange of rituals
and sacred objects, such as masks and figures, Lower Sepik art comprises a series of closely related sculpture and masking traditions centered on the representation of ancestors and spirits. The large wood house posts that support the ceilings of Lower Sepik men’s ceremonial houses are frequently adorned with images of supernatural beings and sacred masks. Among the Murik people, who created this post, the images on house posts represent the major ancestors, spirits, and sacred masks associated with the men’s house. Representations of spirits often combine aspects of humans and birds and are frequently shown with long beak-like noses, while images of human ancestors are more naturalistically rendered.