Connor ONeill

Period 7

4-12-17

Compare and Contrast #220 & #222

The Malangan figure was made for malangan, a ritual of the people of the north coast of

New Ireland. These figures were made every single ritual and were only meant to serve that

purpose before being destroyed. The people of the north coast of New Ireland would carve many

symbolic things into the figures, each representing something to do with the ritual and their

culture. The carvings are symbolic of many important subjects to the people, including identity,

kinship, gender, death, the spirit world, etc. They often include representations of fish and birds

of identifiable species, pointing toward specific myths that the New Ireland natives believed in.

Tamati Waka Nene is an example of what the Maori people depicted their ancestors as,

and how they did it. They record likenesses and bring ancestral presence into the world of the

living. They believe that not only does the portrait represent their ancestors but it can be the

spiritual embodiment of the ancestor itself after they pass on. After a person has died their

portrait may be hung on the walls of family homes to be prayed over and even wept over as a

sign of longing and respect. Both of these seemingly tribal pieces have much in common. Both

are seen to have connections to each tribe's spiritual realm that they believed in. Also both works

of art symbolize specific things whether it be an animal or the person's essence. Also both of

these pieces come from tribal background and are results of deep rooted native culture.