Tetepeku – one of the rare female ancestor figures from Papua New Guinea, of great importance to the Abelam people of Wosera. As a central part of male initiation rites, the novice is to crawl between the legs of Tetepeku, placed inside the ceremonial house, haus tambaran. […]
Looking at this figure, what creature would you think it represents? Man? Animal? Both? Collected in 1999 by Rane Willerslev, during his fieldwork in the blistering cold of Siberia, this figure tells the story of an important link in the complex process of the Yukagir hunters’ preparation for killing […]
