Temes Nevimbur puppet

Reference : deppado1

Wood, pig’s teeth, leaf, vegetable plaster, pigments.
Dimensions: Height 50 cm
Presumed period:^1st half of the ^20th century
Malekula Island
Archipelago of the Vanuatu Islands (formerly the New Hebrides)

Provenance:
Former Marie José Guigues collection
Former Patrick Padovani collection

Exhibition
Vanuatu, la voix des ancêtres. Musée des explorations du Monde.
Cannes 11.11.2024 / 25.5.2025, reproduced p34

More details

Temes Nevimbur puppets are modeled in clay on a stick. They appear in the rituals of the Nevimbur men’s secret society. Brandished by the men above a barrow, they play and dance in a drama inspired by mythical events. The temes represent the hero Mansip, his wives Lieur and Lisivu and their numerous descendants. This theme is part of Ambat mythology and appears to be linked to human fertility rituals.

Temes is a term referring to the souls of ancestors.

At the end of the ceremonial cycle, the figurines were destroyed and burned, symbolizing the decomposition of body and spirit.

(from the exhibition catalog)

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