Iniet Sculpture

Living in the northwest of the Gazelle Peninsula and Duke of York islands, the Tolai created the dukduk and iniet secret societies. The latter and most ancient was a male association empowered to exert justice. Its members had to pass singing, dancing and sculpting tests before being allowed full admission. It was also responsible for the initiation of young boys. Iniet dance sticks depict ancestral figures. Secretely fashioned out of a particular type of wood and kept in a sacred enclosure, they were used during dance ceremonies called pokopoko, reputed for impressing onlookers. According to tradition, they were linked to spirits who took on the form of snakes when in contact with men. This large sculpture was made in one sitting, a technical tour de force that certainly required remarkable skill on the part of the artist, who reserved all rights of reproduction for himself.