The territory of the Biwat (earlier also called Mundugumor) is located by the Yuat River, a southern tributary of the Lower Sepik, to the northeast of the Island of New Guinea.
Today the Biwat are regarded as converted to Christianity.
But up until the early 1930s, they still celebrated their last, grand initiation ceremonies, during which ‘holy flutes’ and ‘flute stopping’ figures, or ‘flute stoppers’, such as the present item played an important role.
Each of these ‘wusear’ figures has a short, round projection below, with which they are inserted into the top end of the bamboo pipe of a ‘holy flute’.
The flutes were not musical instruments, but rather ‘megaphones’, by means of which the leaders of the initiation ceremony could modulate and change their voices. Through these, the flute figure, or ‘wusear’, ‘spoke’ to the initiates.
This is because the ‘wusear’, this male sculpture carved in hard wood, was much more important during initiation rituals than the flute itself: the ‘wusear’ depicts the son of the mother crocodile spirit, ‘Asin’. According to the Biwat, during initiation rituals the large, powerful crocodile spirit ‘Asin’ swallows the young men, who are subsequently ‘reborn’ as adults.
Therefore at the culmination of their initiation, all initiates receive numerous small, short notches as scarification marks etched in their skin – as if they were ‘bitten’ by a crocodile.
The present ‘wusear’, on the grounds of its style is probably a late piece from the beginning of the 20th century and displays the ‘classical’ style of the Biwat from the Yuat River:
The head is larger (H: 45 cm) than the body (H: 31 cm). This disproportionately long head ‘hangs’, as it were, before the chest of the comparatively small body, standing with its legs spread wide atop a round stopper. The extremely high forehead of the skull is surmounted by a pierced handle, to which probably a ‘coiffure’ made of a feather garlands was formerly attached. The line of the eyebrows runs horizontally and uninterrupted. The slanted eyes consist of shell material (mother-of-pearl), in which small Nassa shells are inserted as pupils.
The hooked nose is short and wide with pierced septum, featuring a nose ornament consisting of two boar’s tusks, connected with fine wickerwork and attached with a pointed wooden bolt. Two rows of teeth are sketched in the protruding mouth. The entire face section is trimmed with a ‘beard’ carved out from the same piece, featuring twelve holes to which strands of real hair were once attached.
The body of the ‘wusear’ shows a simpler and more modest execution, as is typical of the Biwat. The large shoulder section (also on the back!), the buttocks, elbows, hands and knees are stylistically rather minimalist and only sketched. The same applies to the oblong, thin penis between the slightly bent legs.
Overall a very good piece, with partly shiny, old usage patina in the right places, and with remains of red colouring on the head.
With only minor, and by no means disturbing, age damage: some pieces broken off on the ‘handle’ at the back, on the eyebrows and on the ‘beard’.
Extremely rare!Between the early 20th century and c. 1930. H: 76 cm.

Provenance: In 1992, the ‘Bareo Gallery’ in Singapore set up a vast exhibition entitled ‘The Essence of Tribal Arts’. With a catalogue and numerous, prominent loans. The most important piece of the exhibition, which was also reproduced on the catalogue cover, was precisely the present ‘wusear’ of the Biwat! The exhibition was subsequently also displayed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (WCK Galleries). Currently in a Belgian collection.

Comparative literature: The ‘wusear’ flute stoppers of the Biwat on the Yuat River are among the ‘icons of Oceanic art’! For this reason, illustrations and texts about it can be found in all major books, publications and catalogues concerning the art of New Guinea, Melanesia or Oceania (e.g. ‘Ozeanische Kunst’ by J.P. Meyer, cover photo and ill. p. 210; ‘New Guinea Art’ by Marcia & John Friede, ill. 138; and many more). (ME)

Additional picture:
Catalogue cover of the major exhibition ‘The Essence of Tribal Arts’ in Singapore, 1992. The photographed ‘wusear’ flute stopper reproduces precisely the present item.

Photo from: BAREO Gallery catalogue, Singapore

New Guinea: two men from the Iatmul tribe, near the middle Sepik River, with their ‘holy flutes’. Women and children are not allowed to see them.
Photo from ‘Ozeanische Kunst’ by Anthony J. P. Meyer

Additional picture:
Catalogue cover of the major exhibition ‘The Essence of Tribal Arts’ in Singapore, 1992. The photographed ‘wusear’ flute stopper reproduces precisely the present item. Photo from: BAREO Gallery catalogue, Singapore

Ne