Item X 23161 Samban | Suspension hook. Iatmul. Middle Sepik River, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. pre 1916

Summary

Suspension hooks, known as 'samban' are common household items, used to suspend food in both family houses and in men's cult houses. Food or other items are placed inside string bags and hung from the hook. If the contents of the bag are valuable, a flat circular disk is placed above the hook to prevent rats climbing down the rope to get into the bags. While utilitarian, they may be elaborately carved and painted with representations of clan ancestors or clan totems. It is not thought that the "samban" embodies the ancestor or totems. The pattern in the middle of the hook are two birds, probably hornbills, counterpoised one to the other. A mammal's head, possibly a flying fox, is at the base of the hook.

Local Name

Samban

Physical Description

A slender hook carved of wood, used within the domestic space to suspend food. The head is decorated with an anthopomorphic face painted in white with black eyes and red features. The hook component has been damaged on one side.