Raja Ampat Ritual Art

More about the book

Over the past century, traditional ritual art linked to ancestor cults and spirit beliefs has diminished in the Raja Ampat archipelago. This work aims to catalog 'mon' spirit figures, 'korwars,' and secret priests' drawings, exploring the activities of naturalists, explorers, colonial administrators, and missionaries since the early 19th century. It provides an in-depth discussion of the social and cosmological contexts surrounding these spirit and ancestor figurines, revealing intricate details and fresh insights. The decline of traditional art is attributed to complex interactions involving indigenous agency, religious conversion, cargo cults, modernization, and administrative interventions. The book is richly illustrated, featuring sacred-secret drawings created by indigenous priests for their rituals, which were believed to be lost but have recently been rediscovered. The author, an anthropologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands, has previously published works examining the Marind Anim of New Guinea and Dayak cosmology.