Ngaju Soul Ship
Dayak, Central Borneo
Wood, cotton cord
Early to mid-20th century
H: 12.5 in x W: 19 in :: 31.75 cm x 48.3 cm
Soul ships were created to commemorate ancestors and to ease their journey to the ‘land of departed souls’. Ceremonies, together with effigies, ships and shrines all provided a protective space for the living to safely say goodbye to the deceased, and for the deceased to take an approving and last lingering look at the living. Here the boat echoes a teeming village filled with warmth and life. It moves on wheels, suggesting a conveyance to another state. The boat’s shape further represents the female power of the lower world while the mast topped by a bird symbolizes the upper world of masculinity and regeneration through the tree of life.
Price on request
