Papua New Guinea · Wood Carving / Architectural Craft / Ritual Craft
Haus tambaran carving
The haus tambaran (spirit house) of the Sepik River region of PNG is the most elaborately carved architectural structure in Melanesia — its facade, posts, and internal elements covered in carved and painted spirit figures (tambarans), ancestors, and cosmological narratives. Sepik carving uses a specific adze technique — the Sepik adze has a curved blade that removes wood in controlled curved chips rather than flat cuts — producing the characteristic organic, flowing surface quality of Sepik sculpture. The defining technical knowledge is the spiral chip: the adze is rotated slightly with each strike — the rotation produces a chip that curves around the form rather than cutting straight across. 'The adze must turn with the wood — a straight cut leaves a flat surface; a turning cut leaves a living surface.'
Risk level: Critically Endangered · PNG national ICH list; East Sepik Province heritage
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