GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The term tatanua designates both the helmet mask with a thick crest of orange plant fiber and the dance during which it is worn. Both the mask and the dance are associated with the elaborate funerary festivals called malagan. Preparation for tatanua dance involves a number of prohibitions, including sexual abstinence, in order to avoid misfortune. A successful performance proves the ability of men to interact with the supernatural power embodied by the tatanua masks.
The crest of tatanua masks imitates a local ceremonial hairstyle for men, which once required shaving the head except for a central ridge of hair. On the mask, the bare areas on either side of the crest support a decorative accumulation of materials such as plaid trade cloth and plaster, which often form a spiral design. The two sides of the mask are generally different, a feature that increases the drama of the performance as the line of dancers, moving in unison, first turns one side, then the other, to the audience. The openwork carving on the face of the mask and the use of the pigmented valves of sea snails as eyes are characteristic features of malagan objects.
Although today dancers wear palm-frond skirts and shirts, in the past dancers may have been nude or combined body paint with a leaf skirt. Once inside the mask, the dancer must remain absolutely silent, for the utterance of any sound could bring death to himself or a member of his clan. Music for the dance consists of songs sung by a male chorus, accompanied by a bamboo slit gong.
Adapted from
DMA Label text.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1930: August Frings and Frau August Frings, Bonn
1930-1967: Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne [1]
1967-1975: Morton Lipkin, London
1975: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts purchase through the Roberta Coke Camp Fund [2]
The main source for this provenance is the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts accessioning record, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file. Supporting documentation is noted.
[1] See also the notes from Dr. W. Stöhr of the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, dated May 1981, copy in object file.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- The Met, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Learn more about the island of New Ireland.
- Encyclopedia Britannica~Read about the climate, people, culture, and history of Papua New Guinea.
- Encyclopedia Britannica~Learn more about the region of Oceania.
- National Museums Scotland~Explore resources about arts of the Oceania region of the Pacific.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1975.7
Category
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General Description
The term tatanua designates both the helmet mask with a thick crest of orange plant fiber and the dance during which it is worn. Both the mask and the dance are associated with the elaborate funerary festivals called malagan. Preparation for tatanua dance involves a number of prohibitions, including sexual abstinence, in order to avoid misfortune. A successful performance proves the ability of men to interact with the supernatural power embodied by the tatanua masks.
The crest of tatanua masks imitates a local ceremonial hairstyle for men, which once required shaving the head except for a central ridge of hair. On the mask, the bare areas on either side of the crest support a decorative accumulation of materials such as plaid trade cloth and plaster, which often form a spiral design. The two sides of the mask are generally different, a feature that increases the drama of the performance as the line of dancers, moving in unison, first turns one side, then the other, to the audience. The openwork carving on the face of the mask and the use of the pigmented valves of sea snails as eyes are characteristic features of malagan objects.
Although today dancers wear palm-frond skirts and shirts, in the past dancers may have been nude or combined body paint with a leaf skirt. Once inside the mask, the dancer must remain absolutely silent, for the utterance of any sound could bring death to himself or a member of his clan. Music for the dance consists of songs sung by a male chorus, accompanied by a bamboo slit gong.
Adapted from
DMA Label text.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- The Met, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Learn more about the island of New Ireland.
- Encyclopedia Britannica~Read about the climate, people, culture, and history of Papua New Guinea.
- Encyclopedia Britannica~Learn more about the region of Oceania.
- National Museums Scotland~Explore resources about arts of the Oceania region of the Pacific.
Notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until 1930: August Frings and Frau August Frings, Bonn
1930-1967: Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne [1]
1967-1975: Morton Lipkin, London
1975: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts purchase through the Roberta Coke Camp Fund [2]
The main source for this provenance is the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts accessioning record, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file. Supporting documentation is noted.
[1] See also the notes from Dr. W. Stöhr of the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, dated May 1981, copy in object file.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1975.7
source file
object_notes_2_a-0568.xml.nores