Minneapolis Institute of Art
Asa Kate Mask
Papua New GuineaLinkedCulture matchlcp-66a91bc0d6ec
- Date
- late 19th century
- Medium
- Wood
- Department
- Arts of Oceania
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 2580
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
This mask represents Asa, a child-devouring spirit who appears during male initiations to challenge and attempt to frighten the initiates. As part of the transformation process, boys between the ages of four and fifteen are taught secret information about their group's traditions and ritual objects. They live in a special house apart from the rest of the village during this time. When their initiation is complete, a big festival is held and the young men are returned to their homes riding on the shoulders of their fathers or maternal uncles. Papua New Guinea, Oceania
The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Get printable QR codesHide QR codes
Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.
Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Fund
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Minneapolis Institute of Art and other institutions.