Fusion

Fusion cooking is all the rage these days and so I thought that I would have a go at some some fusion ethnography and photography.

This is a spirit figure from the village of Kambot on the Karem River in North-Eastern New Guinea. She is made from wood covered in dried mud and has inlaid cowries for eyes.

The "hat" that she is wearing comes from a place far away from New Guinea, Zulu-land in southern Africa. It isn't a hat at all, but rather an Imbenge, a Zulu beer pot cover. Traditionally the Zulu peoples made imbenge to close their earthenware Ukamba (neck-less) beer pots to protect the fermenting sorghum beer from dust and flies. You can see a beer pot with its cover in place here. The lids were originally made by weaving grass and Ilala palm fibre. When small, brightly coloured glass beads were introduced by European traders and missionaries they soon found their way onto the traditional imbenge. In time, old telephone wires was also used and in some cases replaced the natural fibres, as is the case of this pot cover. You can see a pot with its lid here.

I sincerely hope that no spirits were offended by the making of this blip!