This old helmet mask (called baba) is representative of spirit beings from the other world and symbolize the power of the male in Abelam society. The baba is associated most closely with the tambaran cult and hence with male initiation ceremonies. These masks are made in the lower inland foothills of the Prince Alexander Mountains and down into the plains on the north side of the Middle Sepik River in the East Sepik Province.

First half 20th century