Uli figure

Like their neighbors to the north and south, the artistic traditions of the peoples of central New Ireland formerly focused largely around mortuary rites.

In contrast to the intricate malagan carvings of the north, artists in central New Ireland produced less ornate but more permanent figures known as uli, which were kept and reused many times.

No longer made today, uli were displayed as part of lengthy fertility rites involving the exhumation and reburial of human skulls, which accompanied the planting of sacred plants.

When a newly carved uli was brought out, a shaman assisted in inducing the spirit of the deceased chief to enter the carving, and after the ceremony, the work was kept in the "men's house" where it would continue to aid the successor and his people.

The Uli figures probably symbolized the connection between paternal and maternal life energy in initiation ceremonies.