THE ART OF ISAWDI (FATE SAVARI)

A Collection of Barkcloth Art from the Ömie Artists, Papua New Guinea

THE ART OF ISAWDI (FATE SAVARI)

A Collection of Barkcloth Art from the Ömie Artists, Papua New Guinea

Australian Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) artwork by FATE SAVARI (ISAWDI) of Omie Artists. The title is Worro worrë nioge ohu’o sabu deje - Ancestor’s turtle shell pendant barkcloth design and spots of the wood-boring grub. [14-131] (Natural Pigments on Nioge (Barkcloth)) Australian Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) artwork by FATE SAVARI (ISAWDI) of Omie Artists. The title is Worro worrë nioge ohu’o sabu deje - Ancestor’s turtle shell pendant barkcloth design and spots of the wood-boring grub. [14-131] (Natural Pigments on Nioge (Barkcloth))
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FATE SAVARI (ISAWDI) (dec)

Worro worrë nioge ohu’o sabu deje - Ancestor’s turtle shell pendant barkcloth design and spots of the wood-boring grub
Worro worrë nioge ohu’o sabu deje - Ancestor’s turtle shell pendant barkcloth...

14-131
Natural Pigments on Nioge (Barkcloth)
 Worro worrë nioge ohu’o sabu d… | 14-131
Natural Pigments on Nioge (Barkclot…
 95.5 x 73cm | 37.6 x 28.74in
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Fate has painted a traditional nioge (barkcloth skirt) design of the Dahorurajé clan. She learnt this design from her mother Majaho, a Dahorurajé clanwoman from the old Dahorurajé clan village of Sidonejo. This village was closest to the sacred Mount Obo.

The main motif is of worro worrë, the matabuté (turtle) shell pendant which were made in the times of the ancestors. Turtle shell was a foreign, rare and beautiful material from the faraway coast so it was highly valued in the Ömie mountains and would be displayed as a form of wealth on necklaces. So highly valued, the worro worrë also became an important barkcloth design and was painted onto nioge, just as Fate has painted here. Fate’s father Lokirro told her about his travels to find turtle shells on the coast. He told her how the people living on the coast would hunt and kill the turtles but would leave the turtle shells on the beach. The Ömie would search for them and carry the turtle shell in one whole piece back up to the Ömie mountains.

The border and lines that run through the work are orriseegé or ‘pathways’ and provide a compositional framework for the designs. The main worro worrë design as well as the orriseegé are infilled with finer designs including the dot design sabu deje, representing the spots which can be seen on the sides of a wood-boring grub. This grub is sacred to Ömie people as it plays an important part within the creation story of how Huvaimo (Mt. Lamington) came to be volcanic. It is a traditional sor’e (tattoo design) which was most commonly tattooed running in one line under both eyes. Today it is applied to Ömie people’s faces with natural pigments for dance performances.

Fate has painted a traditional nioge (barkcloth skirt) design of the Dahorurajé clan. She learnt this design from her mother Majaho, a Dahorurajé clanwoman from the old Dahorurajé clan village of Sidonejo. This village was closest to the sacred Mount Obo.

The main motif is of worro worrë, the matabuté (turtle) shell pendant which were made in the times of the ancestors. Turtle shell was a foreign, rare and beautiful material from the faraway coast so it was...