Papua New Guinea with its 462 840 sq.
km land area is the third biggest territory after Australia and
Indonesia in the entire Pacific region. Belonging to the Melanesia
group, it is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean alongside
Indonesia and north of Australia. It consists of a peninsular
mainland plus four major islets and five atolis. One of these four
major islets is New Ireland which with its own islets and atolis
comprise New Ireland Province.
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| Malangan mask |
New Ireland is also famous for its
malangan masks. These are woodcarvings that have special uses in
ceremonies like burial, kinship and the identity of clans, land
transfer and the spirit world. According to British Museum experts,
these sculptures are for one time use only after which they are
destroyed. Also, they often include representations of fish and birds
of identifiable specific myths and the animals refer to a particular
clan in New Ireland society.
Source: Rex Bookstore Philippines
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