Gope, Ancestor or Spirit Boards [Object]

The object in the photograph is a gope, or spirit board (also called kwoi or hohao). This example is from Papua New Guinea near the Wapo Creek on the Gulf of Papua. Carved from an old canoe, this art form derives from the protective splashboard of the outrigger canoe, which was carved with a human face and was believed to have protective qualities. Human faces represent ancestors, and carving the boards was thought to provide a home for the protective spirit. Most gope boards have symmetrical, curved, linear designs, with recognizable faces and very stylized body parts. Gopes were made in different sizes, the largest being owned by the clan and stored out of sight in the men's longhouses. Smaller gope boards guarded entrances to clan sections of communal houses. Young, uninitiated men owned a third type of small gope. These were hung on the walls where young boys slept, believing it would protect them and help them to grow strong.

Photograph from the Tomkins Collection Spirit board, gope, Wapo Creek/Era River, 19th/20th century, wood and pigment, Accession # TC 515, Bruce Frank, New York 2009, Collected by Thomas Schultze-Westrum, <a class="external" href="http://www.tomkinscollection.org/static/object_470.html">http://www.tomkinscollection.org/static/object_470.html</a> (accessed March 26, 2010). Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Bat Miztvah [Photograph]

The girl in the photograph, Cecelia Nealon-Shapiro, reads from the Torah as part of her bat mitzvah, a rite of passage ceremony, at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City. Prior to this day, she attended classes in Jewish history and tradition, Hebrew, and recitation at the Reform synagogue, where girls now participate in a rite formerly reserved for boys, the bar mitzvah. Following the service, the family and guests, including several girls who were adopted by American families from the same orphanage in China, celebrated at an elaborate party.

At age 12 or 13, a Jewish girl becomes a "bat mitzvah" which literally means "daughter of the commandment." Bat mitzvah marks the time when a Jewish child is old enough to perform the mitzvot (commandments) and is considered an adult in the religious community. Neither the bar mitzvah for boys, nor the bat mitzvah for girls are formal religious ceremonies. The bat mitzvah observance is not carried out in Orthodox and Chasidic synagogues where women are not allowed to lead prayers.

Learning about Jewish history, customs, and holidays is a way that modern Jewish communities seek to transmit tradition and law to a new generation. The spirit of the bat mitzvah also includes choosing service to the community, representing engagement with the larger world beyond the family and living according to the values of their faith.

Photograph by James Estrin, "Journey From a Chinese Orphanage to a Jewish Rite of Passage," The New York Times, March 8, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/08/nyregion/08batmitzvah.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2 (accessed March 31, 2010). Annotated by Susan Douglass.

Boys' Initiation Mask (keweke) Papua New Guinea [Object]

This mask worn by boys during initiation rituals in Papua New Guinea is made of painted bark cloth and canvas stretched over a cane frame. The long fiber fringe adds movement to the mask, which is worn during dances and other secret rituals that that comprise boyhood initiation rites. These rituals often involve disguises, as initiates endure trials, receive food and drink from villagers, and accept the knowledge of elders. The mask form is also a reference to the spirits of ancestors who have come through these life stages and continued on. The long, oval masks are similar to the gope spirit boards that represent the ancestors at home, protecting its inhabitants. This mask is from the Wapo Creek or Era River area near the Gulf of Papua, though there are many other styles and forms of initiation masks as well as face and body paint used by the numerous tribes in the region.

Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Wapo Creek, Papuan Gulf, , Melanesia, Cane, wood, bark cloth, canvas, paint, fiber, Accession number: B85.0350, <a class="external" href="http://www.imj.org.il/imagine/collections/item.asp?itemNum=224467">http://www.imj.org.il/imagine/collections/item.asp?itemNum=224467</a> (accessed March 26, 2010). Annotated by Susan Douglass.