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  • KYLE PHILLIPS | CNHI NEWS SERVICE Carol Hayes looks at New Ginuea tribal shield Friday evening at the opening of the Warrior Spirit exhibit at the Sam Noble Museum. The exhibit will be open to the public until May 13, and features indigenous art from New Guinea. Transcript Photo by Kyle Phillips

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  • PHOTO PROVIDED Edmond resident Herb Steves holds artifacts he acquired in Papau New Guinea in the 1970s. Steves and other University of Oklahoma graduates donated items for the "Warrior Spirits" exhibit at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

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February 8, 2012

Warrior exhibit hits Sam Noble Museum

Caitlin Schudalla CNHI News Service

NORMAN — “Warrior Spirits: Indigenous Arts from Papau New Guinea” is now open at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, allowing visitors a special glimpse into the lifestyle of the island’s rural societies.

Roughly the size of Texas in overall land area, the island of New Guinea has more mineral wealth and raw materials than the entire United States. There are also more than 850 distinct languages spoken on the island and hundreds of cultural groups.

In spite of hundreds of years of colonial and multi-national presence on the island, indigenous lifestyles and traditions are still widely practiced.

Warrior Spirits features 85 pieces which highlight the ceremonial fire dances in the Highlands of West Papau and ritualized veneration of ancestors among the Sepik River clans of New Guinea, including masks, drums, garments, weapons, carved shields and tools.

Complemented by audio, graphic and video elements, the exhibit is truly a window into another world.

“In addition to the entertainment value of the objects themselves, I hope this exhibit will show viewers the value of cultural diversity and the importance of sustaining it,” said Ethnology Curator Dan Swan. “Culture is very precious and knowledge of cultures, such as New Guinea’s, promotes tolerance and global awareness.”

The exhibit is roughly three years in the making, with 20 of the pieces on loan from the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

All of the items were donated by University of Oklahoma alumni, including Edmond resident Herbert Steves, who acquired the various artifacts while on a petroleum assessment expedition for Conoco in the early 1970s.

“I’m still overwhelmed that I got to travel so much and experience this,” Steves says. “I hope that viewers, in particular students, enjoy seeing another aspect of life and societies that are so different from their own.”

The exhibit runs through May 13. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for youth ages 6-17. Discounts are available to military personnel and immediate family.

For more information call 325-0598 or visit www.snomnh.ou.edu.



cschudalla@normantranscript.com |  366-3541

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