Figure | adu zatua

The Niha, the inhabitants of Nias, a small island in western Sumatra, had a strong tradition of ancestor worship. Ancestors were regarded as mediators between humans and the gods, who lived in both the upper and nether worlds. The ancestor figures are not representatives of the ancestor spirits or the founding fathers of a family association themselves, but a kind of container for the spirit of the ancestor in question, with whose help he could be located and thus sacrificed. The figures used to be hung in large numbers on the walls of the communal room of a house or placed on shelves. Small and simply carved figures like these were usually lined up next to one another on bamboo strips affixed with rattan. The symmetrical figures face outwards in typical pose with bent knees, hands in front of the belly. They wear the crowns of Nias nobility: in reality, they are elaborately constructed metal structures whose central motif is based on a palm leaf. On the day of the respective ancestor's death, the figure was sacrificed, according to what could be afforded, with an egg, a chicken or a pig. Ancestors were honoured by these sacrifices, who, in return, safeguarded the well-being of their descendants and guaranteed fertility and protection against all manner of misfortune. Author: Eva Gerhards, Translation: Timothy Connell