Bajau people
Sulu Archipelago, Philippines  

Funerary marker [sunduk] late 19th-early 20th century
wood
66.0 (h) x 74.5 (w) x 16.0 (d) cm
Musée du quai Branly, Paris
© 2010 Musée du quai Branly Photograph: Thierry Ollivier/Michel Urtado/Scala, Florence

The seafaring Bajau people of the southern Philippines create elegant grave markers [sunduk] in the form of boats, a tradition which continued long after the adoption of Islam. Sunduk for male graves feature phallic ornamental masts, while for females they take the form of flat panels.