Ifugao people
Luzon, Philippines  

Main post for a chief's house [kinabiggat] 19th century
wood
86.4 (h) x 10.5 (w) x 13.5 (d) cm
Purchased 2010
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
NGA 2010.79

Figurative sculpture appears on the houses of the Ifugao people of Luzon. The most significant are the ancestor images carved on the main posts [kinabiggat] of the dwellings of village chiefs and wealthy families who only earn the right to display a kinabiggat after sponsoring many communal feasts. The posts support the storage space for rice and valuables above the hearth and provide spiritual protection for the family and community. A pig was sacrificed to the ancestor figure each year to preserve spiritual benevolence.