Singapore - The Alliance Francaise de Singapour and Société Générale are proud to present Art of the Ancestors, a tribal art exhibition showcasing exquisite artefacts on loan from private collectors in Singapore.
Art of the Ancestors displays artefacts found in various Southeast Asian tribes, particularly of the Batak, Nias, and Dayak. This exhibition highlights the reverence relationship the living have for their ancestors – especially if ‘speaking‘ to the ancestors is a daily affair.
This relationship serves powerful social and ritual functions: honouring ancestors, establishing and marking changes in social status, linking daily routines with the supernatural, aiding the sick, ensuring fertility, and etc.
The tradition of ancestor veneration continues among Southeast Asian tribal groups to this day. Over many centuries, each group has developed its own distinct ancestor-related customs and art styles. Each produces distinctive sculptures to house the spirits of ancestors whom they believe can be powerful allies in the struggle to survive and prosper.
Showcasing artefacts essential to religious rituals as such the hampatong (memorial post or territory marker) and si gale gale (funeral puppet), to daily tools and decorations such as the singa (wooden figure found in traditional household to ward off evil) and tun tuns (pig trap stick), Art of the Ancestors thus projects the cosmological relationship of the tribal cultures with its ancestors, which is a daily ritual.
Source: www.designtaxi.com (28 Agustus 2007)
