Our bero kandimbong is depicted in a classical standing position, arms detached from the body, hands resting on the hips. Face slightly tilted back, smiling.

The septum and ears are pierced for the attachment of ornaments. The head supports a headdress and the nape of the neck is decorated with a geometric design. The statuette still has its tapa loincloth.

According to ethnographic notes by Father Joseph Schmidt , a missionary of the Société du Verbe Divin congregation, the kandimbong were superior spirits. He referred to them alternatively as idols or ancestor figures. This type of figure, of medium size, was carved for an important member of the clan and given to his son or nephew. During the initiation period, the figurine was removed from the men’s ceremonial house, where it was usually kept, and taken into the bush with the young man.
But it could also have a protective function, as Louis Pierre Ledoux notes in his Journal de terrain, perhaps referring to our sculpture when he writes:  “Collected a malita (in pidgin language.) or numarukirar. First a little scratched…, then given to a woman to please you….Small figurines collected. A male to put on the bow of the canoe with offerings of food to make the canoe run well….small figures remain on the shore …. These are also called kandimbong… ”

the complete study of this very rare piece is available upon request