Canoes are the primary mode of travel for villagers on the Sepik as there are few roads and even trails don’t run very far. Once a canoe has reached the point where it can no longer be repaired or if the owner dies it is usually cut up for firewood, or left to rot on the ground or in the water.

The most common form for a prow to take on the middle Sepik is a crocodile.  Crocodiles not only figure prominently in tribal creation mythology but also are a very real and dangerous threat to anyone in a small boat on the river.  It is said that the croc prow is designed to fool a crocodile into thinking it has encountered another croc.  This one is 29 inches long.

Priced at SOLD