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Sepik River Mask Festival in Ambunti
The Sepik River Mask Festival, centered on the river town of Ambunti in East Sepik Province, showcases the elaborately carved spirit masks that are among Papua New Guinea's most internationally recognized art forms, alongside dance and canoe-based river culture.
The Sepik River is one of Papua New Guinea's longest waterways and runs through East Sepik and other provinces, and the villages along its banks and tributaries have long been recognized by art historians and anthropologists for producing some of the most elaborate carved masks, shields and spirit figures in the Pacific, historically associated with haus tambaran spirit houses and clan ancestor beliefs.