THE POWER OF THE ANCESTORS: RITUALS AND SYMBOLS AMONG THE KANAK PEOPLE OF NEW CALEDONIA

Researchers from the Fondation culturelle Musée Barbier-Mueller will present a series of three conferences entitled “Treasures of the Sacred: Living Legacies of Forgotten Peoples” at Fondation Opale. These conferences will reveal the spiritual and artistic practices related to the sacred of three little-known peoples, highlighted by the work and research of the foundation.

The Kanak people maintain a vision of time where ancestors remain present in sacred places, contrasting with the Christian concept of a transcendent divine. Claude Grin, anthropologist, will present Kanak rituals invoking ancestors and spirits, illustrating how these practices preserve a deep connection to invisible forces. Through the use of natural elements (plants, minerals) and sacred objects such as shell coins or sculptures, she will decode these spiritual traditions essential to Kanak identity, especially in the paicî-cèmuhî region.

Next conference:
Friday, April 18: The Divine Body – Paintings and the Cult of Beauty Among the Nuba of Sudan, Pierre Dubois

Free event
Booking recommended: online ticketing

Necklace: Coll. Musée Barbier-Mueller. Photo: Studio Ferrazzini Bouchet