The New Caledonian Roof Spire The New Caledonian Roof SpirePhilippe Bourgoin The first Western accounts of the Kanak world were given by Englishman Captain James Cook (1728-1779) and were followed by those of Frenchman Antoine Bruny d'Entrecasteaux (1737-1793), whose expedition reached New Caledonia while searching for French navigator Jean-François de La Pérouse (1741-1788). The latter’s ships, La Boussole and L'Astrolabe, had disappeared between 1788 and 1789. Cook arrived in Balade, on the northern part of the island he had just named New Caledonia, on September 5, 1774, while d’Entrecasteaux, with his two ships La Recherche and L'Espérance, also dropped anchor in the harbor of Balade, but some nineteen years later, on April 21, 1793. The first Kanak objects, including the famous roof spires, found their way into European collections as a result of these visits. Today, it is difficult to see any roof spires in situ, as most of the Grandes Cases (Great Houses) they adorned disappeared in the 1920s. Traditional Kanak settlements were made up of several huts housing members of one or more families, aligned in a strictly established arrangement based on kinship or order of arrival, along an alley lined with tall trees, coconut palms, or columnar pines. Hughan, Allan (1834-1883), Meeting House in Canala. 1874. New Caledonia. We see the great chief Gélima (c. 1825-1895) standing and in uniform on the right. Collodion negative on glass plate, 16.5 x 21.5 cm. Ex-coll. Maurice Leenhardt (1878-1954). © Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. Inv.2002-5554-B. The Grande Case (Great House) at the end of this alley had a name that referred both to the place and to the family group that claimed it as their own. The presence of the ceremonial alley, where the most important events in the life of the community unfolded implied, in addition to the distribution of dwellings, a set of rules that applied to moving through it. The Great House, the central structure of important chiefdoms, was a sacred space where the clan gathered around its leader and where the laws of men, inspired by the wisdom of the elders, were made and decided. Its architectural form symbolized society. The central pole represented the chief or elder, who served as a link to the world of the ancestors, who in turn advised him on how to guide the destiny of the tribe. The poles, symbols of the clans, remained autonomous but radiated with the elder, while the other elements represented individuals and their rank, and the circular shape of the Great House symbolized harmony and equality in exchange. Its construction required the mobilization of a large number of people, and only a few highly renowned chiefs were able to assemble sufficient manpower and the necessary resources to erect one. Although this work was mainly carried out by men, it also required the contributions of women, who were responsible for collecting roofing materials. This task of building a Great House, which could take three or four seasons to complete, was undertaken during the time of year when yams were not being cultivated. The calendar, based on the lunar cycle, also took into account the agricultural planning needed to ensure the feeding of the workers and to prepare the gifts that would be given during the major celebrations (pilou) held on certain occasions. The most sought-after wood for the construction of important buildings, the hulls of long catamarans, and major sculptures was that of the giant Houp tree (Montrouziera cauliflora), due to its density and, more particularly, to its durability and its ability to resist the elements. This stately tree grows only at high altitudes, in the primeval forests of the central mountain range. Men would cut it down, transport it, and transform it after performing the necessary rituals and observing the various prohibitions governing the undertaking, since it was revered as a living entity, much like a great chief. A symbol of power at the heart of the clans’ socio-cultural, political, and religious activities, the Great House was always topped with a ridgepole sculpture - a roof spire - which displayed its creators’ great concern for balance, elegance, and dynamism. Hughan, Allan (1834-1883). The Pothe tribe. Tournois collection. 1874. Bourail, New Caledonia. Gelatin-silver bromide positive colored on glass plate, 8.5 x 10 cm. © Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. Inv. PV0062666. This emblem, representing the ancestor and symbolizing the clan, was both the most important and the most functional of all the sculptures that adorned the Great House. Its installation marked the completion of the building’s construction. Indeed, the finishing work at the top of the roof was a delicate operation on which the structure’s waterproofing depended. It involved tightening the last row of straw bundles around a central axis, either directly around the end of the central post or against the base of a spire that was aligned with, and inserted into, the central post. Depending on the circumstances and the importance of the person for whom it was intended, this sculpture was commissioned by the elders, either from a sculptor who was a member of their clan or from a close ally, or from a renowned sculptor from elsewhere who was invited to come to create it. This insignia was presented to the oldest member of the chief’s lineage by the oldest clans, which is to say by those who considered themselves the original autochthonous people and founders of the country. The great honor of installing the spire was accorded to a maternal uncle. The spire also evoked the deceased chief, serving as a kind of substitute for his corpse, while the central aisle between the huts represented the passage between the world of the dead and that of the living. The spire was removed when the elder brother died and was replaced by his successor. On some occasions, spires were ritually damaged, struck with an axe, or even destroyed during certain rites. They were then left in place in this state or sometimes taken away but not reused. During mourning, the highest-placed shell containing protective herbs was the target of slingshots or rifle shots aimed at it by the warriors of the maternal clans. This connection with the deceased was also evidenced by the traditional practice of hoisting the body of the deceased in a net to just beneath the spire, as well as by the presence of roof spires in some cemeteries. The issue of styles in New Caledonia is complex. Even though it is possible to identify fairly homogeneous and clearly differentiated regional styles, information gathered in the field and old photographs shows that different styles could coexist within the same area. Traditional trade and travel routes carried sculptors and sculptures from valley to valley, following family ties. There are many cases in which the supposed origin of the sculptures is contradicted by their place of collection. While there is thus a wide range of variations, the roof spires are based on an archetype whose different forms can be grouped into five styles that can be attributed to relatively precise geographical areas. These were defined by Maurice Leenhardt (1878-1954) (Notes d'ethnologie néo-calédonienne, Institut d'ethnologie, tome VIII, Paris, 1930) and subsequently revisited by Jean Guiart (1925-2019) (L'art autochtone de Nouvelle Calédonie, Editions des études mélanésiennes, New Caledonia, 1953): Northern style: Voh, Koumac, Hienghène and Balade Paicî language area style: Koné, Ponerihouen, Poindimié and Touho Houaïlou style: Bourail, Poya and Houaïlou Canala style: Païta, Bouloupari, La Foa, Thio and Canala Southern style: Ile des Pins, Yaté, Touaourou and Nouméa As collected spires were usually sawn off at the base, these spires must have originally measured between 3 and 4.5 meters in length. The spire is an elongated piece of wood, carved from a single tree trunk, and can be divided into three parts: a central design area, a needle-like tip onto which large shells were threaded from bottom to top, and a cylindrical base that allowed the spire to be inserted through and into the center of the roof. The central sculpture, most often carved in low relief, represents a human bust (hair, face, shoulders). It is surrounded by several symmetrical appendages or a geometric carved design (Canala area, La Foa, the South, and the Loyalty Islands). Roger Boulay (1943-2024) demonstrated, through his numerous studies, the transition from the geometric motif simulating the shape of a bundle of straw to the image of a face. Hughan, Allan (1834-1883). Untitled [Group in front of a house], 1870-1879, New Caledonia. Collodion negative on glass plate, 16.3 x 12 cm.Ex-coll.Maurice Leenhardt (1878-1954). © Musée du Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. Inv. PV0023691 There are some examples of anthropomorphic roof spires that are sculpted in the round. Their origin remains uncertain,and it is believed that they were not intended for placement atop ordinary communal houses. Erected atop a hut sometimes exceeding 12 meters in height, the roof spire ornament is always strictly frontal, and displayed to be viewed from the front, all the more so because the back of a Great House was sacred and off-limits, and visitors arrived from the bottom of the village’s central alley. The pointed shaft above the main carved part of the spire was intended to hold shells (usually Charonia tritonis or Murex ramosus) strung from bottom to top. Symbols of the breath and words transmitted by the chief, sometimes erected on a branch planted in the ground at the entrance to a new hut, these ornaments were considered part of the clan’s treasures. They were only hung at the time of the actual inauguration ceremony, during the night, by the clan that protected the chiefdom. On some roof spires from the northern part of New Caledonia, the single tip was replaced by several tines arranged in a comb pattern projecting up from a panel with geometric diamond motifs on it. These tines were also used to suspend shells from, and the geometric designs on the panel were reminiscent of those engraved on the door jambs of the north-central style. In some cases, the shell ornaments were simply strung onto a single spike that constituted the only spire decoration of a Great House. The conch shell positioned at the top, with the roof facing up to the sky, symbolized the voice of the elder and the call of the clans, and contained magical preparations to protect the house and the region it represented. The most important element that emphasized the grandeur of the Great House was the roof spire, displaying the face of the clan’s founding ancestor. Its silhouette, which stood out against the sky and could be seen from afar was, like the spires of Gothic cathedrals, an invitation to spiritual elevation and aroused the awe and admiration of those who beheld it.
