The Dukna that lives in my house (no one “owns” a Dukna) has a watchful and reflective personality and seems to instil in all parties quiet conversations.
The wooden figure comes from Santa Cruz island (named Nendo in the main language of the island) which is now a far flung part of the Solomon Islands, in the western Pacific.
“Manga” translates as an image or representation, “Dukna” translates as a supernatural being. Dukna exist in animal and human forms. The wooden figures are not the Dukna themselves, who exist as immortals in a supernatural world, but represent a Dukna and provide a way to talk to them. One of the Dukna’s responsibilities is to guide and advise the people of Nendo who can make requests. For example one Dukna may be associated with shark fishing and so may be asked for help before a fishing trip. If a Dukna helps it will be used again, if it does not appear to help, eventually another Dukna may be made.
The curious feature of most Dukna figures is the elongated head. This may be a stylised representation on an “abe” which was a way of gathering hair together and decorating for high ranking people. The figures would originally have been dressed and decorated as this is how the people thought Manga Dukna’s would have appeared in their own world.
When missionaries arrived in the 19th century they slowly persuaded the inhabitants to discard their beliefs and Duknas were discarded, hidden or given away to missionaries (who often sold them on in Australia and Europe). A few (around 50) Duknas from the 19th and 20th centuries are now found in museums around the world, although I am only aware of one in the Solomon Islands National Museum in Honiara, and that one is not currently on display.
The Manga Dukna who inhabits my home is probably from the 1950’s and may have been made to sell to Europeans but it is difficult to determine the age. Very old figures were carved using shell and stone which produces quite a smooth surface. When iron tools were introduced in the early part of the 20th century, figures typically may have a rougher surface. Figures were often covered in turmeric which has magical properties and so may have areas of orange colour and this is not noticeable on the figure I have.
I made a promise to the seller that when I moved on to another world the Dukna would be returned to the Solomon Islands where it belongs.
Keep a look out in museums for Santa Cruz figures and if you find one talk to it quietly and calmly and, if you wish, ask it for guidance.
If you want to find more information, the authoritative, and as far as I know the only, book on the subject is “Santa Cruz Island Figure Sculpture and Its Social and Ritual Contexts” by William Davenport.
Patricia Vaegi George, one of the curators at the Solomon Islands National Museum, has a wealth of information about the history and cultures of the Solomon Islands.
Finding Something from Nothing 
I found this very interesting. I read a short series of mysteries by Graeme Kent, set in the Solomon Islands, and though I live so far from that place, it captured my imagination. I am going to order the book you referenced from the library (I see it is held in 2 libraries in our state!). And I haven’t even gotten into how much I like the look of this figure.
I have always found the idea of figurines as portals or conduits very meaningful, no idea why, but I do. All kinds of representations, from Virgin Marys in churches to prehistoric figurines to rubbing the foot of the eagle for luck, in what used to be Wanamaker’s, a local department store (now a Macy’s).etc. I make a lot of figurines myself in clay and though I don’t claim anything for them at all, I hope my enjoyment of their creation gives them some life and that people will find looking at them meaningful, in that it is pleasant!
But I am digressing! Thanks for this post.
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Thank you Claudia. In the late 1960’s Graeme Kent used to run the radio station in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon islands (the British Solomon Island Protectorate at the time) at the time I lived there. I am not sure whether he started writing novels about the Solomons when he was there or after he returned to the UK. The book I mentioned by William Davenport is quite short but it has some interesting (and unique) information in it and has pictures of all the human image Duknas that are known (around 50 or so). Second hand copies are around – try abebooks for a copy from the US. The Solomons (along with Papua New Guinea) has some of the most interesting ancestor figures. They influenced my clay mask designs in an earlier post https://passajer.wordpress.com/2018/07/27/who-is-behind-the-mask/
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Looking back I remember these masks and how much I liked them. I am glad to understand more about how they came about now. They are beautiful, powerful, and scary.
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Very interesting. I have a quite similar wooden figure.
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Would you share a picture of it?
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