The gate itself consists of two posts and a crossbeam, with a pig sacrificed to persuade the good spirits to infuse it with protective power. Most of the men will busy themselves by making decorations A few of these are strictly ornamental, like the ring chains of split bamboo that are draped from post to post. But most of them are carvings which represent things and forces they wish kept out of their village. These will be mounted on the gate, facing the jungle. For most participants this is the only day of the year their woodcarving talents are ever put to use.
Results range from the crude to the sophisticated.
Simplest are thet carvings of birds, which represent predators that steal grain and nab chickens and hand grenades or bombs, which broadly symbolise violence. More imaginative carver will make wooden guns, machetes, aeroplanes and helicopters. The less talented will strip bamboo stakes and twist the strips into asterisks, that serve as general taboo signs, mostly mounted on the posts. The happiest carvers this day are those who make the male and female figures which stand on the ground just inside the gate. In the latter case, it is argued that the obvious sexual organs are part of the message, for spirits don't repr oduce.