This ‘penji’, a grave marker or funerary stele is possibly meant to represent the the prow of a ship. It has also been thought of as the head of a crocodile or perhaps a bird.The ‘penji’ were markers of aristocratic graves and were placed at the head of a burial dolmen. A large and dramatic example such as this one would have certainly been used to decorate an important burial site. It also demonstrates that it was part of a very ancient tradition of megalithic burial markers. The people of Sumba practise secondary burial and these sites often were built years after the death of the individual
