The Scratching of the SLAM Effigy

When I went to the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) to research this urban legend, I went with the wrong memory in mind. In retrospect, I find this error on my behalf fitting for the occasion. Urban legends often evolve in grandeur and twist in facts as time progresses. I was certain I was there to research the story of an Egyptian Mummy that left scratches on the inside of the glass that encases him. Because of this certainly, I immediately set off for the Egyptian gallery on the third floor.

I studied the glass encasings of the Egyptian Sarcophaguses with great detail and found zero scratches amongst the lot of them. This prompted me to then inquire about the urban legend with the gentleman working this gallery.

“Oh, you’re looking for Bob,” he replied with a smile. “Well, you won’t find him up here, in fact, you won’t find him at all.”

This highly informative gentleman then told me how “Bob,” as the museum staff have affectionately coined him, was never an Egyptian Mummy, but rather an Oceanic Effigy. (I should note that an effigy is like a sculpture or model of a person, somewhat like a mummy, but not necessarily the same.) He then went on to tell me of how Bob is no longer on display for public viewings, but I should note, as he shared that bit of information and all that followed, his voice dropped considerably lower in both tone and volume.

Before continuing, he asked if I had seen the giant plug artwork before entering the museum. I told him I had passed it on my way inside. He then told me how before that giant plug was there, there used to be a very small pond in that space. He said that a short time ago (“more than five, but less than ten years”), that pond had somehow started leaking into the building and unfortunately, the leak was right into Bob’s encasing.

According to legend, this leak reawakened and angered Bob, causing him to severely scratch the glass that encompassed his surroundings in a completely different place than he had scratched up the first time. Given the fact that Bob lies behind the glass, away from the viewing gallery, all the scratches were on the inside. The man told me this glass was thicker paned than most in the museum and these scratches were large and noticeable, “even a blind man could see them,” he added. Following the second scratching, Bob was taken off exhibit and put away in the museum archives.

Piggybacking off the excitement of the story, I immediately inquired about the events of the first scratching. The museum employee became instantly less talkative, but told me where I might find the Oceanic gallery that once housed Bob. I walked away uncertain if he didn’t know how the original scratches came to be or if there was a slight fear that prevented him from telling me.

Down in the Oceanic gallery, I immediately struck up conversation with the woman who was working this space. She called the effigy Bob just as the man upstairs had, but informed me she hadn’t worked there too long and wasn’t sure of all the details other than what she had heard from various personnel and patrons.

She shared the same basic story about the leak from the old pond, but wasn’t sure of how the scratches wound up on the inside of the glass. She did go on to tell me something that I hadn’t ever heard before, but found perhaps most interesting of all. Apparently part of the urban legend is that anytime someone would take a picture of this particular effigy, their camera lens would break. Um… WHAT!?! You all know how much I love a good picture! As I’m sure you can imagine, this scared the living daylights out of me! Thank goodness he wasn’t on display! My phone would surely have been done for!

Just before I left the gallery, she told me that all the information I may want to know about Bob’s effigy could be found at slam.org, so naturally, that’s exactly where I went and here’s what I found:

CULTURAL REGION: probably south Malekulan

DATE: probably 20th century

MATERIAL: HUMAN SKULL, wood, fiber, resin, paint, and other materials

FROM: Malampa province, Melanesia, Vanuatu, Oceania

CLASSIFICATION: Sculpture

DIMENSIONS: approximate: 62 5/8 x 32 5/16 x 15 3/4 in. (159 x 82 x 40 cm)

CURRENT LOCATION: Not on view

Rambaramp are memorial effigy figures created for men of the highest rank who participated in a hierarchical, grade-based society in south and central Malakula, one of the islands that comprise Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides). The body of these figures was created from cane, vegetable fibers, clay, resin, pigment and other materials. The head was made using a male human skull, the skull of the man being memorialized, which was modeled with clay and pigments to recreate living human features. Rambaramp effigies are understood as a direct representation of the body of the deceased man, with facial features as a form of idealized portraiture. As an effigy figure, the rambaramp commemorates the particular hierarchical level that the deceased man had achieved during his life. Each level, or grade, has its own specific associated ritual ornaments and insignia. As such, the markings and motifs present on each rambaramp figure indicate the highest grade the depicted individual attained. Within these graded hierarchies, men engaged in a form of economic and ritual competition through which they achieved higher status or rank. Ceremonies for grade advancement were a complex series of religious initiations, usually involving the accumulation and sacrificing of many pigs, a highly valued resource. Importantly, the ability of a man to purchase or secure the help of others in acquiring the necessary pigs for a ceremony increased his social prestige. In turn, his social skills and ability to be generous to others aided his advancement through the various grades. Only men that had achieved the highest rank in a grade system known as Nimangi were entitled to become a rambaramp following their death. This was the highest honor they could achieve. A man who entered high grades during his life is often considered a living supernatural being, having particularly close connections with the ancestors. Although still living, he is understood to have already joined the company of ancestors and gods. As such, he becomes highly tabooed and usually lives in solitude away from the main community, eating meals by himself. In essence, he is removed from the world of the living. Following death, his body was buried. After a period of time, the skull was removed from the grave, and the rambaramp effigy was created in order to have the spirit and deep cultural knowledge of the man continue to reside in the village. The effigies are stored in the men’s house, located within each village. Their continued presence, as an ancestral effigy figure, continues to guide living men. The transformation of men into rambaramp effigies has largely ceased over the last few decades as fewer men have participated in competing for the higher ranks in the grade system.

I obviously didn’t remember what this glass scratcher looked like given the fact that I thought he was a mummy, but WHOA! He’s so much scarier than anticipated! I would NOT want to be left alone in his gallery late at night! No wonder they took him off display! Combining the information above about the manner of preservation and cultural faith of the rambaramp, alongside my own belief in the supernatural, I very much believe there could be some form of “life” still inside this effigy. Something scratched the inside of that glass each of those times and I have yet to find any reason to believe it wasn’t this Effigy Figure or at the very least, the energy of it.

Well, there you have it, everything I was able to learn about the local urban legend of The Scratching of the SLAM Effigy. I do hope you enjoyed this spooky tale and who knows, maybe one day SLAM will return “Bob” to a viewing gallery. It would be interesting to see if this mystery continues or if “Bob” has found his peace.

As always, THANK YOU for viewing! I appreciate your support, always! Feel free to leave a comment below as I LOVE reading and responding to them! I’ll return soon with another all new post, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!