Carver puts Martin Luther on wood

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By PISAI GUMAR
CARVER Timwama David Annam, 71, has used his artistic skills for free to carve a statue of Martin Luther to mark the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Church.
He hails from Ngacsigalatu village in Finschhafen, Morobe, and took two months to complete his work using Kalapulin stalk.  In 2000, he carved designs on a canoe assisted by the Kasanga villagers which was sent to a festival in Germany.
He said the ability to carve wood “is in my blood”.
“I have done many small carvings like wooden bowls and other decorative items to sell for a living since my retirement in 1989 from Civil Aviation as a fireman,” Annam said. His father Daviri (David) Annam was a great carver and a pioneer missionary who  with his brother Labi Nalau spread the gospel in the Highlanders in 1934.
Daviri’s gifts of carving crucifixes, pulpits and lecterns are found in Lutheran church buildings and institutions in Morobe.
Annam was asked by Martin Luther Seminary chaplain Reverend Wangiac Bussim to carve
something for the 500th anniversary.