Club

Museum number:
11-39804
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21110039804
Accession number:
Acc.2006
Description:
Sparring club of black ebony wood (Diospyros species), incised with linear patterns filled with white pigment; sword-shaped with truncated tip. Rows of holes in both ends for attachment of tassels. 80.9 cm long, 10.3 cm wide. Used in informal fights, village brawls, arguments over gardens, pigs, women, sorcery, and breaches of etiquette; not used in formal warfare. Sometimes carried in mortuary ceremonies and annual feasts.
Donor:
Bronislaw Malinowski and University Appropriation
Collection place:
Milne Bay Province, Papua Region, Papua New Guinea
Collector:
Bronislaw Malinowski
Collection date:
1914-1920
Materials:
Ebony (wood)
Taxon:
Diospyros
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Clubs (weapons)
Function:
1.7 Fighting, Warfare, and Social Control
Accession date:
1965
Department:
Oceania
Images:
Hearst Museum object titled Club, accession number 11-39804, described as Sparring club of black ebony wood (Diospyros species), incised with linear patterns filled with white pigment; sword-shaped with truncated tip. Rows of holes in both ends for attachment of tassels. 80.9 cm long, 10.3 cm wide. Used in informal fights, village brawls, arguments over gardens, pigs, women, sorcery, and breaches of etiquette; not used in formal warfare. Sometimes carried in mortuary ceremonies and annual feasts.

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