Sparring club of black ebony wood (Diospyros species), sawtoothed blade, designs (incised) incompleted. 60.8 cm long, 8.5 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:
Massim region, Papua Region, Papua New Guinea
Culture or time period:
Massim
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
Loans:
S1985-1986 #47: Peabody Museum of Natural History (Yale Univ.) (April 1, 1986–July 31, 1986), S1985-1986 #48: Jagiellonian University, Poland (October 1, 1986–March 31, 1987), S1985-1986 #49: Warsaw Museum of Asia and the Pacific (1987–1987), and S1985-1986 #9: Arizona State Museum (September 20, 1985–February 7, 1986)