1 OF
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OLOGV
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WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS
OF SAVAGE RACES
WEAPONS
AND IMPLEMENTS
OF SAVAGE RACES
(AUSTRALASIA, OCEANIA, AND AFRICA)
BY
LIEUT.-COL. L. A. D. MONTAGUE
FULLY ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR FROM SPECIMENS
MOSTLY IN HIS COLLECTION
LONDON
"THE BAZAAR, EXCHANGE & MART" OFFICE
WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.C.4
1921
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PREFACE
The fact that works on ethnographical specimens are
few in number, and that reliable information concerning
these interesting objects is hard to obtain, has led to
the re-publication in book form of a series of articles
on the subject which I have contributed to The Bazaar
during the last four years. The study of weapons
and implements of savage races has been taken up by
an increasing number of collectors, and also by many
outside that fraternity ; it is therefore hoped that this
little work may at any rate go some way towards
supplying a want.
The subject is such an extensive one that its
adequate treatment would entail the publication of
many volumes, and the present attempt claims to be
nothing more than a handbook or guide. It contains
as full a description of specimens from Australasia,
Oceania, and Africa as its size permits ; but it was
impossible to include any from Asia or America without
unduly curtailing the other sections.
The specimens illustrated are mostly in my own
collection, and I have made every effort correctly to
vi PREFACE
identify and describe them. It is, however, often
extremely difficult to trace ethnographical specimens
with certainty to the place of origin, so it is quite
possible that mistakes of attribution may be dis-
covered. Still, as in doubtful cases I have consulted
the authorities connected with our public collections
(for whose courteous assistance I must here offer my
thanks), I think that the information I have got
together may be taken as up to date and generally
correct. .
LEOPOLD A. D. MONTAGUE.
September, 1921.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PAGE
I
PART I
AUSTRALIA ____.. 6
NEW ZEALAND - - - 50
EASTER ISLAND - - - - - 64
MARQUESAS ISLANDS - - - - -67
AUSTRAL (TUBUAl) ISLANDS - - - - 68
HERVEY (OR COOK'S) ISLANDS - - "73
TONGA AND SAMOA - - - - "77
NIUE" OR SAVAGE ISLAND - - - 8 1
FIJI - - - - - -86
GILBERT ISLANDS - - - - "95
NEW CALEDONIA - - - - - IOI
NEW HEBRIDES - - - - - I05
SANTA CRUZ (QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS) - - I08
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS - IO9
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS - - - - - Il8
NEW BRITAIN, NEW IRELAND, AND ADJACENT ISLANDS - 122
THE MASSIM DISTRICT - - - - 1 24
NEW GUINEA - - - - - - 1 27
vii
Vlll
CONTENTS
PART II
SOUTH AFRICA -
BECHUANALAND
ANGOLA -
BELGIAN CONGO AND FRENCH CONGO
KAMERUN -
NORTHERN NIGERIA
SOUTHERN NIGERIA -
CENTRAL AFRICA -
NYASS ALAND PROTECTORATE -
EAST AFRICA -
THE KIKUYU DISTRICT
SOMALILAND - -
HINTS TO COLLECTORS
PAGE
138
151
153
154
185
187
215
217
219
221
227
229
2 3 l
INDEX
2 35
WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS
OF SAVAGE RACES
INTRODUCTION
To most of us, whether we have the collecting instinct
or not, there is a peculiar fascination connected with
the strange weapons, implements, and other objects
coming from the less civilized parts of the world, where
mankind, in many cases, is still in a stage of evolution
which could only have been paralleled in this country
some centuries before the Roman invasion. That
most of the savage races producing these objects are
gradually becoming civilized or are dying out, renders
it all the more important that no time should be lost
in gathering all possible information concerning their
history, religion, art, and customs, and preserving
specimens of their handiwork, which, not many years
hence, may be very difficult to obtain.
But, apart from the scientific study of ethnography,
there is a romantic interest about a collection of South
Sea, African, or other specimens of native work which
makes a general appeal. These curious clubs of
2 INTRODUCTION
polished wood, spears barbed with human bones, and
swords edged with sharks' teeth take us mentally to
the coral islands of the Pacific, and call up reminis-
cences of many a tale of adventure in the South Seas ;
whilst the sight of African fetishes, war-knives, and
throwing-spears instantly transports an imaginative
individual to the mysterious forests of the Dark Con-
tinent, suggesting perils encountered by Stanley and
the other explorers, human sacrifices, and what not.
The ethnographical room in a museum is therefore
always popular, but, curiously enough, the scientific
study of ethnographical specimens was greatly
neglected up to quite a late period in the last century,
and the only obtainable general work on the subject
was (and would seem still to be) Wood's "Natural
History of Man, " to illustrate which the author formed
a private collection. Nearly every local museum pos-
sessed, it is true, a certain number of specimens, but
these were seldom properly arranged, and were in-
correctly labelled almost as often as not. Even at
the present day there is much room, for improvement
as far as some of the small provincial museums are
concerned, but the magnificent ethnographical collec-
tion at the British Museum, re-arranged since the War,
offers an excellent example of modern classification,
followed by the museums at Oxford, Cambridge,
Exeter, and others of the same standing.
Collecting such curiosities upon scientific lines is
now being taken up to an increasing extent, and will
INTRODUCTION 3
undoubtedly become quite a fashionable hobby before
long, causing the prices, already fairly high, to rise
still further. The bargains of the last century are now
rarely obtainable, though, unless one goes in for rarities
such as ancient Maori productions, it is by no means
too late to begin collecting. The nucleus of a collec-
tion may be found on the walls of the entrance-hall or
staircase of many a residence, for it has long been
customary to hang up such weapons as decorations,
although in many cases their present owner has a very
hazy notion of what they really are and where they
came from.
No doubt ethnographical specimens will be faked as
the demand for them increases, but at present they
are imitated to a less extent than other things collected.
West African curios, particularly fetish figures and
carved work, are made to order by the natives, and
also counterfeited by Europeans for sale to passengers
on the West Coast steamers (if not for the English
market) , yet I have never come across faked weapons
such as spears and war-knives. The costly Maori
antiquities are doubtless imitated now and then, when-
ever deception is possible, though, as far as I am
aware, the faker has not yet concerned himself with
Australian weapons. South Sea clubs and spears do
not lend themselves to fraudulent imitation, and it
would never pay a European carver to copy the in-
tricate designs on some of the paddles, axe-hafts, and
other implements ; but the collector should fight shy
4 INTRODUCTION
of new-looking weapons in unused condition, as these
are turned out by the natives in Fiji and probably on
other islands now more or less civilized, for sale to
visitors. These specimens can hardly be called fakes,
being really made by the natives from old patterns,
yet nevertheless are of little interest or value when
compared with weapons actually constructed for use
in warfare, and probably so used. Antiquity is, in
fact, a great factor in the value of all curiosities pro-
duced by savages, really old examples usually fetching
three or four times the price of modern ones. This
not only applies to such things as Benin brasses, West
African jujus, axes, and the like, but to such common
weapons as throwing-spears and knives.
The size of this little work renders it necessary to
restrict the specimens described and illustrated to
those coming under the head of weapons and imple-
ments, which eliminates many articles of equal interest
not properly belonging to either class. These are not,
however, so generally collected or so suitable for ex-
hibition on the walls of a private house, many of them
being of anything but a decorative character. For
instance, the funeral and fetish masks of West Africa
and the Congo are repulsively ugly, though of peculiar
interest to a student of native superstitions, secret
societies, and ceremonies ; whilst large carvings, fur-
niture, costumes, and even personal ornaments are
more suitable for a museum than for a private collec-
tion. The same may be said of native musical instru-
INTRODUCTION 5
ments (though there are a few collectors of these),
and miscellaneous productions requiring glass cases to
exhibit properly. I should have liked to include at
least a few specimens of these classes, but they arc
hardly within the scope of a guidebook mainly intended
to help in the identification of specimens likely to be
in the possession of its readers, or, at any rate, to
be obtainable by them should they take up collecting
on the lines suggested. For the same reason most of
the specimens illustrated are not of any special rarity,
but are such as are frequently seen in the dealers'
shops, and are pretty sure to be come across sooner
or later. I regret that I was unable to include drawings
of weapons from many of the lesser-known Pacific
islands, as also from several African districts, having
no specimens from which to make them ; but have
endeavoured to make up for this omission by very fully
describing the examples (over 200 in number) here
figured, which comprise the principal types brought
home.
PART I
AUSTRALIA
Clubs
Australian clubs are fairly easily distinguishable
from those of the Pacific islands, though often difficult
to identify as coming from any particular part of the
immense island continent. This is specially the case
with the short club usually called a waddy, which
seems to be made, with but slightly varying pattern,
in most parts excepting the west, where clubs appear
to be in less general use and assume a distinctive
shape. The typical waddy is usually fairly straight,
shaped like an elongated bud, and made from euca-
lyptus or other tough wood, and most specimens
finding their way to this country come from Victoria
or New South Wales.
No. i of Fig. i shows a characteristic specimen of
the Victoria type, said to be called a nulh-nulla. It
is 28 inches in length, with a considerable swell run-
ning to a conical point, and is of a yellowish-brown
wood (eucalyptus?) brought to a dull polish. The
head is incised with a kind of herring-bone pattern
AUSTRALIA 7
filling rectangles alternating with blank spaces,
between longitudinal herring-bone borders. The
section is circular, but in many specimens it is oval
or irregular. Fig. i, No. 2, was presented to my
son (the late P. D. Montague) by the West Aus-
tralian Museum at Perth, W.A., and shows the type
of club used in the north-west as contrasted with that
of the south-east. It is a straight cylinder, 33^ inches
long, slightly tapering towards the extremities, with
surface grooved by the marks of the tool with which
it was dressed. It is thickly covered with red ochre,
which may have been applied to prevent it from slip-
ping in the hand as much as for decorative purposes,
and must have been frequently renewed, as it comes
off freely when the Weapon is handled. This specimen
came from the Drysdale River, North Kimberley, and
is of a pattern not often brought home.
Returning to the waddy, this is occasionally ren-
dered more formidable by a series of diverging spikes
cut round the head, as in the mace-like example No. 1
of Fig. 2, which came from New South Wales. This
has six rows of teeth, with ten teeth in each row, the
top being pointed, making the weapon effective for
thrusting as well as striking. The conical part, as
well as the lower part of the head, is coloured with red
ochre, and white clay (?) shows between the teeth.
The butt is conical, with grip roughened : length
31^ inches. I recently bought this specimen from a
dealer, price ten shillings. No. 2 of Fig. 2 is a waddy
8
AUSTRALIA
of superior workmanship and exceptional length,
measuring 34^ inches. It is of a dark wood,
smoothed, and has three chains of roughly circular
O
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Fig. i.— (1) Waddy of Victoria
Type. (2) Club covered with
Red Ochre, Drysdale River,
North Kimberley,
Fig. 2.— (i) Toothed Waddy,
New South Wales. (2) Long
Waddy.
hollows running from the point to some distance below
the slightly swelling head, probably intended to make
a blow bite the better. The butt ends squarely, and
is roughened for a very short distance. I do not know
/
AUSTRALIA 9
the district of origin, but should place it in the south
or south-east. Fig. 3 is of a waddy with leaf-shaped
head running to blunt edges, and a pointed tapering
handle pierced for a cord near the end. It is 25 J inches
long, and is remarkable for the carved designs upon
Fig. 3. — Waddy with Carved Designs, probably from
South-Eastern Australia.
it. A double zigzag (suggesting waves) runs down
the head upon one face, the other being divided
checkerwise as shown in the illustration. It is a very
nice specimen of somewhat unusual form, and was
IO
AUSTRALIA
bought with No. i of Fig. 2, so is probably from the
south-east. The pointed handle of this variety of
waddy is of use to scratch up the earth with which
the combatants cover their hands, in order to get a
better grip, during the extraordinary native duels in
which they alternately present their heads to be
bludgeoned.
Fig. 4.— (i) " Deadum-deadum," Southern Australia. (2) Leah, or
Toothed Waddy. (3) Missile Waddy. (4) Parrying-Stick.
(.4// from Exeter Museum.)
The objects sketched in Fig. 4 are all in the Exeter
Museum. No. i is labelled as a deadum-deadum
(suggestive name!) from South Australia, and the
handle tapers to a point in a series of diminishing and
overlapping rings. No. 2 is called a leak, or toothed
AUSTRALIA
1 1
waddy, and is also attributed to South Australia. It
has a four-sided head, with the edges cut into sharp
teeth. No. 3 is a missile waddy, and No. 4 a parry-
ing-stick (south-eastern region ?) .
The parrying-stick is used to strike aside the kylie
(boomerang) and spear, but no doubt serves as a light
Fig. 5. — (1) and (2) Parrying-Sticks from Kookynie District. (3)
Beaked Club (Malga), South- Eastern Australia. (4) Ditto,
Victoria Type.
club upon occasion. Two specimens from the Koo-
kynie district of West Australia are seen in Nos. 1
and 2 of Fig. 5. They are dressed from small branches
(naturally curved), the longer one measuring 27 inches
and having the butt covered with a lump of Black-
boy gum. The grips are scored, the tops rounded,
12 AUSTRALIA
and both specimens covered with red ochre. They
were presented by the West Australian Museum.
In Nos. 3 and 4 we see specimens of a beaked club
known as a malga or leowal, made from a bent branch
so that the grain follows the angle or curve of the
head. The object of this shape is to reach round the
parrying-shield (which the waddy would not do), and
get in a peck with the sharp beak. The malga is a
favourite club for use in the native dances ( ' ' corrob-
borees"), for beating time by clashing one with
another or on a shield. No. 3 measures 29 inches in
a line drawn from the tip of the beak to the butt, which
tapers in a series of rounded rings, the shaft being
longitudinally grooved round the grip. The head is
almost at right angles to the shaft, and measures
1 1\ inches. No. 4 (from Victoria) is a smaller weapon
of much the same pattern, but with the head less
angular and broader in proportion.
Spears
Australian spears in a complete state do not often
come to this country, probably on account of their
great length, which makes them troublesome to bring
home ; but even in Australia the earlier stone-headed
examples are becoming more and more difficult to
procure, so that it is not surprising they should fetch
high prices when put up for sale in London. The
Australian spear is, in most districts, only used as a
AUSTRALIA 13
missile, being hurled by means of a contrivance known
as a woomero, or spear-thrower, which, acting as a
lever, gives the weapon an extra impetus. The natives
can usually aim so accurately as to be fairly certain
of hitting a moving mark at any range up to 60 yards,
whilst the extreme distance to which spears can be
thrown is said to be surprising.
The spears vary greatly in workmanship, the com-
moner sort being little more than long, pointed sticks,
generally not even straight, but those with stone or
glass heads show considerable skill in construction.
The specimens here described were all brought home
by my son, the late Paul D. Montague, and were
either obtained by him from the natives or presented
to him by the West Australian Museum at Perth.
They are therefore accurately localised, which adds
considerably to the scientific value of the collection.
Fig. 6, No. 1, gives the upper part of an ordinary
West Australian specimen from the Upper Murchison
(Gascoyne division) . This is 8 feet 7^ inches in length,
and is formed from a barked stick running to a flat-
tened, tapering point, below which is lashed a pointed
wooden barb, the binding being apparently of sinew.
The butt-end is hollowed for the insertion of the hook
of the woomero. No. 2 is 7 feet 9 inches long, and
has a flattish, leaf-shaped, wooden barb, attached by
a thread-like binding smeared with Blackboy gum.
Below the barb the shaft is decorated with ten or
eleven black patches, perhaps tribal marks. This
H
AUSTRALIA
spear came from the south-western part of West
Australia. The black gum used so extensively in the
manufacture of Australian weapons is made from either
the Spinifex or the Grass-tree (known as the Black -
Fig. 6. — West Australian Wood-Barbed Spears, (i) Upper
Murchison. (2) South- West of Western Australia.
boy). Spinifex is a kind of spiky grass, and the
gum is found at the roots. The Blackboy is a small
tree with a tuft of grass-like foliage, from the middle
of which springs the flower-stalk, thus looking from a
distance something like a native carrying a spear
AUSTRALIA
i5
(hence its popular name). The black gum or wax
forms on the stem, and is found on the ground beneath,
especially after bush fires. In Western Australia the
Blackboy only grows in the southern regions, and the
gum used on all objects from the northern districts is
from the Spinifex. This is like pitch, and is of a
brownish-black colour, containing many fibres.
Fig. 7. — (1) Wooden Spear-Head from Minderoo, Ashburton River.
(2) From neighbourhood of Gerald ton, West Australia.
Fig. 7, No. 1 , shows a spear-head of a light-coloured
wood, picked up by my son in a deserted native camp
at Minderoo, about 22 miles up the Ashburton River.
It is armed with five long barbs, cut out on one side,
and there is some attempt at decoration in the way
of scratched transverse bands. No. 2 is from the
i6
AUSTRALIA
Geraldton district (west coast), and is an example of
the barbless type with tapering conical point, flattened
for a few inches. The length of this spear is 7 feet
1 1 \ inches, and it has the usual hollow at the butt-end.
f*x3
1
Fig. 8. — Stone-headed Spears from Wyndham, Kimberley,
North-West Australia.
Fig. 8 represents two valuable specimens the heads
of which might well be mistaken for products of the
European Neolithic period of untold centuries B.C.
The head of No. 1 is of red quartz, chipped to a leaf
shape, and embedded in a lump of Spinifex gum. This
is lashed by vegetable fibre to a fore-shaft 55 inches
long, made from a more or less straight stick of some
AUSTRALIA 17
hard wood, which enters a shaft of considerably greater
diameter, made from a reed rather like bamboo, the
total length being 11 feet 2\ inches. There is a
lashing at the junction and another at the butt-end,
to prevent it from splitting from the insertion of
the hook of the spear-thrower. The shaft and fore-
shaft are daubed with white clay. This is considered
to be one of the finest specimens ever brought to
England, and is as good as anything in the West
Australian Museum. No. 2 has a triangular head of
whitish stone (probably quartz), and is 10 feet 4 inches
long. The details are much the same as in No. 1,
but there is a kink in the stick forming the fore-shaft.
Both specimens are from Wyndham, Kimberley, in
the north-west.
Nos. 2 and 3 of Fig. 9 show two unmounted stone
spear-heads, also from Wyndham. No. 2 is 3^ inches
long, beautifully chipped from white and pink quartz,
and markedly Neolithic in its suggestion. No. 3 is
of some hard, brownish stone, and looks like a Palaeo-
lithic specimen, but this is due to its being unfinished.
These stone heads are probably a good many years
old, but after the appearance of European settlers the
natives began to make spear-heads of glass, using any
suitable fragment picked up. No. 1 of Fig. 9 shows
a very fine glass-headed spear from Turkey Creek,
East Kimberley. The head is chipped exactly in the
same manner as the stone heads, but the material is
merely greenish bottle-glass. This weapon is other-
18 AUSTRALIA
wise similar to the Wyndham specimens : total length,
10 feet if inches ; fore-shaft, 5 feet 8 inches long,
made from a straight stick, blackened.
In Fig. 10 we see two unmounted glass spear-
heads — No. 1 a large example (about 5f inches long),
Fig. 9. — (1) Glass-headed Spear from Turkey Creek, East Kimberley.
(2) and (3) Stone Spear-Heads from Wyndham, Kimberley.
probably made from the side of a broken wine-bottle.
It is of an attractive orange-brown colour, and the
point is so fine that it would certainly break even on
striking the ground, so it is difficult to understand why
the natives should take so much trouble in chipping
AUSTRALIA
19
and fixing glass heads of this description, which could
hardly be serviceable after a throw or two. Some
specimens are more finely and regularly chipped than
this one, but the operation possibly takes only a short
time after constant practice. No. 2 is of transparent
white glass, and came from Turkey Creek ; No. 1
from Wyndham.
Fig. 10. — Australian Spear-Heads of Bottle-Glass. (i) From Wynd-
ham, KimberJcy. (2) From Turkey Creek, East Kimberley.
In some parts of Australia long thrusting-spears are
used, but I have seen no examples. There are also
spears with two or more points, probably used only
for fishing. Very few of the throwing-spears are
perfectly straight, and some are so crooked that one
would say that they could not be thrown with any
20 AUSTRALIA
accuracy. The Australian native, however, imparts
a peculiar quivering motion to the weapon before
throwing it (in fact, shaking his whole body in a
very ludicrous manner), and thus seems somehow to
counteract the sagging of the long and slender shaft.
Spear-Throwers
The curious appliance by which the long Australian
spear is hurled takes various forms, many districts
having some distinctive pattern, but it may be recog-
nized by the hook or peg at the end, usually made
from bone, hard wood, or other material, bound on
with a lashing, though some tribes cut the hook as
an integral part of the implement. The natives of
Western Australia call it a woomero, but it probably
has other names in other parts, Wood calling it a
wummerah, or midlah. By the early settlers it was
termed a "throw-stick," but " spear-thrower " seems
a better designation.
To throw the spear the woomero is held over the
shoulder, with the spear resting upon it, the butt-end
of the latter, which is usually hollowed, being in
contact with the point of the hook or peg. A forward
jerk slings the spear on its flight, the spear-thrower
thus acting as a lever, and giving the effect of a throw
from an enormously long arm. In the north of West
Australia the woomero is sometimes of great length,
though never very broad ; but in the south it is shorter
AUSTRALIA
21
and of considerable width, either flat or slightly con-
cave on the front. Fig. n gives two very fine
examples (presented by the West Australian Museum)
from the Kookynie district. The largest measures
Fig. ii.— Carved Spear-Throwers, Kookynie District,
West Australia.
30J inches in length and 5J inches across at the
broadest part, the smaller being 27} inches long.
The fronts are concave (the better to hold the spear
in position) and are decorated with carved zigzag
22
AUSTRALIA
bands, effectively grooved slantwise, the grooving out-
side the bands being more or less vertical. The wood
is rather thin, light in weight, and coloured with red
ochre. The pegs are whitish, and apparently of some
hard wood, lashed on with sinew, the handles tapering
Fig. 12.— West Australian Spear-Throwers, (i) Ashburton
District. (2) South-West District.
and ending in small projections, one showing traces of
black gum.
No. 1 of Fig. 12 is from the Ashburton district, and
is fish-shaped, flat, and ornamented in front with
obliquely grooved bands, three of which form angles,
the spaces between being grooved in various directions,
upright grooving filling in the portions outside the
AUSTRALIA 23
bands. The peg is of bone, its binding covered with
Spinifex gum, a flattish disc of which also forms, or
covers, the handle-end. This spear-thrower is of
darkish wood, and is 23 inches long by 4J inches
broad at the widest part. No. 2 is shuttle-shaped,
without decoration of any kind, and with a lump of
Blackboy gum set at an angle on the end of the
handle. The bone peg is very small, with Blackboy
gum covering its binding. This specimen is from the
south-west district (where Blackboy gum and not
Spinifex gum is in use).
Leaving the southern and central regions, Fig. 13
shows the types used in the north-west and north .
No. 1 is of surprising length (4 feet 3^ inches) and
gives little idea of its actual object, looking like some
strange weapon. It is rounded on the sides, being
3 inches wide above the very short grip, from which
point it gradually tapers up to the peg. Below the
grip, which has a binding, it spreads out again into
an oblong terminal. Peg of bone, with sinew binding
covered with Spinifex gum. Obtained at Wyndham,
Kimberley. No. 2 is of the same pattern, but shorter,
and has been painted white, the tribe from which it
was taken having looted some white paint from a
station. This specimen came from Turkey Creek,
East Kimberley. No. 3 is from the northern territory
of Central Australia (governed by South Australia).
It is 37 inches long, rather thin, and edged at the
sides, being of a reddish -brown colour. The hook
24 AUSTRALIA
looks more like a claw than anything else, and is
attached with the usual binding covered with Spinifex
gum. The Rev. J. G. Wood states that the binding
of most spear-throwers and other Australian imple-
ments is made from sinew taken from the tail of the
kangaroo, this sinew making a flat lashing, as on all
the specimens here described.
Fig. 14 is from a spear-thrower of quite a different
type, attributed to South-Eastern Australia, probably
Victoria. In this case there is no peg attached, but
a barb-like projection, serving the same purpose, has
been cut out at the end. The wood is of a rich brown
colour, and the rounded handle runs to a point. On
the central part, which is flattened and barely i\
inches wide about the middle, an attempt has been
made to carve an inscription in capital letters, followed
by what may possibly be intended for the representa-
tion of a high boot. The inscription is quite meaning-
less, and may have been cut by a native learning to
read, or merely copying the letters on some notice.
This specimen is 31 inches long, and was brought
home many years ago.
One more variety of spear-thrower appears as
No. 1 of Fig. 15, but this may be called a spear-
throwing club, being serviceable as a handy light club
should such a weapon be needed. It comes from
Queensland, and has a slender shaft spreading out
into a flattish head with angular edges (the handle-
end when used as a thrower, and the head when used
AUSTRALIA
25
I
^3
>
CI.
Fig. 13. — Long Woomeros. (1)
From Wyndham, Kimberley.
(2) From Turkey Creek, East
Kimberley. (3) From the
northern territory of Central
Australia.
Fig. 14. —
Thrower,
Victoria.
j ^
Inscribed
probably
Spear -
from
AUSTRALIA 27
as a club), the total length being 34 inches. Wood
figures a similar specimen (" Man," vol. ii., p. 43),
but this has the usual hook bound to the slender end,
the absence of which on my specimen prevented me
from recognizing it as a spear-thrower until I com-
pared it with the illustration mentioned.
The Weet-Weet
No. 2 shows a curious Australian missile called a
weet-weet, or "kangaroo rat," the latter name being
given to it on account of its fancied resemblance to
that animal when in action. This type is of the form
of a bulrush, carved from a solid piece of wood, with
the stem, or handle, slender and flexible, the length
of my specimen being 26 inches.
The weet-weet may possibly be used for bringing
down small animals, but is more of a toy than any-
thing else, and is employed in throwing competitions.
When properly hurled it strikes the ground not very
far in front of the thrower, and then leaps along in a
succession of bounds to an incredible distance. It is
used in New South Wales and Victoria, some examples
being rather longer than mine, or made with a handle
fixed into the head instead of being all in one piece.
Specimens are rather rare in this country, and not
often offered for sale.
28 AUSTRALIA
Digging-Sticks
Unfortunately I have up to the present been unable
to identify the strange Australian weapon or imple-
ment sketched as No. 3, but attribute it to Victoria
or New South Wales. It is 41^ inches long, and
has a swelling head running to a slightly bent beak,
sharply pointed, the opposite extremity being also
pointed. It would be a formidable club, or might
be used as a short spear, though possibly it has a
more peaceful use, such as that of a digging-stick.
The Australian katta, or digging-stick, is often used
as a weapon, especially by the gins (women) when
they fall out between themselves ; but its primary
use is that of an agricultural implement. With it
holes are dug for planting tubers, and, despite its
inconvenient shape, it takes the place of a spade,
being also serviceable to dig out burrowing animals.
No. 4 of Fig. 15 represents a very fine specimen,
47 inches in length, brought from the Drysdale
River, North Kimberley. It is made of some hard
and heavy wood, the surface showing the marks of
the dressing tool, and the point, as is usually the case,
appears to have been hardened by charring. «
AUSTRALIA
29
Fig. 15. — (1) Spear-Throwing Club from Queensland. (2) Weet-
Weet, or " Kangaroo Rat," from Victoria or New South Wales.
(3) Uncertain Weapon or Implement from South-Eastern
Australia. (4) Katta, or Digging-Stick, from Drysdale River,
North Kimberley.
AUSTRALIA 31
Boomerangs and "Bull-Roarers"
The most widely known Australian weapon is the
boomerang, which the natives of the west and north-
west call a kylie, and now use principally for knocking
down birds and other game, though the heavier kind
was a formidable weapon in the old days of intertribal
warfare. It is hardly necessary to say much about
the peculiar flight of this missile, which proverbially
returns to its sender should it miss its mark ; but
although this is true in the case of the light and thin
varieties used for fowling, etc., it is not so with the
heavy type originating as a weapon of war.
The shape of the boomerang is very variable, some
specimens being only slightly curved, while others
almost form a half-circle or are more or less angular ;
but one side is usually flatter than the other, and the
edge is always on the inner curve, the weapon being
thrown with the flat side underneath and the edge
forward. As the boomerang seems to be used in most
parts of Australia, it is not easy to localize specimens
without data, but in the West Australian examples
the tool-marks are not smoothed off, and those from
the north-west often have sharply pointed ends (see
Fig. 16), whilst a covering of ochre is another charac-
teristic of many kylies from the same region. The
measurements here given are taken in a straight line
from end to end, across the curve.
Fig. 16, No. 1, centrally angular, with sharply
32 AUSTRALIA
pointed ends, showing tool-marks and apparently once
rubbed over with red ochre, 23J inches. From Isdell
Ranges, Kimberley. No. 2, angular, with one end
sharply pointed, 23 inches. From West Kimberley.
No. 3, broad, tapering to acute points, and with
Fig. 16. — Kylies from North- West Australia. (1) Isdell Ranges,
Kimberley. (2) West Kimberley. (3) Kimberley.
angular head, decorated with transverse bands of red
and pinkish-white (red ochre and white clay tinged
with red ochre, respectively), 21 J inches. From
Kimberley. Presented with Nos. 1 and 2 by the
West Australian Museum.
Fig. 17, No. 1, slightly curved, a heavy hunting
AUSTRALIA 33
kylie or light war kylie, 24J inches. Bought from
a native at Onslow. No. 2, hunting kylie, almost
forming an obtuse angle at the centre, 23 inches.
Onslow. No. 3, narrow and light kylie, probably
used for bringing down birds, 24! inches. From the
Fig. 17.— West Australian Kylies. (i) Bought from a native at
Onslow. (2) Hunting Kylie, Onslow. (3) From head of Ash-
burton River. (4) From Hardy Junction, Ashburton River.
head of the Ashburton River. No. 4, a broader type
of hunting kylie, 22 inches. From Hardy Junction,
Ashburton River. These specimens all show tool-
marks, and the wood from which they are made is
slightly aromatic.
3
34
AUSTRALIA
Fig. 1 8, No. i, long boomerang of the type used
in South- Eastern Australia ; tool-marks almost entirely
smoothed away ; little difference between upper and
lower faces ; 27 inches. No. 2, war kylie, heavier
Fig. 18. — (1) Boomerang from South-Eastern Australia. (2) War
Kylie from Hardy Junction, Ashburton River. (3) Small Bull-
Roarer (Witarna), Western Australia.
and thicker than the hunting types, 25 inches. From
Hardy Junction, Ashburton River.
The object shown as No. 3 of Fig. 18 is a small
bull-roarer, as used throughout Australia and New
Guinea. It is 12^ inches long, made of a dark -brown
wood, and carved in front with a branching design,
AUSTRALIA 35
the back being rounded and showing tool-marks. It
was brought from Western Australia by my son, but
was not labelled with the exact locality. The bull-
roarer appears to have been an invention of the
remotest antiquity, and is thought by some to have
been employed in the mysteries of Pan. Curiously
enough, bull-roarers of the same character as the
Australian and New Guinea examples are used not
only in Central and West Africa, but on the American
continent, the natives of the interior of Brazil being
mentioned among the tribes making them. The
Australian type is of elongated ovoid shape, flat or
slightly concave in front, and slightly rounded behind,
a hole being invariably bored near one end for the
attachment of a cord. Holding the end of this cord,
the user rapidly whirls the roarer round and round in
the air, which causes it to emit a weird roaring or
booming sound, the deepness of the note depending
upon the size of the instrument. The native name is,
according to Wood, witarna, and he gives an account
of its employment in the rites by which youths are
initiated as men. He says that the cord by which it
is whirled is of human hair, and goes on to say : ' ' The
witarna is kept by the old men of the tribe, and is
invested with sundry and somewhat contradictory
attributes. Its sound is supposed to drive away evil
spirits, and at the same time to be very injurious to
women and children, no uninitiated being allowed to
hear it. Consequently the women are horribly afraid
36
AUSTRALIA
of it, and take care to remove themselves and their
children so far from the place of initiation that there
is no chance of being reached by the dreadful sound."
Two fine bull-roarers are seen in Fig. 19 — No. 1
from Wiluna, and No. 2 from the Kookynie district,
Western Australia. The first is 21 inches long, and
Fig. 19.— Bull- Roarers used in Initiation Ceremonies, (i) From
Wiluna. (2) From the Kookynie District.
might at first sight be taken for a small shield. It is
of a dark-brown colour, probably mainly due to ochre,
and is ornamented with a carved design very similar
to that upon the Kookynie spear-throwers. No. 2
is an inch longer, though not so broad, the front in
this case longitudinally concave. The carved orna-
AUSTRALIA 37
mentation is roughly executed in grooves, and consists
of diminishing squares divided by transverse grooving,
the wood being of a very light colour. Australian
bull-roarers seldom appear in the curiosity shops, but
boomerangs of the common variety are plentiful, and
should not cost more than 5s. each.
Shields
The shields used by the Australian natives are of
two types — the parry ing-shield, intended to deflect
missiles, and one of a broader type for the protection
of the body. The former is sometimes so curiously
shaped that there is little suggestion of a shield about
it, though, in the hands of a native, it is a most
efficient defence against the boomerang or throwing-
spear, a dexterous twist by means of the central handle
causing one or other of the shield's extremities either
to turn aside or to break such weapons, just before
reaching the mark intended. The Australian parry-
ing-shield would therefore gain nothing through being
broad, but must be of solid construction and fairly
heavy, as the missiles against which it is employed
are thrown with considerable force and velocity.
Fig. 20 is of a parry ing-shield known as a tamarang,
of a shape used in South-Eastern and probably parts
of Southern Australia. I do not know exactly where
the specimen came from, but attribute it to Victoria.
It is very heavy, with the central part bulging out
38 AUSTRALIA
longitudinally, and is much deeper than it is wide, the
front being keeled. The front faces are carved with
a simple but effective pattern of diminishing lozenges,
Fig. 20. — Parrying-Shield (Tamarang), South-Eastern Australia.
and the sides of the back converge to a rounded ridge,
forming a short handle at the centre, round which an
oblong opening has been cut out so that it may be
grasped. This opening is of the small size charac-
AUSTRALIA
39
teristic of Australian shields in general, the hands of
the Aborigines being remarkably slender. The ends of
this tamarang are prolonged and reduced to the diam-
eter of a stout stick, and appear to have been har-
dened by charring. Length, 3 feet ; width, 2^ inches ;
fiCCTION
<t- 6IP6
view.
Fig. 21. — Parrying-Shield, Victoria (?).
depth at centre, 6 inches. The tamarang is used
in native dances, and in shape is curiously like a
shield of the African Dinkas, from which, however,
it may be distinguished by the carved ornamentation.
Fig. 21 shows a shuttle-shaped parry ing-shield from
the same region. It is cut from a thick piece of hard
4Q
AUSTRALIA
wood, and has a triangular section, the front face
being 4 inches across at the widest part, and the sides
2f inches. The opening at the handle is hardly more
than 2 J inches in length, and is cut from one of the
converging sides to the other, as before. The front
is decorated with carved grooving, once filled with
Fig. 22. — Bark-Shield (Mulabakka), Victoria.
white clay, divided by transverse bands coloured with
red ochre. Length, 2 feet 2 inches.
Fig. 22 is from a specimen of the bark -shield called
a mulabakka, as made in Victoria. Being cut from a
longitudinal strip of bark, the back is naturally con-
cave, and this example has a projecting handle cut
out ; but in many specimens the handle is formed from
AUSTRALIA 41
a bent piece of stick, the ends of which pass entirely
through the bark. The mulabakka is generally shuttle-
shaped, and sometimes runs to considerably prolonged
extremities of little strength. It is broader than the
usual parrying-shields (the specimen figured being
9 inches across the middle) , and seems to be an inter-
mediate type between the parrying and covering shield.
The ends of my specimen may once have had the
prolongations above mentioned, which would easily be
broken off in striking aside a spear or a boomerang, as
the bark, though tough, could hardly resist a strong
blow where it is reduced to a narrow strip. On the
whole, the mulabakka seems to be a readily-made
substitute for the more effective shield of hard wood,
though as a rule considered worth ornamenting with
wavy grooving of the usual character, often painted
with ochre.
Australian covering-shields are much rarer than the
parrying-shields, and would appear to be used by a
limited number of tribes. One, in the Exeter Museum,
is of ovate shape, measuring about 2 feet by 1 foot,
and is made of a variety of soft wood that is very
heavy when first cut, but becomes as light as cork
when dry. This shield bears no carved ornamentation,
but the central part is blackened, possibly by fire. An
aperture for the hand is cut at the back.
In North-Western and West Australia the shields
are generally of the parrying type, being of elongated
shape with rounded ends. Fig. 23 shows a fine
42
AUSTRALIA
example from Cygnet Bay, West Kimberley, pre-
sented to my son by the West Australian Museum in
191 2. It is of solid construction, with an opening
for the fingers cut through the back, as in specimens
from the south-east. The front is somewhat rounded,
Fig. 23.— Shield from Cygnet Bay, West Kimberley,
North- West Australia.
and it has a slight longitudinal curve backwards, the
edges being rather acute. It is painted with the
usual red ochre, and decorated with carved bands of
diagonal grooves, alternating in direction. Dimen-
sions, 33 inches by 6\ inches.
AUSTRALIA
43
/
The pattern used in the Ashburton district of West
Australia is shown in Fig. 24, this specimen having
been bought by my son from a native at Onslow.
The length is about 32 inches and the breadth
5 J inches. The front is flattish, but the ends have
Fig. 24. — Shield bought from a Native at Onslow, West Australia.
a slight curve backwards, and in the centre, behind, is
a wooden handle, left projecting when the shield was
carved out. The front is decorated with bands of
red and white, longitudinal at the top and bottom,
but running diagonally at the centre — a very charac-
teristic West Australian design. A second specimen,
44 AUSTRALIA
of identical pattern, was obtained at the head of the
Ashburton River. These shields are rather thin, and
lighter than the wooden parrying-shields of Victoria.
The small Kookynie shield illustrated in Fig. 25 is
very much the same make as the Ashburton examples .
The front has shallow grooves alternately red and
white, running in the peculiar manner above described,
Fig. 25. — Small Shield from Kookynie District, West Australia.
this arrangement being probably intended to dazzle
the eyes of an enemy during a fight, when the shield
is kept in constant motion. The measurements of this
little shield are 22^ inches by 5 inches.
Axes and Message-Sticks
The axe appears to be unknown as a weapon of
war in Australia, but is largely used by the natives
AUSTRALIA 45
in tree-climbing. Honey, which is much esteemed,
is often only procurable at a considerable height in
some decayed tree, and birds' eggs, nuts, small
arboreal animals, and other articles of the "black-
fellow's" diet, can only be obtained by ascending
trees, which sometimes have smooth trunks and no
branches within many feet from the ground. To meet
the difficulty of climbing under such circumstances
the native hunter usually carries a small axe, with
which he cuts a succession of little notches, only large
enough for the insertion of the big toe, on the surface
of the trunk, by means of which he has, from an early
age, acquired the art of mounting with safety and
remarkable rapidity. The ascent of the trunk having
been accomplished, the axe is of further use in cutting
out honeycomb or getting at nests in the hollow
branches, and the implement is, no doubt, also em-
ployed for ordinary work. In the old days the axes
had blades of stone, but on the introduction of iron
these were superseded by iron blades of the type
shown in Fig. 27.
Fig. 26 is drawn from a specimen of a pattern
formerly used in West Australia, particularly in the
region of the Swan River. The head is of a very
rough, dark grey stone, 5! inches long, fixed at the
middle to a slender wooden handle, pointed at the
end, the total length being 14 inches. The head has
a double edge, blunt and irregular, and is probably
lashed to the haft with kangaroo-tail sinew, but this
4 6
AUSTRALIA
is entirely hidden by a covering of Blackboy gum.
Stone-headed axes of this form are now rare and
valuable, and one (which from the catalogue descrip-
tion seems to have been like the specimen here figured)
Fig. 26.— Stone Axe used in Tree-Climbing, Western Australia.
sold for £2 7s. 6d. at a sale held by Mr. J. C. Stevens
not long ago.
The iron-bladed axe shown in Fig. 27 came from
Wyndham, Kimberley, and is of the variety incor-
rectly called a tomahawk. The flat blade is about
AUSTRALIA 47
7 1 inches long, and the short haft made from a thin
strip of pliable wood, the middle part of which passes
round the blade, and is then doubled below it and
bound with what seems to be twisted human hair, the
extremities below the binding gaping apart. The head
is therefore fixed in a loop, but is further secured by
a cord lashing, a coating of Spinifex gum covering
the part of the haft round it.
Fig. 27. — Iron-headed Axe for Tree-Climbing, Wyndham,
Kimberley.
The curious objects in Fig. 28 are known as
"message-sticks," and are sent when one tribe wishes
to communicate with another. Each stick is covered
with some distinctive pattern, picked out in black,
which, no doubt, bears a definite meaning to the
recipient. It seems likely that each head-man has
a design of his own, so that a stick on which it appears
serves as a credential in the hands of a messenger.
4 8
AUSTRALIA
Otherwise the pattern may itself convey the message,
though this seems to be less probable. The two
examples figured are from the Ashburton River (north-
Fig. 28. — Australian Message-Sticks, Ashburton River, N.W.
west). No. 1 is 8f inches in length, and is merely a
solid section of a small barked branch. The outline
of the pattern is deeply scratched, and the dots are
small punctures. To make the design stand out, the
AUSTRALIA 49
stick was probably rubbed over with black wax
( ? Spinifex gum) , and afterwards wiped or scraped on
the surface, the wax remaining in the scratches and
punctures. No. 2 is cigar-shaped and 7 inches long.
It bears a scratched and blackened design, not inar-
tistic, and is of a reddish wood. The message-sticks
from Queensland are of rougher make, the patterns
on them being rudely cut. Some show spirals or
zigzags, or are merely notched.
Another speciality of the Australian ' ' blackfellow
is a mysterious object known as a churinga, usually
nothing more than a shuttle-shaped piece of wood,
decorated after the manner of the shields. I have a
specimen from Beagle Bay, 17 \ inches long, grooved
on the front and adorned with numerous transverse
bands of red ochre, alternating with narrower bands
of a light colour. The front is flat and the back
rounded and coloured red. Churingas of stone are
also known, but these are extremely rare.
As far as my son could discover in his explorations,
the churinga is a kind of tribal fetish, kept hidden
in some secret place by the person functioning as
medicine-man or priest, and brought out (before the
men only) on special occasions, to be anointed and
invoked with incantations. Specimens are very difficult
to get, even in Australia.
NEW ZEALAND
Clubs
The old New Zealand war-clubs are quite unlike those
made in any other islands of the Pacific, so are very
easy to identify, although now hardly ever come
across outside important collections. They are, in
fact, all extremely rare, as their manufacture for
practical use ceased long ago, few being less than
fifty years old, whilst many probably date back some
centuries.
The characteristic Maori club is known as the men,
mere, or merai, and was made of wood, stone, or bone,
and although bluntly edged was intended to crush
rather than to cut. The wooden type (called the patu-
parawa) is usually from 17 to 18 inches long, and 6 or
7 inches wide at the broadest part. In section it is
fairly thick at the centre, tapering to a double or single
edge, and it is variously formed with an outline roughly
resembling that of a ham, billhook, or fiddle. Two
remarkably fine antique specimens of the "ham"
and ' ' billhook ' ' types (from the Albert Memorial
Museum, Exeter) appear in Fig. 29. The top of
the handle of the first is carved to represent a
50
NEW ZEALAND
5i
grotesque head with tattooed face, protruding jaw
and open mouth, under this head being an opening
entirely piercing the handle, with spiral ornamentation
carved below. The blade, running to a blunt edge,
spreads out towards the rounded end to a breadth of
Fig. 29. — Two Fine Specimens of the Patu-Parawa.
(Exeter Museum.)
about 6f inches, and the total length is approximately
17 inches. The material is a heavy brown wood
taking a nice polish.
The other club is remarkable for the curious little
goggle-eyed figure cut out so as to project at the base
of the concave edge just above the handle. He looks
more like a frog than a man, and has only three
fingers on the hand visible ; and he is probably intended
for Tiki, the God of Creation. Above this figure the
blade curves forward, and there is a square hole, for
52 NEW ZEALAND
a wrist-cord, cut through the handle, the end of which
is carved in the usual Maori style.
Fig. 30 shows a still more interesting example at
Exeter, labelled as supposed to have belonged to a
chief named Rangiaho at Poverty Bay, North Island.
It is of the "fiddle " pattern (note the curious outline
of the back) , and is remarkable for a carved figure of
Fig. 30. — Old Maori Wooden Club from Poverty Bay.
(Exeter Museum.)
an old Maori, apparently crucified by means of bands
passing over his wrists and ankles. This figure stands
out at the base of the inner edge, and may perhaps
represent a prisoner of war, though such images are
possibly mythological. As usual, there is a hole in
the handle for a cord, and the end is carved with
spirals, etc. A club of this pattern figured by Taylor
NEW ZEALAND 53
is called he ko kuti. Such clubs as these cannot be
closely valued, as they are now rarely obtainable,
though the Maoris parted with them more readily than
with the stone meris, which took much longer to make.
The stone meri (see Fig. 31, No. 1) was usually made
of dark-green basalt, and is simpler in shape and not
so broad as the wooden club. It is smoothly polished
and with little or no ornamentation, of elongated
Fig. 31.— (1) Stone Meri {Exeter Museum) ; (2) Bone Meri (Author's
Collection) ; (3) Handle of Green Jade Meri (Exeter Museum).
elliptical shape, and always straight. The handle
narrows to form a grip, and is invariably pierced with
a drilled hole. In section the weapon is oval, running
to a double blunt edge. It is not surprising that these
stone meris should have been considered far too
precious readily to barter away, as it must have taken
months or even years of patient rubbing to convert a
fragment of hard volcanic rock into a well-balanced
54 NEW ZEALAND
and evenly-proportioned weapon like this. The most
valuable of all the meris are of green jade — a stone
rarely found in fragments large enough for their manu-
facture. Only chiefs of the highest rank possessed
such a treasure, which was guarded as a sacred heir-
loom, buried with the owner, but dug up again within
the year at the ceremony of "bone-cleaning," when
it became the property of his successor. A perfect
specimen of a royal jade meri would fetch a big price.*
The handle of a broken one in the Exeter Museum is
sketched as No. 3, Fig. 31.
Yet another material from which the meri was carved
is the jaw-bone or blade-bone of the cachalot whale.
A fine example in my own collection (Fig. 31, No. 2)
is cut from the jaw-bone, and is 17^ inches in length ;
weight, 12 ounces. It is similar in shape to the stone
clubs, but is much thinner and consequently more like
a short sword. The front is smooth, but the back
shows the cell cavities of the bone, the top of the
handle ornamented with carved ridges down to the
hole for the wrist-cord. I value this specimen at about
£1. At the Exeter Museum there is a long Maori
club fashioned from a whale's jaw-bone, the upper
end squared and decorated with a carved pattern. It
is not of a form generally used, being three or four
times as long as the typical meri.
* 'Although one sold for only £6 6s. at a sale held by
Mr. J. C. Stevens, September 24, 191S; but this could hardlv have
been a choice example.
NEW ZEALAND 55
Maori Staves and Weapons
Although none of the old Maori curiosities may
now be called plentiful, the hani, or chief's staff of
office, is much oftener come across than any other
weapon or implement of New Zealand, which is a
curious fact, considering that this object was not
permitted to be carried by anybody below the rank
of chief, and leads me to suppose that chiefs were
remarkably numerous. The hani was not, strictly
speaking, a weapon, although no doubt used as such
in cases of emergency, being well adapted either to
thrust with as a spear or to strike with as a club, the
butt-end being spatulate, with blunt edges, like the
Maori meri.
Ordinarily the hani was carried merely as a badge
of office, and it is always of the same pattern, though
the size varies greatly. The head suggests that of
a spear, but is a conventional representation of the
(double) face of the God of Defiance, with his long
tongue protruded in mockery of an enemy.
Fig. 32 shows the upper part of a magnificent hani
in my own collection, and it will be noticed that the
tongue of the god is entirely covered with most artistic
spiral patterns, boldly and accurately carved. There
is a similar face on the other side, the tongue being
common to the two, and the eyes are of paua (haliotis)
shell. This specimen is an uncommonly long one —
6 feet 6J inches — and is of a heavy dark wood. The
56 NEW ZEALAND
shaft is round down to the upper part of the butt,
where it gradually spreads out and flattens. Fig. 33
illustrates another hani in its entirety. This one is
5 feet 10J inches long, and is ornamented with a tuft
Fig. 32.— Head of Hani, or Chief's Staff of Office.
of feathers and dogs' hair, bound on with blue worsted,
below the head. The tongue is carved with the same
pattern as the last, but the eyeballs in this case are
painted red. The shaft of the hani is usually
plain, but is occasionally entirely covered with one of
NEW ZEALAND
57
the beautiful carved patterns in which the Maoris
delighted, and which are far more artistic than any
ornamentation produced in the other Pacific islands.
These designs are mostly of the curve, coil, and spiral
p IG 22- — Hani and Tewha-Tewha.
order, and are supposed to have been executed with
nothing more effective than a sharp stone, shell, or
shark's tooth. The protruding tongue, as an emblem
of defiance, is found on a great number of Maori
58 NEW ZEALAND
carvings, and its special significance on the hani is
that the act of pointing the staff towards an enemy
was supposed to convey a deadly insult.
The prices of specimens range from 15s. to 30s.
for those with plain shafts, but any unusual feature,
such as a carved shaft, would increase the value.
The other object sketched in Fig. 33 was a favourite
Maori weapon known as a tewha-tewha. It is made
from a single piece of heavy wood, and has a blade
projecting at right angles from one end, roughly
resembling an axe-head, but with the lower corner
rounded off. The curved edge is not, however, the
one used in action, this being upon the opposite side
of the head, below the sharp angle at the top. The
other extremity is pointed, and some way above the
point is carved a grotesque face with slanting eyes,
and open mouth surrounding the shaft, so that the
end of the weapon may be taken to represent its
tongue. At the base of the projecting part is bored
a hole for the attachment of a tuft of feathers. Total
length, 4 feet 6 inches.
The tewha-tewha as a weapon is quite unique, as
it combined the functions of a club, quarter-staff, and
spear. It was held horizontally in both hands, and
whirled about until an opportunity occurred of either
getting in a blow from the edged back of the projecting
head or a stab from the spear-like end, the object of
the tuft of feathers being to confuse the enemy. Some
specimens are minus this tuft, and the proportions of
NEW ZEALAND
59
head and shaft are very variable. This weapon is
comparatively common, and 15s. should buy a very
good example.
Much rarer is the beautiful carved axe-haft, details
Fig. 34. — Designs on Haft of Maori Battle-Axe.
of which are represented in Fig. 34. This was
specially made for use with one of the trade axe-heads
which early voyagers bartered with the natives, and
which the warlike Maoris mounted as battle-axes. It
6o NEW ZEALAND
is 4 feet 5 inches long, of oval section, keeled front
and back, and has a slight curve backwards. Down
to 14^ inches from the pointed butt it is entirely
covered with zigzag and slanting designs, divided by
horizontal bands, the lower part of the carved portion
ending with a conventional head ( ? the God of
Defiance), as upon the tewha-tewha, the pointed butt
forming its tongue. At the top a flat piece is cut to
fit into the European axe-head, above three crescent-
shaped bands on each side, ornamented with spirals.
This fine specimen is in my own collection, and is
probably worth £2 or so.
The spear among the Maoris went out of use as a
weapon a very long time ago, but was afterwards
sometimes made as an emblem of hospitality. I once
possessed a specimen with a plain barbless point and
of no great length, its only decoration being a pair of
slanting eyes and vague suggestions of the usual face,
carved round the lower part of the shaft. Good
specimens of Maori spears are now very rare and fetch
high prices.
Maori Walking-Sticks
The Maori seems to have been fond of carrying a
carved stick (the toko-toko), and most of these are
very quaint. Some represent figures of men or gods,
single or in pairs, cut out at intervals, and the least
ornate have some interesting subject, such as a face,
if not an entire figure, carved on the handle. I have
NEW ZEALAND
61
drawn in Fig. 35 two views of an old Maori walking-
stick given to me, about 1881, by a friend who had
brought it from New Zealand. It will be seen that it
has a crook handle terminating in a head with disc-
shaped eyes — possibly the head of some bird, as it
Fig. 35.— Handle of Old Maori Walking-Stick.
seems to have a beak and is distinctly owl-like when
viewed from the front. The handle rises from the
head of a nude Maori (or one of the Maori gods),
who sits cross-legged, raising his right hand to his
mouth and concealing his meri, grasped in the left
hand, behind his back. This attitude probably has
62
NEW ZEALAND
some special significance, as there is more in most
Maori carvings than meets the eye. The lower part
of the stick, which is 33 J inches long, is quite plain,
the wood of a rich brown colour.
Fig. 36. — Faces carved on Head of Old Maori Walking-Stick, and
Design on Shaft.
Fig. 36 gives another type, having a four-sided
handle of ovate form. On what may be called the
front and back are boldly cut the two faces repre-
sented, each with an open mouth showing the tongue,
but differing in the moko, or tattooing, on the fore-
head, though the series of tattooed lines round the
mouth are much the same. The sides of the handle
NEW ZEALAND 63
are ornamented respectively with a bold spiral and a
design of three horizontal bands each of three stripes,
with vertical ridges between the bands (a pattern
previously noted in the case of the haft of a Maori
battle-axe) . The peculiarity of this handle is that the
stick issues from the top of the double-faced head,
which is therefore upside-down when the stick is held
handle upwards. About two-thirds of the way down,
the shaft is surrounded by the carved head of a weird
monster with saucer-shaped eyes and eight large teeth
in the upper jaw, but the butt does not issue from the
mouth, as in weapons previously described. This
stick is exactly the same length as the other one, and
is a very old one. I have not drawn it in its entirety,
as the parts not shown are unornamented.
EASTER ISLAND
Few of the small Pacific islands have aroused more
attention than Rapa Nui (Waihu), or Easter Island,
which is a lonely volcanic isle only 47 square miles in
area, lying nearly half way between the Low Archi-
pelago in Polynesia and the coast of Chile, to which
country it belongs. It is chiefly interesting on account
of the enormous stone statues, relics of a bygone race,
which were set up on terraces over the sea, and which
have been a standing puzzle to antiquaries — an ethno-
graphical expedition going out there not long ago . This
island was discovered on Easter Day, 1722 (hence its
name) , and was then fairly densely populated ; but by
1882 there were only 150 of the natives left, the
decrease being mainly due to polyandry and emigration.
In the old days a few clubs were brought home from
this out-of-the-way locality, as the natives then made
weapons, probably for intertribal warfare ; but it would
appear that nothing of the sort has been manufactured
there for a very long time, so Easter Island weapons
are now of the highest degree of rarity. Many years
ago I was lucky enough to pick up, at quite a moderate
price, the fine example of a club shown in Fig. 37. It
64
EASTER ISLAND
65
is 53 inches long, the end somewhat oar-shaped, and is
made from a heavy dark-brown wood. The handle
terminates in a human janiform head, strongly suggest-
ing the heads carved on a type of paddle-shaped war-
club from Bouka, in the Solomons, but is of much
Fig. 37.— A Rare War-Club from Easter Island (Rapa Nui).
better workmanship. The two faces are identical, with
overhanging brows and rather long noses, and with
curious bands passing from the outer ends of the eyes
over the ears. The eyes were originally filled with
obsidian (volcanic glass), but in my specimen (other-
wise quite perfect) this has disappeared. At the Exeter
5
66 EASTER ISLAND
Museum there is a smaller specimen with the obsidian
discs remaining in the eyes ; otherwise it is similar in all
respects to mine. Some collectors call these objects
"staves," but I think that there is no doubt that they
are clubs, the blade being bluntly edged towards the
end, as in the Solomon Islanders' weapons of almost
the same shape. There cannot be many specimens in
this country outside the large museums.
MARQUESAS ISLANDS
The natives of the Marquesas Islands use clubs,
spears, and slings. The most distinctive club is of
considerable size, made from a heavy dark wood,
almost black. The head spreads out and is carved in
front with the suggestion of a face, the pupils of the
goggle eyes, and also the nose, taking the form of
small human faces, carved in relief. There is a pro-
jection on each side, in line with the nose, and the
neck is ornamented with well-executed carved patterns.
These clubs are of considerable value and rarity, and
the wood is said to have been hardened by being buried
in mud for a considerable time. Another Marquesan
club is very long, with an ovate head.
67
AUSTRAL (TUBUAI) ISLANDS
Granting that the New Zealanders were the most
artistic carvers in the South Seas, the second place
should be given to the natives of the Austral Islands,
or, at any rate, to those of the island called Raivavai
(marked Vavitu or Vavitao on most atlases), locally
known to traders as High Island. The carving of these
natives is perhaps more meticulously executed than that
of the Maoris, but it has not the same originality, and
shows nothing to equal the beautiful spiral and flowing
designs, often pierced or in high relief, of the old
New Zealanders. The Raivavai Islanders' carving is,
however, very effective, consisting of numerous geo-
metrical patterns usually covering every inch of the
object decorated, and most accurately drawn, though,
as a rule, in fairly low relief. It is, in fact, a kind of
chip carving except on the handle-ends of paddles and
some other objects, where deep work is quite success-
fully executed, and, considering that the designs on the
older articles were cut before the introduction of steel
or iron tools, their accuracy and finish are simply
wonderful.
The finest work is found on the decorative paddles,*
° Formerly attributed to the Hervey (or Cook's) Islands.
68
AUSTRAL (TUBUAI) ISLANDS 69
Fig. 38. — Official Paddle from Raivavai (High Island) in the
Austral (Tubuai) Group.
Fig. 3 9. — Rubbing from Centre of Paddle- Blade from Raivavai.
AUSTRAL (TUBUAI) ISLANDS 71
one of which I have drawn in Fig. 38, giving the
terminal of the shaft on a larger scale, and in Fig. 39
the patterns carved about the middle of the convex side
of the blade. These so-called paddles were not intended
for use in the canoes, but are said to have been carried
by chiefs as an emblem of authority, just as the Maori
chiefs carried the hani. They are sometimes labelled
as paddle-shaped clubs, but the blades are too thin and
fragile for anything more than temporary use as
weapons. This specimen is a trifle over 4 feet 1 inch
in length, and is of the typical pattern. The side of
the blade shown is convex (almost running to a broad
rounded ridge down the middle) and the reverse side is
slightly concave. Both sides of the blade are divided
into vertical bands, each filled in with a varying pattern,
and the convex one has a broad ornamental border.
The shaft is round, entirely covered with the same style
of design, but ends like the spreading capital of a
column, surrounded by six faces (all the same) with
owl-like eyes. These faces represent, I believe, the
principal native god, but in this I am open to cor-
rection. Some of these "paddles" have a squared
shaft, and a rectangular flat terminal sometimes takes
the place of the capital-shaped type. Some twenty
years ago specimens were fairly common in this
country, but are now becoming rare, and their value
rising. Quite recently one was sold by auction in
London for £1 6s. ; but I have lately purchased one
for £1 from a provincial dealer. It closely resembles
72 AUSTRAL (TUBUAI) ISLANDS
the example figured, but is larger, measuring 56 inches
in length, and the shaft is of an oval section, the
blade being quite flat on one side. The carved pat-
terns are much the same as before, and there are nine
faces (three or four unfortunately broken) round the
terminal, which has a circular design at the end.
HERVEY (OR COOK'S) ISLANDS
The Hervey Islanders used spears, slings, and clubs,
but specimens of the last are conspicuous by their
absence, even in most of the big collections, and the
reference works I have consulted give no illustrations
of them. Many axes and adzes have, however, been
brought home, including a limited number of the curious
memorial adzes (see Fig. 40) of which I am fortunate
to possess a specimen. These puzzled collectors for
a long time because their enormous deeply-carved
hafts render them obviously useless as either weapons
or tools, and it was supposed (even by the late
Rev. J. G. Wood) that they were produced merely as
examples of the carver's skill, until their true object
was discovered. It would appear that when a Man-
gaian died (these adzes mostly come from Mangaia)
his relatives removed the stone head of his working
adze and refitted it to a specially carved haft of the
conventional type illustrated, to hang up as a memorial
to the deceased, its head never to be used again in
canoe making. Sargeaunt (in "Weapons," Plate 2,
No. 3) figures a specimen with a squared haft and
describes it as a "long war hatchet," but it is plain
73
74 HERVEY (OR COOK'S) ISLANDS
that the sharp edges of its thick handle would injure
the hands of any one trying to strike with it. The
haft of my example is 9 inches in circumference and
30^ inches in length. It may be called octagonal in
section, and is divided into eight columns, each cross
cut into 34 repetitions of a figure like an X with an I in
Fig. 40. — Memorial Stone-headed Adze (with portion of the haft
on a larger scale), Mangaia.
the middle (see Fig. 40), in high relief. This design
is said to be a degraded and conventionalized repre-
sentation of a god or man standing with his legs apart
and arms extended, but I do not know upon what
evidence. The head of the adze is of diorite, attached
to the haft by most elaborate cross bindings of sennit
HERVEY (OR COOK'S) ISLANDS 75
(spelt sinnet by Wood), which is a kind of flat string
plaited from the finer fibres of the coconut. These
memorial adzes are now of considerable rarity, a good
specimen being worth several pounds.
Fig. 41.— Spear-Paddle converted into War-Club (?), Mangaia.
The puzzling object shown in Fig. 41 is of a greenish-
brown polished wood, and is 4 feet 11J inches long.
The shape is Samoan, but the ornament on the shaft is
distinctive of Mangaia, in the Hervey Islands. Nobody
seems to know of any club quite like it, but it has been
76 HERVEY (OR COOK'S) ISLANDS
suggested that it may have been cut down from one of
the spear-shaped paddles (or paddle-shaped spears)
from Mangaia, which have the same ornament on the
shaft. These objects have a diamond-shaped blade
running to an acute point, and if one were to be cut
across below the widest part of the blade, and the
butt-end somewhat shortened, the remainder would be
formed like my specimen. Possibly, having broken the
blade of his long paddle, some ingenious islander
carried out the alteration indicated ; but there seems to
be no reason why the Mangaians should not have
designed clubs of this pattern (suggested by the Ton-
gan and Samoan examples) and reproduced thereon
the ornamentation familiar on their spear-paddles.
TONGA AND SAMOA
The war-clubs made at Tonga (Friendly Islands) and
Samoa (Navigators' Islands) are usually difficult, and
sometimes almost impossible, to distinguish. This is
mainly due to the intercommunication between the
groups, as weapons either traded from distant islands
or taken in marine encounters or raids were commonly
used, and it by no means follows that because a weapon
was procured at a certain island it was of local manu-
facture. This is responsible for many errors in the few
published works dealing with South Sea ethnography,
and even in Wood's valuable "Natural History of
Man" a club of a well-known Marquesas pattern is
figured as Samoan, at least one from Samoa as Fijian,
and one from New Britain as Tongan. The same sort
of mistake is likely to be made by any one attempting
to write on the subject, and even our large museums
have frequently to alter their labels as old attributions
are corrected.
The two clubs drawn in Fig. 42 are almost certainly
from Tonga, as they are of types figured as Tongan
in the handbook of the ethnographical collection in the
British Museum. No. 1 is 43^ inches long, and cut
77
78
TONGA AND SAMOA
from a piece of light coloured wood of no great thick-
ness. It is double-edged, and terminates in an
obtusely-pointed head, almost leaf-shaped, with
doubly arched base below which are six projecting
bands, the head, blade, and bands all having a some-
what elongated diamond-shaped section. No. 2 is of
Fig. 42.— Clubs with Transverse Bands, Tonga.
a darker wood, and spreads out to a head, the top
of which rises slightly from the centre to the sharp
corners, and is surrounded by a projecting grooved
band with three similar bands at intervals underneath.
The length is 41 inches, and at the end of the butt
is a flat curved projection, pierced for a cord (a feature
found on many clubs from Samoa, and once considered
TONGA AND SAMOA 79
almost distinctive of clubs from that group). This
projection may be also seen in No. i of Fig. 43, though
I attribute this club to Tonga, on account of the carved
patterns (see Fig. 44) with which the head is covered,
one of these patterns being identical with the Fijian
zigzag divided by bands, and so suggesting that the
Fig. 43. — (1) Probably from Tonga. (2) From Samoa.
weapon comes from some island nearer to Fiji than is
Samoa. The existence of other Tongan specimens
of the same shape, the carving on which is still more
strikingly of the Fijian character, supports this attri-
bution, though the club resembles a Samoan type in
general outline. This specimen is 24-^ inches long,
and thicker in the middle than the longer clubs already
described.
8o
TONGA AND SAMOA
The mace-like club shown in the same figure is
2 inches shorter, made from a heavy wood of light
colour, and with the head cut into a series of sharp
spikes. This also has the pierced addition to the butt,
and I think is likely to be Samoan rather than Tongan,
owing to its affinity to the larger clubs with serrated
Fig. 44.— Carved Patterns on Club (1) of Fig. 43.
heads now assigned to Samoa. Another type, un-
doubtedly from Samoa, is of a flattish form with cross
ridges at the base of the head, these joining medial
ridges running to an obtuse point, the edges curving
outwards from the point, but recurving above the cross
ridges where the blade widens again.
NIUE, OR SAVAGE ISLAND
Niu£ is a small island, only about thirty miles in cir-
cumference, lying not far south of Samoa, and was
named Savage Island by Cook, from the fact that the
natives killed all strangers landing, out of fear that they
might introduce disease.
In their intertribal wars the Niueans used clubs and
bows, and also balls made of stalagmite, which were
thrown by hand ; but the only weapons from the island
likely to be now obtainable are spears, which were
made in great variety of type and pattern.
The curious object reproduced in Fig. 45 is usually
described as a spear, though it seems much better
adapted for use as a canoe-paddle or steering-oar.
It is 7 feet 5 inches in length, and has a spreading
blade with tapering end, not pointed, and hardly strong
enough to serve as a thrusting weapon of any reliability.
Still, these objects would not be called spears by most
of the authorities unless some evidence supported this
title, and it is probable that they were used as spears
in cases of emergency, though primarily designed as
paddles. This specimen is beautifully made from wood
of a rich brown colour, and has a sharp ridge running
81 6
J
82 Niu£, OR SAVAGE ISLAND
up the middle of the blade on both faces, the butt
being pointed, with a collar on the rounded shaft.
Fig. 46 represents the head and central ornament
: &CCTION
CO LIAR.
m
Fig. 45. — Spear or Spear-shaped Paddle, Niue (Savage Island).
of what is undoubtedly a war spear. This is 8 feet
7 inches long, carved from a piece of heavy, dark
brown wood with black cloudings, polished. The head
is tapering, armed with twelve pairs of barbs (less one
NIU£, OR SAVAGE ISLAND
83
Fig. 46. — War Spear, Niue
(Savage Island).
Fig. 47. — Spear with Prongs of
Sago - Palm, Niue (Savage
Island).
NIU£, OR SAVAGE ISLAND 85
barb missing), the section at this part being diamond-
shaped, under which it is rounded and then hexagonal
to a point 3 feet 8^ inches from the tip, where there is
a slightly projecting carved zigzag band making six
acute angles. The lower part of the shaft is rounded,
tapering to the butt-end.
The two-pronged spear shown in Fig. 47 may pos-
sibly be a weapon, but is more suggestive of a fishing-
implement. The prongs are made from the black wood
of the Sago-palm (frequently used for spears of this
island), and are curiously serrated, one of them with
barbs running in opposite directions. They are lashed
to a rounded shaft of light wood by means of fibre
string, but the original length of the shaft is uncertain,
as it has unfortunately been shortened, probably to
facilitate packing.
FIJI
Fijian clubs are probably more frequently seen in the
curio shops than any others from Oceania, so the
number of old specimens brought home must have been
very large, to say nothing of modern examples carved
by the natives for sale to visitors. The Fijian clubs
are usually of a very imposing appearance, looking
remarkably well as wall trophies, and there are many
different patterns, though the lines of certain types are
rarely departed from, and the carved pattern with which
the handles and other parts are decorated is in most
cases a series of zigzags between parallel bands which
are arranged vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
Three types of club (shown in Fig. 48) are made
from a certain small hard-wooded tree which has a
strong tap-root and numerous smaller roots diverging
from a woody mass of bulbous form, these lower parts
being admirably adapted for fashioning into a club-
head of a knobby or spiky order. In Fig. 48, No. 1,
we see a straight weapon of almost classical shape,
suggesting the club of Hercules, made from the stem
and roots of the tree in question, the tap-root having
been cut to form a flat-ended terminal for the head,
86
FIJI 8 7
and the other roots rounded into knobs. This beautiful
specimen is 3 feet 9 inches long, and very heavy. The
lower portion of the butt is surrounded to the length
of 9 inches by a carved pattern of zigzags in vertical
Fig. 48. — Clubs made from Stems and Roots of Trees, Fiji.
bands, and a blemishing cavity in the shaft has been
beautifully filled in with some kind of cement. This
particular type must be rare, for I have never come
across any example except the one figured, which I
88 FIJI
bought some thirty years ago. Usually the head of
the club is turned at right angles to the shaft, as in
Nos. 2 and 3, the roots round the bulbous part being
trimmed into bands of sharp teeth, and the tap-root
formed into a terminal spike.
This sort of club was called a toko, and as the grain
follows the bend (for otherwise the spike would soon
break off) the method of construction seems rather
puzzling, though the explanation is simple. When
sufficiently young to be quite pliant the tree was bent
over and pegged to the ground, afterwards growing
at the desired angle to its root until large enough to
dig up to form a club. These tokos must have there-
fore taken some years in the making, and might be con-
sidered specially valuable on that account, but this is
not the case, as they are among the commonest of
Fijian weapons. No. 2 measures 3 feet i\ inches in a
line drawn from the tip of the spike to the butt, and is
undecorated. No. 3 measures 2 feet 11 inches, and is
ornamented with three equidistant diminishing strips
of zigzag pattern running up the spike, and the same
pattern in slanting and vertical bands is carved round
the handle to a length of 9I inches, and even on the
butt-end. Nos. 4 and 5 represent varieties of a smaller
club, called ula, used as a missile as well as at close
quarters. These are made from the same sort of tree
as the others, though at a younger stage of growth,
and the root in one case is deeply divided into lobes
or flutings, and in the other is fashioned into a more
\S
FIJI
89
or less solid ball. No. 4 is 1 foot 5 J inches long, and
No. 5 1 foot 4! inches. The handles are carved with
the usual pattern, and that of No. 4 is pierced for
a cord near the butt-end. This is slightly cupped,
and more deeply so in the other specimen.
A common Fiji club has a flat double-edged blade
spreading out to an arc at the end and with a medial ridge
Fig. 49. — Clubs with Spreading Heads, Fiji.
on each side ; the shaft of diamond-shaped section with
edges rounded off. Two specimens appear in Fig. 49,
one plain and the other carved on the spreading part
with the characteristic patterns, the designs being in
compartments, some containing zigzags in partly folded
bands. The undecorated specimen is lighter and
slenderer, the handle terminating in a diamond-shaped
projection. Length 3 feet ; the other is 2 feet 9 \ inches
9Q FIJI
long. In another and rarer form the blade is lengthened
above the angles, curving in again and rising to an
obtuse point, making the club paddle-shaped. Some
of these paddle-shaped clubs are of great width and
very heavy, lavishly decorated with carved designs.
The club on the right of Fig. 50 is rather difficult
Fig. 50.— Clubs cut from Branches, Fiji'
to describe, the top being something like a short boot
with an exaggerated heel, which has a ridge down the
middle. The weapon is curved, and the head is bluntly
edged on the inner curve, this part being artistically
carved, apparently in imitation of bark. The shaft is of
circular section and terminates with a projection at the
FIJI 91
butt. Total length 3 feet if inches. I take it that this
club was made from an upwardly curving branch, and
that a small portion of the trunk, at its junction with the
branch, was cut out to form the head. The other
specimen seems to be cut from a forked bough, and
there is not a quarter of an inch on any part of it
(excepting only the butt-end) undecorated with the
usual pattern. There is a ridge at the bifurcation and
another at the end of the projecting head, the total
length being 3 feet 1 inch. This is a rare type, and
worth £1 or more.
The next illustration (Fig. 51) shows three clubs of
truncheon shape, all more or less cylindrical. No. 1 is
4 feet 2 \ inches long, and has a rounded head and
cupped butt-end. To nearly half way from the head
it is covered with zigzag and other patterns executed
in circular punctures — an unusual mode of decoration.
No. 2 is ornamented with a spiral band of three
grooves, starting from the upper part of the rudely-
decorated handle and ending at the top, which is flat,
the butt-end being cupped. Length 3 feet 10 inches.
No. 3 is 3 feet long, with top and butt-end both flat ;
handle nicely carved with the zigzag pattern. Repre-
sentations of faces, etc., are almost unknown on Fijian
clubs, but one at Exeter ends in the head of some
flat-faced animal, roughly but effectively carved.
In Fig. 52 is given the upper part of a Fijian club
of a type already described, but decorated with a
pattern which might be called "nail-head." The
9 2
FIJI
spears of Fiji are often of great length, and are usually
barbed, a favourite material for the point and barbs
being the sharp tail-bone of the sting-ray, which breaks
off in a wound, causing great agony. Wood tells us
Fig. 51. — Cylindrical Clubs,
Fiji.
Fig. 52. — Upper Part of Heavy
Fijian War Club.
that, "Other barbs are made of a wood which has
the properties of swelling up when moistened, and
bursting in the wound, so that it can hardly be ex-
tracted ' ' ; but many Fijian spears have less objection-
able barbs, merely cut out of the wood forming the
FIJI
93
shaft. I have a specimen, attributed to these islands,
which has no barbs at all. It is 10 feet in length,
with a plain point of round section, and is probably
made from some variety of palm-wood. At the place
II
Fig. 53. — Canoe Paddle, attributed to Fiji.
where it would be grasped is a broad band of coconut
sennit, ornamentally laid on to give a better grip.
Spears with multiple points are not uncommon, but
these are said to be used for spearing fish.
The paddle sketched in Fig. 53 is assigned to Fiji
94 FIJI
by an authority consulted, but is of a pattern also used
in other groups. It is 4 feet 3! inches long, cut from
a heavy wood of very dark colour, one face of the
blade being quite flat and the other almost so. There
is no decoration of any kind, and the pattern is a simple
and practical one for canoe work. South Sea paddles
are less often brought home than weapons, so are rare
here, though not consequently of high price, weapons
being in greater demand.
GILBERT ISLANDS
The Gilberts consist of about sixteen coral atolls and
two hilly islands, lying at the eastern extremity of
Micronesia, the group being bisected by the equator.
Some of these islands, if not all of them, were formerly
called the Kingsmill Islands ; but this name seems to
have entirely gone out of use, modern maps marking
the group " Gilbert Islands," after Gilbert who, with
Marshall, discovered them in 1788.
The Gilbert islanders of the old days were extremely
limited as to materials from which to make weapons,
as coral islets grow few trees except coco-palms, and
furnish no stones suitable for spear-heads or axe-blades .
The natives therefore had to make the best of what was
available, so long ago hit on the idea of using the teeth
of the. sharks infesting their waters wherewith to edge
the spears, swords, and knives, which could be made
from the palm or other wood procurable, the fibre from
the coconut, converted into the string called sinnet (or
sennit), as also strips cut from the rib of the palm-leaf,
serving to bind on the teeth and keep them in position.
The result was the evolving of very curious weapons
of types not found elsewhere, these being evidently
95
96
/
GILBERT ISLANDS
intended for cutting rather than stabbing, and capable
of inflicting most painful wounds, though hardly likely
to kill immediately.
Fig. 54.
-Four-bladcd Weapon edged with Shark's Teeth,
Gilbert Islands.
Clubs and bows appear to have been unknown, and
all the weapons from the Gilberts seem to be of the
same class — edged with sharks' teeth and varying
but little in the method of manufacture. The strangest
is perhaps the object drawn in Fig. 54, which might
be described as a short, four-bladed sword. This is
GILBERT ISLANDS 97
made of palm- wood, and is 1 foot 8f inches in length,
the straight portion being of round section, tapering
to a point, and armed above the handle with four rows
of sharks' teeth ; two of these rows being originally of
twenty-five teeth, alternating with two shorter rows
of eighteen teeth. On one side, just above the handle,
is an auxiliary curved blade, 10^ inches long, with
sixteen teeth on each edge, opposite twin blades of the
same pattern, with respectively thirteen and fourteen
teeth on each edge. The twin blades are about an
inch apart at all points, and all three auxiliary blades
are lashed on with coconut sennit. The total number
of teeth was 172, each tooth pierced with a hole near
the middle, through which the sennit, which passes
round the wood, binds on the teeth in pairs or fours.
The teeth are kept in position by double strips of
leaf -rib, these strips being ingeniously secured with
the same sennit binding, and there is a black binding,
for ornament, at intervals. The extremities are un-
armed and not sharply pointed, so that the weapon
could be only serviceable for slashing or sawing.
The next illustration (Fig. 55) is of a long sword,
measuring over 3 feet 6 inches, with a portion on a
larger scale. It is of a light-coloured wood, and
originally had 45 teeth on each edge, bound on in the
same manner as before described. Below the teeth
there is an ornamental band of strips of palm-leaf
plaited with sennit, giving a checkered effect, this
band covering the ends of the four leaf-rib strips that
98 GILBERT ISLANDS
secure the teeth. The handle terminates in a pro-
jecting cone, like the four-bladed weapon. In the
same figure appears a curved knife, i foot long, of
similar make to the sword.
Fig. 56 illustrates a knife of a stronger and simpler
pattern, probably from some island of this group.
Here there are no strips to keep the teeth in a line,
but a groove for their reception is cut in each edge,
and there is a separate binding for each tooth, the
sennit passing through a hole in the blade. There
are ten such holes down one side and thirteen on the
other, but the two lower ones have no teeth attached,
as otherwise the hand grasping the handle would be
wounded, and they were apparently pierced in error.
It is rather like the tooth-edged knives, said to be
used for cutting up human flesh at cannibal feasts,
which come from other Pacific islands ; but the
Gilbert islanders, although once addicted to tasting
the flesh of dead enemies to gratify revenge or from
superstitious motives, never adopted cannibalism as
a regular practice. Long lances, of the same pattern
as the sword of Fig. 55, also come from these islands,
some having cross pieces, armed with the usual teeth,
at intervals.
GILBERT ISLANDS
99
Fig. 55. — Sword and Curved
Knife, Gilbert Islands.
Fig. 56.— Knife, Gilbert
Islands (?).
NEW CALEDONIA
Clubs from New Caledonia are considerably rarer in
this country than those from Fiji, and are less often
met with than specimens from the Solomon Islands.
They may usually be distinguished by a swell at the
butt-end — the last few inches of the handle is of
slightly greater diameter than the rest of the shaft,
this thicker part ending in a narrow squared shoulder.
The specimens I have had opportunities of examining
mostly come under either the bird -headed or the
mushroom - headed class, the former often more or
less resembling the beaked club of south-eastern
Australia, known as the leowal or malga. The finest
examples, however, show that the beaked head is
unquestionably intended for that of a bird, as its eyes
are carved in relief, though whether they represent
some particular bird of the island or are merely fanciful
I cannot say.
Fig. 57, No. i, shows a typical example which one
would say was intended for some kind of heron or
pelican. It has a very sharp beak, protruding eyes,
and what may be meant for a crest or plume falling
over the back of the head. The wood is heavy and
io2 NEW CALEDONIA
of a rich brown, taking a high polish. Length
34 \ inches. In 19 14 my eldest son was conducting
an ethnographical and biological expedition round New
Caledonia, and he told me on his return that such
a specimen was now quite unobtainable on the island.
I bought this one some thirty years ago, and the type
is represented in our public collections. The smaller
bird-headed club shown in the same figure is sketched
from a specimen in the Exeter Museum. The beak
in this case is of a different shape, possibly indicating
some other kind of bird, and there is no falling plume
behind the head. The handle is decorated with loops
of coconut sennit.
In Fig. 58 are shown two New Caledonian clubs of
the other type, both in my own collection. No. 1 is
33 inches in length, slightly curved, and made from
some black wood, highly polished. The head is some-
thing like a hat with a pointed crown, and is brought to
an edge before and behind. The swelling part under the
brim is decorated with numerous incised herring-boned
bands, and the butt-end has the characteristic swell.
No. 2 has a head of mushroom shape, indented on one
side. It is nearly straight ; 26 inches long. Round
the shaft is a short binding of some white material
(? flax) ; butt-end as the last; heavy brown wood,
unpolished.
NEW CALEDONIA
103
Fig. 57. — Bird-headed Clubs,
New Caledonia.
Fig. 58. — Mushroom-headed
Clubs, New Caledonia.
NEW HEBRIDES
The New Hebrides will be found at the eastern end
of Melanesia, lying W. of Fiji and N.E. of New
Caledonia. They consist of about thirty islands,
some of volcanic and others of coral formation, the
larger being Espiritu Santo, Mallicolo, Erromango,
Vate, and Ambrym. Clubs from these islands are
comparatively rare, and the specimens drawn in
Fig. 59 are the only ones I have been able to pro-
cure, though our museums contain several other
patterns.
The larger club in Fig. 59 appears to be the favourite
type on several of the islands. The head is double-
edged, the edges curving inwards, and has a sharp
projecting blade in the middle on each side, terminating
not quite half-way up, the edges of these blades also
curving inwards so that the pair form a head of the
same shape as the principal head, but at right-angles
to it. The shaft is rounded, and terminates in a pro-
jecting ornament carved with a zigzag pattern. The
wood is heavy and of a rich brown colour ; length
42^ inches. The lighter club is 39^ inches long, and
has a small mushroom-shaped head. It tapers towards
105
io6
NEW HEBRIDES
the butt, but swells out into a rim a few inches from
the terminal, which ends in a cone. In another pattern
the rim of the mushroom-shaped head is cut into points,
Fig. 59. — Clubs from New Hebrides.
making it suggestive of a star, and the butt-end of
many specimens terminates in a circular projection
carved with a pattern on the exposed face.
NEW HEBRIDES 107
Bows and Arrows
The natives of the New Hebrides also use bows and
arrows, and the following specimens in my collection
have been assigned to some part of the group. Bow,
6 feet \ inch long, of tough brown wood. Down the
side forming the outer curve runs a hollow, widest at
the middle, suggesting that the weapon was cut longi-
tudinally from the half of the stem of some kind of
palm (or, less probably, reed) of tubular growth, or
with a soft core. The ends of the bow are round and
tapering, with shoulders swelling out to prevent the
string from slipping, projecting lips being cut in a
slanting direction towards these shoulders from the
ends of the medial groove. The inner side is rounded
and smoothed, the workmanship being excellent
throughout. Arrow, 33^ inches in length, with shaft
made from a slender reed, unnotched and without
feathers ; bound at both ends with fibre. The head
and foreshaft are cut from a black wood, the former
angular with a pair of barbs, below which, on a four-
sided neck, are forty minute barbs arranged in fours at
the corners. This arrow may possibly have been in-
tended for shooting birds, as it seems to be too light
for an effective war weapon. The barblets are beauti-
fully cut, and much trouble must have been expended
on its manufacture.
SANTA CRUZ (QUEEN CHARLOTTE
ISLANDS)
A BOW, attributed to the Santa Cruz Islands, Mela-
nesia, is a very powerful weapon, 6 feet g\ inches long,
almost straight when unstrung. It is made of a brown
wood, its peculiarity being that on the outer side are
two elongated hollows, united by a fine cleft passing
down the centre, these being apparently artificial,
perhaps to give more elasticity. At each end is a
peg-like terminal, over which the loops of the bow-
string would pass, one of them being encircled by a
narrow band of sennit. The inner side of this bow is
rounded and it has blunt edges.
108
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
The Solomon Islands lie in Melanesia between New
Guinea and the New Hebrides, and, before the War,
were partly British and partly German, but now are all
British. The islanders have always had a bad name
for treachery and ferocity, and are apparently still
cannibals. They use clubs, spears, bows and arrows,
and many of their clubs are extremely curious. Fig. 60
is from a paddle-shaped club, or wooden sword, made
from the heavy and beautifully striated wood of the
coco-palm. It is 4 feet in length and flattish, double-
edged, and spreading out towards the extremity. The
handle ends in the double-faced head of a man or god
with enormous circular eyes, the features being incised.
The part where the grip should be is cut into a series
of teeth which would make it very unpleasant to grasp,
and the middle of this portion is ornamented on both
surfaces with carving, the designs on the side shown
comprising concentric squares and that on the opposite
face a kind of diamond pattern. This weapon probably
came from Bouka (or Buka), one of the ex-German
islands on the western extremity of the group. It
should be worth £1 nowadays.
109
no
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
A still stranger club, attributed to the same island,
appears in Fig. 61 , which gives two views of the carved
portion. In this case the faces of the janiform head
stand out, divided by a spreading head-dress ( ?) sug-
gestive of a halo, which has an obtuse point at the
Fig. 60. — Palm-wood War-Club, Solomon Islands
(probably Bouka).
top and was seemingly more or less circular or oval
before its sides were broken off. The faces are exactly
like those on the club last described, but on this
specimen the hair, eyes, and lips are painted black,
the cheeks white, and the rest of the faces red. The
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
in
Fig. 6i. — Upper Part of Paddle-
shaped Club, probably from Bouka.
t
Fig. 62. — Club and
" Dance-Stick " from
Solomon Islands (the
latter probably from
Bouka).
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS 113
dividing halo was white with a red border, and the
carved designs on the flattish surface below the head
are black and red, being geometrical, composed of
a number of squares and triangles increasing in size
from a common centre, the same on both sides of the
club. The blade is distinctly paddle-shaped towards
the end, its broadest part measuring over 6\ inches.
The wood is reddish-brown, unpolished, and rather
rough; total length, 4 feet. This weapon could be
used as a two-handed sword, and the type is not often
brought to this country.
Of quite a different type are the two clubs sketched
in Fig. 62. The first has a leaf -shaped head with
a medial ridge on each side, and a slightly tapering
handle ending in a projecting conical tip. It is made
from a heavy wood very dark in colour, and is 3 feet
7 inches in length. The head suggests that of a broad-
bladed spear, and would be efficient for thrusting as
well as striking. The other specimen looks like a
boomerang with a handle, but is apparently only used
in dances. The curved blade is really the conventional
representation of a fish — the handle coming out of its
mouth — as on some specimens of this shape the details
of the fish are clearly shown by carving. This one is
1 foot 6 inches long and very light in weight, so would
be almost useless as a weapon, not even being edged.
A specimen in the Exeter Museum is labelled ' ' Dance-
stick," but one would like to know exactly how the
thing is used, as one can only guess that it is for
8
ii4 THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
beating time. This pattern is found in Bouka, but
I do not know which of the islands the other club
comes from. Either specimen might be worth from
ios. to 15s.
No. 3 of Fig. 63 shows a war-club of a pattern not
uncommon in several of the Solomon Islands. Its
length is 43 \ inches, the blade gradually broadening
towards the head, which has blunt edges curving to
a point, and is 85 inch in thickness at the centre,
where a small medial ridge runs down on both faces
for a distance of 13 inches from the extremity. The
handle is broader than it is thick, and ends in a point
at the butt, with a hole pierced about an inch from
the end, under a line running across. The wood is
a hard one of a rich brown colour. The shafts of
some clubs of this shape are ornamented with bands
of grass woven in patterns.
Nos. 1 and 2 of the same figure represent the type
of spear used in Malaita and San Cristoval. No. 1 is
8 feet 10 inches long, made entirely from a piece of
the wood of the Coco-palm, prettily striped. The
head is conical, running to a slender point, with a
squared projection at the base, ornamented on two
adjacent sides with carving. Below this projection is
a yellow binding made from grass or palm-leaf strips,
fixed with pitch, and the shaft gradually tapers, and
is extremely slender at the butt-end, which is finished
off with a small conical button.
No. 2 is 9 feet 3^ inches long, made of unpolished,
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
"5
£
Fig. 63. — Spears and Club,
Solomon Islands.
Fig. 64. — Spear, Solomon Islands
(probably from San Cristoval).
THE SOLOMON ISLANDS 117
reddish palm-wood. The head is long and tapering,
of square section, armed with 25 barbs (apparently of
black wood), arranged in five bands at intervals, fixed
by a continuous fibre lashing covered with some variety
of pitch . The shaft and head are decorated in various
places with the bright yellow binding as on No. 1, the
principal band fixed with a longitudinal line of pitch.
Shaft rounded and tapering towards the butt.
Another variety, of similar fabric, appears in Fig. 64
(with principal parts on an enlarged scale), its pecu-
liarity being the swelling, marked with a pattern, below
the barbed head. The British Museum has a similar
specimen from San Cristoval, so this one may come
from that island. It has been blackened on most parts
of the head and fore-shaft, but seems to be mainly
made of Coco-palm. Length 9 feet 1^ inches.
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
The Admiralty Islands, some of which are volcanic,
lie in the northern part of the Bismarck Archipelago
(lately belonging to Germany), N.E. of New Guinea.
From them come weapons made of obsidian (a natural
volcanic glass), from which the natives quite recently
chipped knife-blades, spear-heads, etc., showing them
to be still in the Neolithic Age — hardly yet passed
away in a few remote spots where metal is difficult
to obtain.
A typical specimen of a dagger or a knife is seen
in Fig. 65. The total length is 11J inches, and the
curved obsidian blade is of triangular section, with
three very sharp edges. The hilt is of wood, running
to a point and painted with red ochre, and on each
side of it a grotesque face of triangular outline is
roughly carved within a J toothed border ; border black,
eyes and nose red, remainder of face white. The
material is very brittle, so such knives cannot last
long, though keen enough till broken. Specimens are
not scarce, fetching about 5s. each at present.
The upper part of a beautiful specimen of the ob-
sidian-headed spear of these islands is drawn in
118
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS
119
3
Fig. 65. — Obsidian Knife,
Admiralty Islands.
Fig. 66.- — Spear with Obsidian
Head, Admiralty Islands.
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS 121
Fig. 66. The head closely resembles black glass,
but shows greenish-brown towards the edges when
held up to the light. It is flaked to very sharp edges
and point, being flat on one face and with a rough
central ridge on the other. This head is fixed to a
reed shaft, some kind of gum, coloured with red ochre,
being neatly moulded round it, and forming a sym-
metrical swelling over the shaft for some inches below.
The uncovered part of the head is 5 inches long, and
the total length of the spear 49 \ inches. These spears
are rare when in perfect state, being very easily
broken. Value, from 15s.
NEW BRITAIN, NEW IRELAND, AND
ADJACENT ISLANDS
New Britain (late Neu Pommern) and New Ireland
(late Neu Mecklenburg) are large islands forming the
eastern boundary of the Bismarck Archipelago, and
revert to the names originally given to them now that
the Germans, who annexed them in 1884, are no
longer in possession.
The long club illustrated in Fig. 67 is attributed to
New Britain, and certainly either comes from that
island or from New Ireland. The Rev. J. G. Wood
figures a specimen of similar type as Tongan, but
this is a mistake, probably due to the club having
been obtained in Tonga, to which it had found its way.
My own specimen measures 47 inches in length, and
is made of a heavy dark -brown wood. The head is
of mushroom-shape, and towards the butt the weapon
spreads out again in the form of two cones, base to
base, with the space between them rounded out.
Under this part is the grip, bound with coconut sen-
nit, the butt being in the form of an inverted cone
with a terminal. The top of the head and parts of the
lower projecting portions are painted red, and below
NEW BRITAIN AND NEW IRELAND 123
the head the shaft is ornamented with a fringe made
from a number of cords of sennit on each of which is
Fig. 67.— War-Club, New Britain.
bound a group of from three to six small univalve
sea-shells with the tops knocked off. A club of this
type is rare, and is probably worth at least 30s.
THE MASSIM DISTRICT
The term " Massim district " is applied to the south-
eastern extremity of old British New Guinea, together
with the numerous islands, large and small, lying off
its coast, including the Trobriand and D'Entrecasteaux
Islands (Goodenough, Fergusson, and Normanby
islands) and the whole of the Louisiade Archipelago.
Highly interesting weapons come from this region,
but it is often almost impossible to assign them to any
particular island, or to distinguish the examples made
on the islands from those of South-Eastern New
Guinea, when the locality of origin has not been
recorded. The following specimens are probably from
some part of this extensive region, but have not as yet
been identified with any certainty, though drawings
and particulars of them have been submitted to the
leading authorities.
Fig. 68, No. i. War-club, 46 inches long, and
very heavy, widening towards the head, which is
double-edged, the section being oval elsewhere. The
handle is of a shape not usually met with in South
Sea clubs, having a narrow grip with projecting ter-
minal. The material is the wood of the Sago-palm,
which is jet black, close-grained, and takes a high
124
THE MASSIM DISTRICT
I2 5
polish on the part from the exterior of the trunk, but
is fibrous towards the interior (from the middle of
which the sago is produced) .
Fig. 68, No. 2. Spear, 7 feet 2 inches long, with
flattish head, cut into fantastic barbs on both edges.
Fig. 68. — Club and Spear made from the Black Wood of the
Sago-Palm, Melanesia (?).
It is made from a single piece of Sago-palm wood, not
very thick. It was bought with No. 1.
The five-pronged spear of Fig. 69 appears to be
a fishing implement. It is attributed to Goodenough
Island, in the D ' Entrecasteaux group, a short distance
from the northern coast of the eastern promontory of
126
THE MASSIM DISTRICT
New Guinea. In construction it suggests a broom,
five blades of Coco-palm being bound round a shaft
of whitish wood by a binding looking something like
bass, though possibly of reed-strips, and kept together
Fig. 69.— Fishing-Spear, probably rom Goodenough Island (with
two of the prongs on larger scale).
by two fibre bindings higher up. Four of these blades
or prongs have the edges alternately barbed, but the
fifth has barbs, fairly close together, on one edge
only. Shaft tapering ; length 7 feet 1 inch.
NEW GUINEA
Spears
Not counting Australia, New Guinea is the largest
island in the world, being about 320,000 square miles
in area ; and as the greater part of it has yet to be
explored, our knowledge of its weapons is confined to
the types used by the tribes on the coast, or inhabiting
such districts as have been, so far, opened up or
traversed. We can therefore identify patterns in use
in certain districts of old British New Guinea, but do
not know very much about the spears, clubs, etc.,
made by tribes in the territory given to Germany in
1884 (now no longer "Kaiser Wilhelm Land"), and
probably still less concerning those of the Dutch sec-
tion. The classification of New Guinea weapons is
therefore, at present, more or less speculative, and
many unlocalized specimens now vaguely attributed
to Polynesia or Melanesia, will probably eventually
be traced to some portion of this mysterious island.
The remarkably fine spear, partly shown in Fig. 70,
bears certain details suggesting that it comes from the
mainland of New Guinea rather than from one of its
outlying islands, but it has not yet been localized with
127
128
NEW GUINEA
any certainty. It is beautifully made from the jet-
black wood of the Sago-palm, and is 9 feet 1^ inches
long, the head being brought to an edge on one side,
where it is cut into a series of long barbs, each of the
Fig. 70. — Spear of Sago-Palm, New Guinea.
lower three forming a group with three shorter ones.
A series of ridges is carved half-way round the shaft
under the lowest barb, and the lower half of the shaft
tapers towards the butt.
The spear of which the front and side views of the
NEW GUINEA
129
head are given in Fig. 71 is attributed to the North-
East of British New Guinea, and is made from the
wood of the Coco-palm. The back of the head is
rounded, but the front cut flat, with serrations and
iM
Ml
Fig. 71.— Front and Side Views of Spear-Head, probably
from North-East British New Guinea.
barbs on the edges, and a line of decorative punctures
down the middle. The barbs are in the same style as
on the specimen last described, and this one has similar
ridges on the upper part of the shaft, suggesting a
9
i3°
NEW GUINEA
common origin. The shaft is of circular section,
tapering ; the total length 8 feet 3^ inches.
A spear in my collection, assigned to (late) German
New Guinea, is a very slender weapon of Sago-palm,
8 feet in length. As it is impossible to give a good
idea of such a spear by means of a small drawing (in
which it would appear merely as a straight line), I
11111 '""t KM— I "mi
J^ffi^C
Fig. 72. — Pattern carved on Shaft of Spear from (late) German
New Guinea.
have confined myself to reproducing a very curious
band of carving which surrounds the shaft 3 feet from
the butt-end, the design being a somewhat remarkable
example of native art (see Fig. 72). The head of the
spear runs to a fine point, with a slight knot-like pro-
jection about 11 inches below it. Being so slender,
the weapon may have been perhaps used as a missile.
NEW GUINEA 131
Arrows and Arrow-like Weapons
The Papuan tribes inhabiting New Guinea and its
adjacent islands use a great variety of arrows and
arrow-like weapons which, from their larger size, may
possibly be light throwing-spears.
Three interesting specimens from the territory
recently German are represented in Fig. 73. No. 1
is 52 inches long, with head and fore-shaft (measuring
about 1 1^ inches) made of palm-wood. The head is of
triangular section, with three barbs, and the fore-shaft
is carved with a pattern forming a band 2'i inches
broad. The fore-shaft enters an unfeathered shaft of
reed, with a plaited binding at the junction. No. 2 is
58^ inches in length, the head and fore-shaft (together
i8f inches long) being of whitish wood coloured black.
The head is slender and conical, with a swelling at the
neck, below which is some ornamental carving. The
shaft is of reed, coloured black, and the binding round
the junction with the fore-shaft is covered with some
kind of gum or pitch. No. 3 has a conical head of
palm-wood, with slight swell ; coconut sennit binding,
with lower part covered with gum ; shaft of reed.
The arrows of old British New Guinea are com-
paratively common, but are often very beautifully
made. I have a set (of which the specimens measure
from 3 feet to 3 feet 7^ inches) with heads shaped in
the form of a porcupine-quill, some made from the
wood of the Coco-palm, and others of a red-brown
132
NEW GUINEA
wood, in both cases polished, the longest head measur-
ing i foot 9 inches. They fit into knotted reed shafts,
notched but unfeathered, bound at the junction of the
head with a ring of grass, and with a broader band of
Fig. 73.— Large Arrows from (late) German New Guinea.
the same at the other end. Another set in my collec-
tion is of considerably stouter make, about 3 feet
8 inches long. The heads are of unpolished palm-
wood ; the shaft-ends unnotched and unbound. Other
specimens are ornamented with rough vertical groov-
ing at the lower part of the head, coloured red, white,
NEW GUINEA
J 33
and black, the point sometimes having a thin capping
apparently of gum, or binding covered with gum.
Stone-headed adzes are used throughout New
Guinea, but the patterns are much the same as those
made in other islands of the Pacific. Such imple-
ments are therefore often very difficult to localize in
Fig. 74. — Stone-headed Adze, attributed to the Port Moresby
District, New Guinea.
the absence of data, but the form of the beautiful
little adze drawn in Fig. 74 suggests that it comes
from the neighbourhood of Port Moresby (southern
coast of eastern New Guinea). The chisel-shaped
blade is of a hard blackish stone ( ? basalt or diorite) ,
and is attached to a haft made from a small forked
branch, by a thick plaited binding of bass or reed-
134 NEW GUINEA
strips. It will be noticed that the blade is fixed to
the shorter arm of the branch, which has been cut
off just below the fork, the longer arm (measuring
13^ inches) forming the handle. Old stone-headed
implements of this kind are now in considerable demand
and fetch high prices.
Many old war-clubs from British New Guinea have
heads of stone, perforated in the middle for the shaft
to pass through. These heads are of various forms —
globular, pebble-shaped, disc-shaped, star-shaped, or
like a pineapple — and usually have a tuft of feathers
above the stone. Specimens are not infrequently
offered at sales held by Mr. Stevens, but are seldom
seen in the curio shops, and are rather expensive when
obtainable.
The implement seen in Fig. 75 is not a club, but
a beater used in the manufacture of bark-cloth (usually
known as tapa), and is attributed to the Collingwood
Bay district (northern coast of the eastern promon-
tory). It is 19 inches long and of oval section, the
upper part of the head being cross-cut into rectangular
divisions on one of its flatter faces, which slightly
curves inwards ; this design serving to impress a pat-
tern suggesting weaving upon the soaked bark beaten
out by it in the process of felting. The black wood of
which this beater is made is that of the Sago-palm.
Fig. 76 gives two singular weapons sometimes
described as arrows. They are, however, so long and
thick that it would require a bow of uncommon strength
NEW GUINEA
135
to propel them any distance, and their elaborate
construction and the absence of any notch at the butt-
end point to the theory that they are light throwing-
spears. They are said to come from one of the
islands in Torres Straits (between North Australia and
F IG . 75.— Beater used in making Bark-Cloth, probably from
Collingwood Bay, New Guinea.
New Guinea), and are of a distinctive type. The
larger drawing shows the carved portion of an example
originally about 5 feet 4 inches long, the head measur-
ing 1 foot 6 inches. This is of some light wood, and
is pointed and barbed with a piece of bone, lashed to
the head with fibre coated with black pitch. Lower
136
NEW GUINEA
down, sixteen blunt barbs, in sets of four, carved from
the wood, over a grotesque human head and shoulders,
the barbs and figure coloured black, picked out with
white. Head fixed to reed shaft by a broad binding
tnmi
Fig. 76. — Light Spears, Torres Straits Islands.
of twisted sennit, above a narrower band similar to the
binding at the point ; shaft partly coloured black.
The total length of the other weapon is 5 feet
4^ inches. It is similar to the one described, tipped
with a slender combined point and barb of bone ; shaft
NEW GUINEA 137
black. The idol-like figures on these specimens appear
to wear a falling head-dress behind, and a kind of
cloak, both ornamented with beading. They have
open mouths, with pointed teeth, and possibly repre-
sent some local god.
PART II
AFRICA
Kaffir Tribes
The throwing and stabbing spears known as assegais
are used by all the Kaffir tribes of South Africa, as
also by other natives in that region, so that it is by
no means easy to assign most specimens to any par-
ticular tribe in the absence of data. The assegai may
be distinguished from the throwing-spear of the Gabun
and of East Africa by having a tanged head which
enters the end of the shaft and is kept in its place by
a binding or tube of hide, or by a band of plaited vege-
table fibre ; but the shape of the head is very variable,
some being leaf-shaped with plain blade and longish
fore-shaft ; others with head of ogee section, more or
less elongated and showing no fore-shaft above the
binding, or with the head formed as a spike, rounded
or four-sided (a pattern favoured by the Gaikas).
Barbs are hardly ever found except on examples of
BaSuto origin.
Assegais are of three varieties — the throwing-
assegai, used as a missile only, the stabbing-assegai,
«8
SOUTH AFRICA 139
and an intermediate type which might be used either
for throwing or thrusting. The true throwing-
assegai is a very light weapon with tapering shaft,
usually made of ' ' assegai wood ' ' (Curtisia faginea) ,
which is a brittle brown wood, soon twisting, but
capable of being easily re-straightened. A kind of
reed or bamboo is also used in some districts. The
binding, when of hide, is always applied fresh, so that
it shrinks as it dries, firmly attaching the head. It
may be made from a narrow strip, wound round, with
the ends tucked under, or be a tube-like piece skinned
from the tail of some animal, passed up the shaft,
and allowed to contract round the junction of the shaft
with the tang. Other specimens have plaited or
woven bindings of some tough vegetable material
often difficult to identify. A flat binding suggesting
bass is common, and others seem to be of wire-like
( ? grass) stems, strips of reed, etc.
In Fig. 77 we see four assegais of Zulu type.
No. 1 . Stabbing-assegai. Length just over 52^ inches.
Elongated, leaf-shaped head with medial ridges, show-
ing a thick neck § inch long above the binding, which
is of neatly woven stems or strips, and resembles
basket-work. Shaft of light-brown wood, tapering
towards the butt, where it swells out again a few
inches from the end. No. 2. Stabbing-assegai. Length
49 J inches. Elongated, leaf-shaped head, almost flat
(except towards the base) , 15^ inches long. Shaft of
light-brown wood, spreading at the butt-end. Binding
140
SOUTH AFRICA
made from a tubular piece of skin taken from the tail
of an animal ( ? cow or calf) with black hair. No 3.
Assegai of intermediate type. Length 45-g inches.
Plain leaf-shaped head with a fore-shaft 5J inches
long, attached by a tubular piece of hairless hide
( ? animal's tail). Shaft of the same wood as the others,
Fig. 77. — Stabbing- and Throwing- Assegais of Zulu Patterns.
somewhat tapering and with squared end. No. 4.
Throwing-assegai . Similar to No. 3, but with longer
head and longer fore-shaft. Binding of plaited strips
of vegetable material. Another in my collection (not
figured) is of precisely the same pattern, 57^ inches
long, and swells slightly at the butt.
SOUTH AFRICA
141
Fig. 78, No. 1. Throwing-assegai probably of the
Gaika tribe of Kaffraria, Cape Colony. Length
Spike-shaped head, 14J inches long,
62 J inches,
round at the base, but four-sided higher up. Binding
; 1
Fig. 78. — Gaika and Zulu Throwing-Assegais.
of a strip of hide or intestine, wound round. Shaft of
rich brown wood (" assegai wood "), tapering to small
diameter at the butt, and now considerably bent.
No. 2. Throwing-assegai, probably of the Gaika tribe
(though the same pattern is made by the Zulus).
H2 SOUTH AFRICA
Length 63^ inches. Head of ogee section (showing no
neck), 12J inches long. Binding of a strip of hide,
wound round. Shaft as No. 1. No. 3. Throwing-
assegai, said to be Zulu. Head of ogee section, with
slender fore-shaft. Tubular binding from tail of animal.
Shaft of bamboo. Kaffir assegais are not, as a rule,
expensive, and can be obtained at about 2s. apiece.
Some of the specimens figured cost me even less than
this, though I have been asked 5s. for no better ones.
Numbers were brought home after our various South
African campaigns.
Staves
The elegant staff drawn in Fig. 79 belonged to
a chief of the Gaikas — one of the principal Kaffir
(Bantu) tribes, which inhabits Kaffraria, in Cape
Colony, south-east of Natal. These staves (of which
Fig. 80 shows another example) appear to have been
a kind of sceptre indicating, on his walks abroad, that
the bearer was a chief ; a much longer staff, with fan-
tastically shaped head, being used (at any rate, in the
Amatola Mountains) for ceremonial occasions.
On the staff in Fig. 79 (length 55^ inches) are
carved three spotted snakes, rising up the shaft in
spiral folds, the snake being a favourite ornamentation
of Gaika objects. The serpent is reverenced by
Kaffirs in general, and is supposed sometimes to em-
body the spirit of an ancestor ; but whether this has
anything to do with the snakes on Gaika staves I
SOUTH AFRICA
H3
do not know, and possibly these may represent a
tribal totem or be connected with the chief's title.
This specimen is of a dark-brown wood, light in
weight, and though it has a knobbed head and a sharp
o
Fig. 79.— Staff of a Gaika Chief.
point, it would not be of much use as a weapon.
Fig. 80 is of much the same type, but the snakes are
replaced by a fourfold rounded spiral, most neatly and
accurately carved in high relief, this spiral running in
the opposite direction to the one composed of serpents.
i 4 4
SOUTH AFRICA
At each end of the spiral the shaft is cut into an
ornament of hexagonal section, these being charred
black, as are also a few other parts of the staff, which
is of lighter coloured wood than the other, and
53 \ inches long.
The Gaikas are undoubtedly the cleverest carvers
Fig. 80. — Gaika Chiefs Staff with Spiral Carving.
among the Kaffirs, and the various animal figures with
which they decorate these chiefs' staves are always
curious, and sometimes remarkably lifelike. An excel-
SOUTH AFRICA
H5
lent example is shown in Fig. 81. This staff has a
plain shaft, to which, towards the upper part, a most
realistic monkey is clinging ; this animal, although not
absolutely correct in its anatomy, showing that the
carver possessed considerable artistic ability. The
eyes were evidently burnt out with the end of a red-hot
Fig. 8i. — Carved Monkey on
Gaika Staff.
Fig. 82. — Coiled Snakes forming
Head of Gaika Staff.
wire, and were left blackened, giving a very good
effect. The head of the staff (see Fig. 82) is fashioned
as two snakes coiled together with their heads on the
top, their eyes and markings being executed by char-
ring. This staff is now about 37 inches long, but has
probably been shortened by a foot or so for use as a
walking-stick. It is of a light coloured wood.
146 SOUTH AFRICA
Fig. 83, which is from a staff 47 inches in length,
has the usual smooth orange-shaped head, and is re-
markable for the extraordinary reptile carved crawling
up the shaft. It is more like a prehistoric saurian than
Fig. 83. — Curious Reptile carved on Gaika Staff.
anything else, though it may be taken to represent
some kind of lizard found in the district. Its nose is
about 7 inches from the upper end of the staff, and
its tail tapers down to about a foot from the bottom,
making it 28 inches long. Its back and legs are closely
SOUTH AFRICA 147
covered with charred spots, the neck and tail bearing
a series of X-shaped markings. From opposite the
clasping fore-legs and hind-legs, projects a kind of
handle, cut out from the shaft to a length of about
7 inches, the part of the shaft on the inside of the open-
ing being deeply grooved. The wood is of a brown
colour, smoothed, but not polished.
I have also a very curious walking-stick, attributed
to the Gaika tribe, which shows a regular menagerie,
drawn either by cutting or charring, in fine black lines
on the light coloured wood. One can distinguish quite
characteristic representations of horses, oxen, deer and
antelopes, walking or grazing ; also ostriches, a cock,
hens and other birds, some of which are in flight. The
outlines of the larger animals can only be followed by
turning the stick round, so the drawings are not easy
to copy. They remind one of the work of the ancient
cave-dwellers, and prove that the Kaffirs could become
quite decent artists with a little tuition. On this stick
charred bands and ornaments divide the parts where
the animals are to be found. The handle is rather
roughly formed as a bird's head, the top of which, as
also the back, is charred black. The total length is
35^ inches.
Fig. 84, No. 1, gives a staff of another kind, being
a variety of the long knobstick or kerrie, useful as a
club as well as a walking-stick. The shaft of this
specimen is entirely covered with fine brass and iron
wire, woven in such a way that it forms a spiral design
148
SOUTH AFRICA
of alternate brass and iron bands, which must have
given a very striking effect when the wire was new.
The neatness with which the wire is applied is remark-
able, and the method of producing the design is by no
Fig. 84.— (i) Wire-bound Staff or Knobstick. (2) Ball-headed
Kerrie.
means clear. The wire is woven across the spiral, so
the two kinds of wire are probably in separate layers,
one passing over and then under the other on the lines
edging the spiral bands. It would certainly puzzle any
European craftsman to reproduce this intricate wire-
SOUTH AFRICA 149
work, and the " savage " executing it must have pos-
sessed considerable artistic and technical skill. The
knob is of brown wood, polished, and the length of the
staff is just over 36 inches. It should be a production
of one of the Bantu tribes, but I do not know which.
The wire binding gives considerable weight, so we see
here a knob-kerrie of formidable type. I have another
specimen, covered with a most intricate woven pattern
of silver and copper wire, which came from the West-
minster Estate, Orange River Colony. No. 2 of
Fig. 84 is from a good specimen of the ball-headed
kerrie used by the Zulus and other Kaffir tribes. It
is cut from a single piece of wood, and the head has
a whitish patch on one side, the rest of the weapon
being dark. Three other knob-kerries appear in
Fig. 85, No. 1 being of a short and heavy type, used
as a missile or hand weapon according to circum-
stances. This is carved from dark wood, the head
blackened and showing rasp marks. The handle is
naturally rather crooked, and branches slightly at the
end, which is pierced for a cord (not a usual feature in
Kaffir kerries) . It differs from any Zulu pattern I have
seen, but is sufficiently like the ordinary Kaffir type to
be attributed to some part of South Africa. The
Hottentots use short missile kerries, as also probably
other tribes outside the Bantu race. Nos. 2 and 3
are walking-sticks (serviceable as kerries) as carried
by the Zulus when etiquette demands that the assegai
should be left behind. No. 2 is of a light yellowish
J 5o
SOUTH AFRICA
wood ( ? acacia), and curves towards the knob. It is
ornamented with curious figures executed by charring
the wood with a red-hot iron point used as a pencil, the
principal varieties of these designs being shown in my
Fig. 85. — South African Knobsticks, with Charred Designs
on No. 2.
drawing. No. 3 is thin and light, with head formed
of three knobs, one of which has a human face roughly
carved upon it. Both specimens came from Zululand
or its neighbourhood.
BEGHU AN ALAND
Iron-bladed axes are almost universal in Africa, but
the most interesting specimens come from the Congo
region and the West, where theaxe is used in warfare,
Fig. S6. — Battle-Axe, BeChuana or BaMangwato.
for beheading prisoners, and for ceremonial purposes.
Such axes are usually of more or less ornate design,
which distinguishes them from the ordinary imple-
152 BECHUANALAND
ments used for cutting wood, made by most of the
tribes, and of no particular interest.
Going northwards beyond the Orange River, the
first tribes with a reputation as axe-makers are the
BeChuana and BaMangwato (of British Bechuana-
land and the Bechuanaland Protectorate further
north). These tribes are famous for their battle-axes,
of which a magnificent example appears in Fig. 86.
The haft is of dark polished wood, and is club-shaped,
23 J inches long ; covered, excepting the grip, with
strips and variously shaped pieces of copper, nailed
on to form patterns. The blade is lunate, 9 \ inches
broad, on a flat neck 4 inches long and 1^ inches
broad, fixed to the swelling part of the haft by a
tang passing through it.
ANGOLA
FlG. 87 represents a light axe from Angola, used both
in warfare and for chopping wood, which was sent
home by the Vice-Consul at Benguela. The haft is
15 inches long, of a hard brown wood, the upper and
lower parts, which are of slightly greater diameter than
Fig. 87. — Axe from Angola.
the middle, being blackened, and adorned with (Euro-
pean) brass-headed nails. The haft turns back at the
top, the iron blade being driven in at the angle, which
gives it a downward slant. It is ornamented on the
side not shown with a punctured design.
153
BELGIAN CONGO AND FRENCH
CONGO
An exceptionally interesting specimen of an ancient
war-axe, attributed to the southern BaMbala tribe, is
illustrated in Fig. 88. It is of a pattern made on the
banks of the Lukuga River (about 6 degrees S.
Fig. 88.— Axe, BaMbala Tribe, Lukuga River.
28 degrees E.), which is a tributary of the Lualaba
and runs out of Lake Tanganyika. The peculiarity
of this weapon is the human head, probably intended
to represent a BaMbala hero or tribal god, and
154
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 155
carved with considerable skill in hard wood, serving
as a terminal to the haft. The back of this head
appears to be covered by some sort of crown,
formed by two broad bands, ornamented with zig-
zags, and crossing at the centre one over the other.
The eyes are shuttle-shaped, with lids almost closed,
and just in front of each ear are two rectangular
swellings which may possibly be tribal marks. The
greater part of the haft is covered with sheet copper,
formed into a rounded spiral at the grip, and the
blade is fixed by means of a tang passing entirely
through a racket-shaped termination framed with
copper, the exposed wood on each face being or-
namentally grooved in checkers. These faces are
only slightly convex, and the thickness at the end is
about \ inch only. The blade is of iron, spreading to
a curved edge towards which it has a series of trans-
verse curved ridges, and it is decorated on each face
with an engraved border and central design. Length
of haft, i\\ inches. I gave £1 for this specimen,
which is certainly of considerable rarity, and appears
to be antique.
Fig. 89 is from a ceremonial axe coming from the
Kasai district of the Congo State. The blade is nearly
10 inches across at the edge, and is of most peculiar
construction, the middle portion being cut out on either
side of a central strip which is joined by four curved
ones starting from the upper angles, these being
strengthened by two twisted connections from the
156 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
direction of the haft. From each face of the central
strip projects a head of native type, in full relief, the
whole being a marvellous example of wrought-iron
work. The haft is 15J inches long, and is covered
with a sheathing of copper, apparently nailed to wood
of some kind. The end has a rounded swelling through
Fig. 89. — Ceremonial Axe, Kasai District, Belgian Congo.
which the tang of the blade passes. Axes of this
pattern are not so rare as one would suppose, and are
said to be still manufactured. As far as I can re-
member, this specimen, which must be many years
old, cost 15s.
It is difficult to attribute many Central African
arrows to any particular tribe, but the specimens repre-
sented in Figs. 90, 91, and 92 are from the district of
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 157
the Kasai River, a tributary of the Congo, joining it
from the south. The iron heads of these arrows are all
socketed (in which they differ from the Nigerian type,
which is tanged), and some are remarkably large and
of very striking appearance. All of them bore traces
of poison, dried by time to the likeness of varnish, and
usually coating the hollow side of the ogee-shaped
head ; but not thickly smeared over the neck or fore-
shaft as on Nigerian and East African specimens. All
Nigerian arrows I have seen are featherless, but these
Kasai ones have each four short feathers attached by
binding, at some distance from the notched end. The
shafts are made from what is considered to be the
midrib of a palm-leaf, giving a very curious section,
sometimes almost triangular and in other cases nearly
square, but always with one rounded face ( ? the out-
side of the rib) . Perhaps the most distinctive of these
arrows have the wooden fore-shaft cut into a series of
vicious-looking barbs, the iron head having none.
Fig. 90, No. 1. Length 29 inches. Head with two
barbs, one cut away higher than the other ; wooden
fore-shaft attached to the shaft by a tough binding
( ? narrow strip of palm-leaf) ; shaft and feathers as
described above ; notched end bound for 2*25 inches
below the feathers. Fig. 90, No. 2. Length
28*25 inches. Leaf-shaped head of ogee section,
4'3 inches long. Fig. 90, No. 3. Length 29 inches.
Diamond-shaped ogee head, 2*4 inches long. Fig. 91,
No. 1. Length 27*5 inches. Triangular head of ogee
158 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
section with two long barbs curved inwards at the
ends ; wooden fore-shaft cut into five barbs (one or two
possibly missing). Fig. 91 , No. 2. Length 28*5 inches.
Triangular head of ogee section, 2' 4 inches wide and
39 inches long (to base of socket). Fig. 91, No. 3.
Length 29' 1 inches. Head similar to No. 1 ; no barbs
on fore-shaft.
Fig. 92, No. 1. Length 265 inches. Spreading
head with curved edge at the top ; wooden fore-shaft
cut into 12 long barbs, in three groups of four. Fig. 92,
No. 2. Length 28 inches. Head as No. 1 ; wooden
fore-shaft cut into 20 hooked barbs, in five groups of
four.
Fig. 92, No. 3. Length 29' 1 inches. Leaf-shaped
head of ogee section with plaited collar at base of
socket ; wooden fore-shaft cut into seven groups of
barbs (probably once 28 in number). The details of
the shafts and feathers of all these arrows are more or
less the same, so they all appear to belong to the same
tribe.
No. 1 of Fig. 93 is from an arrow attributed to the
Kasai region, but presumably from a different tribe.
It is 29 inches in length, and has a deeply barbed head
attached to the shaft not by a socket but by a tang.
The shaft is of some kind of smooth reed or cane, and
is very deeply notched, and plumed with four short
feathers. No. 2 shows a most interesting and rare
arrow or dart, attributed to one of the Pygmy tribes
which inhabit the Equatorial Forest of the Congo
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 159
Fig. 90. — Arrows, Kasai River
Region, Belgian Congo.
Fig. 91. — Broad-bladed Kasai
Arrows.
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 161
Fig. 92. — Arrows with Barbed
Wooden Fore-Shafts, Kasai
°1 River.
Fig. 93. — Congo Arrows. (1)
Kasai District. (2) Attributed
to Pygmy Tribe of the Equa-
torial Forest.
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 163
region, and are found sporadically throughout Central
Africa. This specimen is only 179 inches long, and
has an elongated barbed head with a socket (obtained
from one of the agricultural tribes, as the Pygmies do
not work iron). The shaft is of brown wood, flattish,
and ornamentally scored near the end. It has a split,
2' 5 inches long, down the centre, at about the same
distance from the unnotched extremity, and in this
slit is inserted the remains of a leaf (conjecturally
restored in the drawing), used instead of a feather to
give the missile a straight course. Pygmy weapons
seem to be very rarely brought home, and not much
is known of these dwarf negroes. The arrow came
with the Kasai specimens.
The short swords, daggers, cleavers, etc., used by
the various tribes inhabiting the banks of the mighty
Congo River are among the most interesting of African
weapons. They are collectively known as "war-
knives,' ' and are often of very fantastic pattern. Many
would be almost useless in the hands of a European,
though each type probably owes its form to the special
object for which it was made. To localize the different
patterns is very difficult, and I am greatly indebted to
Mr. Joyce, of the British Museum, for kindly identify-
ing the specimens here illustrated, all of which I picked
up at curiosity shops in 191 5. The appearance of
Congo weapons in unusual numbers was attributed at
that time to their having been brought to this country
by Belgian refugees who had obtained them in pre-war
1 64 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
days from the Belgian Congo, but I cannot vouch for
the truth of this story. At any rate, they were fairly
cheap, and well worth adding to my collection.
Fig. 94, No. i. Length 18^ inches. Top of hilt
Fig. 94. — Congo War-Knives. (1) Probably from Sanga. (2) From
neighbourhood of Upoto. (3) Tofoke Tribe, near Stanley Falls.
flat and projecting, covered with sheet brass engraved
with concentric circles, inside which is a "St. Andrew's
Cross," with a series of diminishing squares in the
centre ; under surface of top also engraved. Wooden
grip covered with flattened brass wire. Double-edged
blade spreading towards the bottom ; central space
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 165
engraved on both faces with a series of deep grooves
following the curves ; pointed ridge in centre of upper
part of blade on both faces. Probably from Sanga,
Congo State.
Fig. 94, No. 2. Length 23^ inches. Wooden hilt
bound with sheet copper in spiral band round grip ;
pommel capped with membrane attached by fibre cord.
Blade with medial ridge having a blood-channel on its
right side ; curved blood-channel above centre of right
side of blade, above which is an ornament of incised
lines ; fourteen copper rivets, in pairs, passing through
the blade, perhaps merely for decoration. Between
the hilt and the blade there are two arc-shaped open-
ings, the outline here being ovoid ; the edges of these
openings, as also the outer sides of this portion and
the medial ridge of the blade, decorated with short
diagonal incisions. Both faces of the blade are alike
in all details. From Upoto, on the north bank of the
Mid-Congo, in the Mondunga district, Congo State.
Fig. 94, No. 3. Length 17^ inches. Wooden hilt
with diamond-shaped terminal . Double-edged blade with
sloping shoulders and acute point ; each face of blade
finely engraved, a portion on the right side being filled
in with lines close together, following the curves ; orna-
mentation down the middle and on the upper part of
the left side, branching from the top. Tofoke tribe ;
made near Stanley Falls, but brought from the San-
kuru River, tributary of the Kasai, tributary of the
Congo.
1 66 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
Fig- 95, No. i. Length 12J inches. Wooden hilt
with grip bound with copper wire (over-bound with
some other material towards the top) ; spreading
double-edged blade below a squared upper part, with
central slit on the principal faces ; medial line orna-
mented with punctures. Above the point are two
holes, \ inch apart, in horizontal position. From
Stanley Falls district (formerly in the Mountmorris
collection) .
Fig. 95. — (1) From Stanley Falls District. (2) Probably from
Ubaiiifi River.
Fig- 95, No. 2. Length 14J- inches. Hilt with
spreading top covered with engraved sheet brass and
ornamented with brass-headed nails ; grip bound with
copper wire, above which is a binding of crimson wool
or silk. Single-edged chopper-shaped blade with
square end, having projecting ridges at the back.
Probably from the Ubangi River, French Congo.
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 167
Fig. 96, No. 2. Length 17^ inches. Plain wooden
hilt ; curved blade broadening to a head with two
points. The blade on one face is strengthened by two
Fig. 96. — (1) Probably of the Azandeh (Niam-Niam) Tribe.
(2) From north bank of Middle Congo.
ridges following the curves of the edges, and a round
hole pierces the head just behind its centre. From
north bank of Middle Congo. This might be used
either as a war-axe or as a missile, and is of rare form.
1 68 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
The Azandeh Tribe
Weapons of the Niam-Niam, or Azandeh cannibals
of Equatorial Africa, are considerably rarer than those
of the Fangs, with which they are sometimes confused.
The Niam-Niam tribe (called the Neam-Nam by Wood)
was first located in the country crossed by the northern
border of the Congo State (roughly extending from the
third to the sixth degree N.) but has probably shifted
its boundaries since its name appeared on the atlas.
It is described as a warlike race of an olive colour, and
little seems to have been known of it before the explora-
tions of Petherick. The weapons of the Azandeh
(which is the name now most generally used) consist
of spears, "war-knives" of very peculiar shapes,
and the curious throwing-knives to be described
presently .
Fig. 96, No. 1, shows a rare type of "war-knife,"
probably of Azandeh manufacture, though, with less
likelihood, it might be Aruwimi. Length 19! inches.
Hilt of wood ; grip covered with a sort of crochet-work
above a binding. The back part of the curved neck
of the blade is squared and thick, with a series of semi-
circular scoops cut through its edges ; the central part
of the neck engraved with lines of incisions. The
interior curve is edged, running to an obtusely-pointed
axe-like head with a sharp point at the back. This
weapon might be used as a missile.
The falchion shown in Fig. 97 is attributed to the
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 169
Mundu sub-tribe of the Azandeh, and is of a distinctive
Azandeh pattern. It might be described as a short,
crooked sword, and it is used to charge with after the
throwing-knives have been hurled, being worn with
the hilt downwards, usually in a leathern sheath. This
Fig. 97.— Azandeh (Mundu) Falchion.
specimen measures 23^ inches over all, disregarding
the curve. The blade is two-edged, and is decorated
on one face only with incised designs. The short
wooden hilt is partly bound with flattened iron wire,
and its junction with the blade is covered with a deep
cord binding ; the tang, which passes through the hilt,
170 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
being turned over at its top. A distinctive feature is
a projection with expanded head at the base of the
blade on the front edge. From this projection a cord
would be tied loosely to the handle, the loop passing
over the wrist of the user, after the manner of a sword-
knot. These knives vary a good deal in outline, some
being shaped more like a sickle, but all have the pro-
jection for the wrist-cord, by which they may be
identified.
We now come to the famous Azandeh throwing-knife,
which is different in shape from the throwing-knife
of the Fang tribe. Describing it, the Rev. J. G. Wood
writes : ' The weapon is wholly flat, the handle in-
clined, and is about the thickness of an ordinary sword-
blade. The projecting portions are all edged, and
kept extremely sharp, while the handle is rather thicker
than the blade, and is rounded and roughened so as
to afford a firm grip to the hand." Concerning the
use of this missile, the same author says : " When the
Neam-Nam comes near his enemv, and before he is in
range of a spear-thrust, he snatches one of these
strange weapons from his shield and hurls it at the
foe, much as an Australian flings his boomerang, an
American Indian his tomahawk, and a Sikh his chakra,
giving it a revolving motion as he throws it. Owing to
this mode of flinging, the weapon covers a considerable
space, and if the projecting blades come in contact
with the enemy's person they are sure to disable if not
to kill him on the spot. ' '
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 171
These Azandeh throwing-knives were rare in this
country up to the last decade, but are now offered for
sale fairly frequently. The fine specimen shown in
Fig. 98 was bought from a London dealer for 10s. 6d.
The length from the point of the central blade to the
end of the handle is 16 inches, and all three blades are
double-edged, bevelled on the side shown, but quite
Fig. 98. — Azandeh Throwing-Knives.
(The one on tlie right is from the Exeter Museum.)
flat upon the other. The handle is flat, the grip being
bound with strips apparently of snake-skin, in-
geniously knotted down the centre of what may be
called the reverse side. It is a light missile, weighing
only 9 ounces, and is beautifully balanced, so could
be thrown with accuracy to a considerable distance,
the whirling blades, which are very sharp, being
certain to inflict a serious wound should any part of
172 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
the knife strike its mark. The illustration on the right
is from a specimen of differing pattern in the Exeter
Museum.
The Fang Tribe
This cannibal tribe inhabits the country to the north
of the Gabun River, in the French Congo, and is
stated to have gradually worked its way down that
river from the interior, a hundred miles or more, along
the southern border of the Cameroons. This tribe is
not a negro one, but is of a brown colour, and has been
known under various names — the Osheba, the Pasuen,
the BaFanh, the Fan, and the Fang, the last spelling
presumably being the most correct, as it is now used
at the British Museum.
These Fangs are very proficient in forging iron, and
are armed with spears, crossbows, and throwing-knives.
The Fang throwing-knife (Figs. 99 and 100) is (on the
authority of a museum label) called a hunga-munga,
and it has a pointed head transverse to the handle,
supposed to represent the head of some bird, the eye
being indicated by a triangular opening. The back of
the head is edged, and there is a sharp spur behind
the neck, just above the handle, so that when the
weapon is hurled by an overhand throw it revolves
vertically in the air, and if it fails to strike with the
beak is likely to do so with the edge at the back of
the head or with the spur, thus inflicting a wound at
any point of its revolution.
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 173
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 175
The specimen shown in Fig. 99 is a remarkably
large one, the blade measuring 12J inches from the
point of the beak to the back edge. This heavy type
has the neck nearly straight, but in the lighter type
(Fig. 100) the neck is considerably curved. The
handle of the big one is bound with brass wire, and has
a conical ornament covered with sheet brass at the end.
The blade of the smaller specimen is hardly 10 inches
in length, and the handle is bound with copper wire,
the termination being of wood.
The ordinary war-knives of the Fangs (Fig. 101)
are of a pattern also used by neighbouring tribes, and
have an average measurement of 21 inches in total
length, so they might be called short swords. The
blade is either channelled or plain, with a slight medial
ridge, and is barbed like the head of a spear, the
barbs being below a neck, the centre of which is
covered on both faces by the prolongation of the
wooden handle. The grip is either of polished wood
or bound with iron or copper wire, and is protected by
a short cross guard. The double-edged blade is of an
elegant outline, with edges curving inwards and then
outwards to a fair breadth, afterwards running to a
fine point. A few inches near the hilt are almost
always decorated with some simple though remark-
ably effective incised pattern (see Fig. 102), which
shows that these cannibal savages have considerable
artistic talent. I have four fine specimens of Fang
war-knives of this type, but only one of them (in
176 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
Fig. 10 1) still has its sheath. This is covered with the
skin of some large snake of a dark colour banded with
yellowish white, the contrast being very effective.
Hide scabbards are also used by the Fangs.
A knife or dagger of quite a different pattern is seen
in Fig. 103. This is nf inches long, and has a very
Fig. 102. — Engraved Patterns on
War-Knives (probably Fang)
from French Congo.
Fig. 103. — Fang Broad-bladed
Knife.
broad double-edged blade let into a wooden handle
with grip carved into a series of balls.
Fang crossbows are much rarer than their other
weapons, but I was fortunate, many years ago, in
procuring a fine specimen (Fig. 104). The stock is
made from dark-brown polished wood, the bow being
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 177
of almost square section and of enormous power,
though the late Rev. J. G. Wood writes that the
range at which such crossbows are used rarely exceeds
fifteen yards. The mechanism of the Fang crossbow
is very peculiar, the stock being split horizontally to
Fig. 104. — Fang Crossbow.
a point about 2 inches beyond the notch which catches
the string when the weapon is strung, so that the upper
and lower halves of the stock can open out. Within
the notch is a square wooden peg, fixed to the lower
portion and passing freely through a hole in the upper,
this peg closing the notch when the two parts are
178 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
together, but allowing the string to rest in it when
they are apart. Before stringing the bow, the stock
must therefore be kept open by a piece of wood or
otherwise, and the string can only be released by
removing the obstruction and allowing the separated
parts of the stock to spring together, with the effect
that the peg pushes the string out of the notch. This
clumsy method — which, of course, prevents any ac-
curacy of aim— accounts for the short range at which
the crossbow is used ; but the little darts that it dis-
charges are treated with a vegetable poison, the com-
position of which is, as usual, a secret. These darts
are merely pointed sticks of light wood, about a foot
long, and are kept in place by a dab of adhesive gum,
the traces of which may still be seen on this specimen.
There is some carved ornamentation on the upper side
of the stock, which measures 2 feet 10 inches, the
bow being just 2 feet across. I have never seen a
similar weapon offered for sale, but the value is probably
about £1.
The natives of the French Congo, like the Kaffir
tribes, use throwing-spears, but these are easily to be
distinguished from the South African assegais, as the
heads are made with socketed fore-shafts instead of
tangs. The pattern of the head varies greatly, but
the principal types (all from specimens in my own col-
lection) are shown in the accompanying drawings.
No doubt several tribes are represented, but a good
many of the spears are probably Fang, though only
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 179
in a few cases attributable to that tribe with certainty.
All have some connecting feature, such as the wood of
the shaft or the engraving decorating the head or
socket, indicating a common geographical origin,
which is the Gabun region. Spears of these types
Fig. 105. — Throwing-Spears, Gabun River.
(with the exception of the variety shown in Fig. 108)
are fairly common, and may be roughly valued at
2s. 6d. to 5s. each. The details of the specimens
figured are as follows :
Fig. 105, No. 1. Length 5 feet 8 inches. Double-
180 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
barbed head of ogee section ; squared fore-shaft (origin-
ally) with 8 barbs, the four upper ones being cut on
two of the angles and the four lower ones in opposite
pairs, the points of each pair brought together. Fore-
shaft ends in a socket, open at one side and ham-
mered round the shaft. Shaft of brown wood with
longitudinal striations or small ridges.
Fig. 105, No. 2. Length 5 feet 8^ inches. Double-
barbed head of ogee section ; squared fore-shaft with
notched edges, ending in four rudimentary barbs ;
socket ending in a point ; shaft as No. 1.
Fig 105, No. 3. Length 5 feet 8^ inches. Similar
to No. 2, but the squared part of the fore-shaft ends
in four small barbs (cut from the angles) with the points
of the opposite pairs brought together. All from the
Gabun River and made by the same tribe.
Fig. 106, No. 1. Length 5 feet 10J inches. Plain
triangular head ; flattish squared fore-shaft with 8 barbs
cut from opposite angles under a horizontal ridge at
the neck ; socket open on one side ; shaft of smooth
brown wood, with slight swell towards the butt.
Fig. 106, No. 2. Length 5 feet 9 inches. Leaf-
shaped head with flat medial ridges ; short squared
fore-shaft swelling to socket ; shaft of same wood as
the last, bound for 3^ inches below the socket with
brass wire. Fang tribe.
Fig. 106, No. 3. Length 5 feet 4 inches. Plain,
obtusely-pointed head with medial chain of decorative
incisions on each face ; round fore-shaft with projecting
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 181
Fig. 106. — Throwing-Spears,
French Congo Types.
Fig. 107. — Throwing- Spears,
(2) and (3) with Long Fore-
shafts, French Congo.
BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO 183
collar at neck ; socket as before, but with edges round
the opening ornamented with notching ; head and fore-
shaft covered with ( ? European) gold paint ; shaft of
the same wood as the others. ( ? Fang tribe.)
rfflpj
BUTT
Fig. 108. — Fang Spear, French Congo.
Fig. 107, No. 1. Length 5 feet 6 inches. Plain
head with ridge across the neck ; flat, squared fore-
shaft, notched at edges and with medial chain of
incisions on each face ; socket with notched edges of
side opening ; shaft of the ribbed wood before described.
1 84 BELGIAN AND FRENCH CONGO
Fig. 107, No. 2. Length 6 feet 3 J inches. Small
leaf-shaped head ornamented with medial chain of
incisions on each face ; long round fore-shaft with
shoulder below neck, ending in socket as No. 1 (length
from point to end of socket, 32^ inches) ; shaft of
ribbed brown wood.
Fig. 107, No. 3. Length 6 feet \ inch ; 31 inches
from point to base of socket. Small leaf-shaped head
with medial line of punctures on each face ; fore-shaft
swells out to shoulder ; shaft as the last.
Fig. 108. Length 7 feet 7 J inches. Spreading head,
3^ inches wide at lower angles ; base of blade engraved
with a pattern ending in the usual chain up the middle ;
slender fore-shaft with the usual socket ; shaft of
smooth brown wood, bound with brass wire for
7 inches below the socket, and fitted into the socketed
fore-shaft of another spear (broken across the lower
part of the head), 31-3- inches long, serving as a butt,
and giving extra weight. A spear-head of this type is
given as of the Fang tribe in the British Museum
Handbook (Fig. 164). This is a very curious speci-
men of some value.
KAMERUN
Fig. 109 shows a war-knife from the Kamerun River
in the conquered German territory. In a provincial
museum, many years ago, I saw a similar specimen
Fig. 109. — War-Knife from Kamerun River.
labelled "Jumba, or Executioner's Knife; West
Africa," but I fancy it is usually carried, like other
African war-knives, as a weapon, and is not specially
used for executions. In Sargeaunt's " Weapons " an
185
1 86 KAMERUN
almost identical knife is described as showing a Man-
dingo dagger (French Sudan), but as in the same plate
a Fang war-knife is attributed to East Africa, not much
reliance can be placed on this work. An example just
like mine is labelled ' ' Kamerun River ' ' in the Exeter
Museum, so I think that there is little doubt that this
is the correct attribution. My specimen is nearly
21 inches long, and has a wooden handle with a mush-
room-shaped termination, and the grip carved into
three ball-like projections, under which the hilt expands
to cover the blade, curving upwards over it. The
blade has a medial ridge on both faces, and is double-
edged, with inward curves towards the rather slender
point.
NORTHERN NIGERIA
AMONG a number of weapons specially collected for
the writer in the northern provinces of Nigeria, are
several curious war-knives of which drawings are here
given.
Fig. no.— War-Knife with Fish-tail Sheath, Beri Beri Tribe,
Bornu Province.
Fig. 1 10 comes from the Beri Beri tribe of the Bornu
Province, and is i8J inches long. Hilt and blade
appear to be made in one piece, but the grip is covered
with dark leather having the appearance of plaited
187
1 88 NORTHERN NIGERIA
strips, the shoulders of the blade, as also the lower
part of the oddly-shaped termination of the hilt, being
similarly covered. The hilt ends in a flat triangle of
uncovered metal, having a medial ridge on each face,
and the surface of the blade on both faces is almost
covered with finely executed engraving, the central
part being ornamented with checkers, etc. It is
double-edged and runs to a fine point. The sheath is
more remarkable than the knife, terminating like the
tail of a fish, and having a high ridge down the centre.
The fish-tailed portion is of white metal (perhaps tin),
and is stamped with a pattern on the side showing in
the position in which the weapon is carried, which is
along the left arm, the hand passing through a band
attached near the mouth of the sheath. This band,
as also the upper part of the sheath, is covered with
a silky crimson material, a strip of green velvet, sewn
across the sheath, adding to the gaudy effect.
Fig. in shows another Bornu weapon — a dagger
14! inches long. Hilt and blade are in one, but above
the grip is a curiously shaped brass ornament with open
centre and cones at the angles, the base being of
square section. The steel hilt is covered on both faces
with criss-cross engraving, but the blade is plain, with
medial grooves. The sheath is of stamped leather,
mounted with brass and tin, and decorated with cloth
of two colours. The band to pass up the arm is of
leather, and very ornate, with brass studs and an open-
work design in brass, showing red and green cloth
NORTHERN NIGERIA
189
Fig. hi.— Bornu Dagger.
NORTHERN NIGERIA
191
underneath, whilst in front is a metal plate having a
four-sided conical ornament of brass, between four studs
of the same.
Fig. 112.— Bornu Knife with Animals engraved on the Blade.
In Fig. 1 1 2 we have a small dagger or knife much of
the type of Fig. no, so probably from the same tribe.
It is 1 of inches long, the hilt being covered with
narrow strips of dark coloured leather, most ingeni-
ously plaited round the grip, the shoulders of the blade,
192 NORTHERN NIGERIA
and the base of the flat terminal, which in this case is
decorated with punctures round the curved rim, and
with a herring-bone design running up the centre. On
one side of the blade is engraved a curious animal with
a long tail, suggesting a tortoise or a fat lizard, and on
the other side an attenuated animal with long legs and
a very long tail forming a loop at the end. These
curious figures are executed chiefly in lines of punc-
tures, and are shown by the drawing of the dagger in
its sheath. They are engraved below a design of tri-
angles and diamonds at the upper part of the blade.
The sheath is covered about half-way down with black
stamped leather, and the lower portion with whitish
leather decorated with patterns of black stitching
executed in narrow strips of black. There is no band
to slip over the arm, but a twisted leather thong, with
runners, is laced to the sheath, and by this the knife
could be securely attached to the arm, from which it
is probably suspended.
Fig. 113 represents a knife from Northern Nigeria,
13 \ inches long. The terminal of the hilt runs to lateral
points, and the entire hilt is covered with black leather
with a seam down one side. The blade has a series of
engraved lines following the curves of the edges, the
central portion being left plain. The sheath is covered
with stamped leather of a dark colour, and has a trans-
verse band of whitish leather ornamented with stitched
checkers in black. An arm band is laced on in the
usual manner.
NORTHERN NIGERIA
i93
The term ' ' man-catcher ' ' has been applied to any
implement devised by savages with the object of stop-
ping the flight of an enemy, but although one or two
patterns are well known, these are not of African origin,
Fig. 113. — Dagger from Northern Nigeria.
and the specimen drawn as No. 1 of Fig. 114 is the
first I have come across which, without any doubt,
comes from Africa. It was obtained in the Ilorin
Province of Northern Nigeria by Mr. E, C. Pickwoad,
7
194
NORTHERN NIGERIA
of the Nigerian Civil Service, and was regarded out
there as a rarity, this particular weapon (if such it may
be termed) being very difficult to get. It is called by
the natives a kra km, and is of Yoruba manufacture,
Fig. 114.— (i) Man-Catcher {Kra Kra). (2) Double Spear,
Ilorin Province, Northern Nigeria.
being in the form of two slightly diverging hooks of
iron, socketed to a shaft similar to the ordinary spear-
shaft of the district.
The sharp hooks might on occasion be struck into
the flesh, but are probably intended to catch an enemy,
NORTHERN NIGERIA 195
especially when running away, round the neck or by a
limb, thus arresting him or tripping him up so that the
war-knife might be used. The kra kra would, however,
serve as a weapon in a combat, though not so effective
as a spear, and it is to be presumed that it would not
be employed unless its user carried other arms as well.
The total length of my specimen is 63 inches, the
iron part having a socket open on one side, and being
13 inches long. On opposite sides of the socket are
two projecting diamond-shaped ornaments of brass,
similar to those on the Yoruba spears of the Ilorin
Province. The shaft is of some tough wood, and is
surrounded not far from the socket by a band ap-
parently cut from a tobacco or provision tin, as
stamped lettering is visible thereon, probably reading
" Pull cutter towards centre."
Another strange weapon from the Ilorin Province is
the double spear shown as No. 2 of Fig. 114. Opinions
in Nigeria seem to differ as to whether the two spears
are used in combination or separately, for although it
may be argued that they are only lashed together for
convenience in carrying, the lashing is of such a per-
manent character that it would take a long time to
unfasten, and it is so neatly executed, in hide strips,
as to suggest that it was never intended to be removed.
The fore-shafts are bound together at a distance of
9 \ inches from the points, and the shafts in three
places — 34f inches from the points, and at 1 inch and
3 inches from the butts. The two iron heads are of
196
NORTHERN NIGERIA
identical design, being of flattish quadrangular form,
tapering to a point. On one face of each head are
transverse scorings, this scored face being turned out-
wards in the case of one spear and inwards in the
other. The heads have sockets, open down one side,
Fig. 115. — Ancient Spear, Ilorin Province, Northern Nigeria.
each being attached to its shaft by a nail with a pro-
jecting head. The shafts are of some wood with a
rather rough bark.
The antique spear of which details are given in
Fig. 115 is a very heavy one, measuring 6 feet
NORTHERN NIGERIA 197
6J inches in length. This also came from Ilorin, and
is attributed to the Yoruba tribe. The blade is of elon-
gated leaf -shape, and has a high medial ridge on both
faces. It has a split socket decorated with four of
the brass bosses similar to those on the kra kra, but
these are of vesica shape. On the shaft beneath the
socket are two projecting iron collars, 5 inches apart,
the space between them covered with sheet brass
stamped with a band of diagonal lines at the top. The
shaft is of polished wood, showing a very light colour
where the surface is broken, and socketed to this is an
iron butt, nf inches long, with a projecting collar
of iron above it. This part of the Yoruba spears is
usually flattened out, with squared sides.
I have another specimen similar in every detail to
the above, though varying slightly in the proportions.
It was obtained in the Bornu Province, but both spears
are obviously the work of the same tribe.
A still longer Ilorin spear in this collection measures
6 feet 11 inches. The ridged leaf-shaped blade runs
into an elongated socket decorated with the usual brass
bosses. The greater part of the shaft is covered with
a woven binding of narrow hide strips, alternating with
coverings of glossy black leather. It has the curious
iron collars and other distinctive details of the last two
spears referred to. These are all thrusting spears, but
the Hausas of the Kano and Sokoto Provinces use
throwing-spears not unlike some of the Gabun types.
Fig. 116 shows a typical Hausa spear from Kano.
198
NORTHERN NIGERIA
The head is of plain leaf-shape, the fore-shaft being
squared, with twelve barbs cut from two of the diagon-
ally opposite corners. The broader faces of the fore-
shaft are engraved with zigzags, etc., above the usual
socket (see this portion of the spear drawn on a larger
Fig. 116. — Typical Hausa Spear from Kano.
scale). The shaft is formed of a stick, rather knotty,
and by no means straight. At the butt is the character-
istic North Nigerian flattened iron termination, perhaps
useful to balance the weapon when thrown. From
Birnin Kebbi, Sokoto, I have a somewhat lighter spear
of much the same type, but having nearly thirty small
NORTHERN NIGERIA 199
barbs on the fore-shaft, cut along the four edges just
below the blade.
A much rarer form of Hausa spear was procured by
Mr. Pickwoad at Asbinawa, Kano Province. This is
made entirely of iron or steel, and is 73^ inches in
length. The blade is of elongated leaf-shape, g\ inches
long and only 1 inch broad at the widest part, with
high medial ridges, and cut into two barbs at the base,
though these barbs lie close to the shaft. On the
shaft, 14J inches from the point, is another pair of
barbs hardly projecting at all. The shaft is decorated
with six or seven groups of golden-coloured bands,
apparently let into the metal, with bands of incised
lines running round above and below most of the
groups. The central portion of the shaft is covered
for a distance of about 13 inches with brown hide,
serving as a grip, and this may possibly hide further
bands of decoration on the metal.
But the most curious feature of this interesting
weapon is its butt, which is beaten flat for a length of
20 inches, and spreads out at the end to a slightly
curved edge over i\ inches long. At the junction of
the flattened part with the rounded shaft there is an
edged circular projection.
This spear is too slender to make a good drawing,
but is well worth a full description. The object of the
spud-like termination is rather puzzling, unless the
natives use this part for digging up roots or getting
at burrowing animals. It does not seem to add to the
200 NORTHERN NIGERIA
efficiency of the spear, which is presumably intended
to be thrown.
Figs .117 and 118 show a quiver and four of the fifteen
poisoned arrows it contained, the locality of origin being
some part of Nigeria, probably the upper region. The
quiver is made from a piece of bamboo about if inches
in diameter and 21^ inches long, the lower end being
bound with black, hide, as is also the upper part, which
may or may not have had a cover. A strap for sus-
pension is attached to an upper hide band, but exactly
how it was originally arranged is obscure, as the strap-
ping is imperfect. To the strapping was suspended
a small black horn of some kind of antelope, over the
upper part of which raw hide has been shrunk, holding
it firmly as a pendant, with a plaited runner above it.
This horn was probably a charm of the-ju-ju class, for
luck in warfare or hunting. The arrows have light
yellow reed shafts, and are deeply notched, but not
feathered, the ends being strengthened by a binding of
varying depth. The heads are all of iron, with longish
tanged fore-shafts, and show traces of the usual West
African sticky poison. Fig. 118, No. 1, measures
27 \ inches, and has a leaf -shaped head of ogee section,
with a pair of barbs underneath it (the commonest type
of Nigerian arrow-head). No. 2 has a more elongated
head, and in No. 3 (29 inches) the fore-shaft is twisted
into a spiral, ending under the barbs in the middle of
the head. This spiral fore-shaft occurs on arrows from
Lower Nigeria, and a few examples are to be found in
NORTHERN NIGERIA
20 1
Fig. 117. — Nigerian Bamboo
Quiver, with Ju-ju Charm
(Antelope's Horn) attached.
Fig. 118. — Nigerian Poisoned
Arrows.
NORTHERN NIGERIA
203
most quivers from the upper districts. No. 4 is like
No. 1 , but has a smaller head, rounded instead of ogee.
This also is a favourite pattern, apparently used by
several tribes. The remaining arrows of this set are
slight variants of the patterns figured, but mostly re-
Fig. 119. — Bow and Quiver, Nigeria.
sembling Nos. 1 and 4. The price paid was 10s., about
the average for a Nigerian quiver and its contents.
Fig. 119 is of a bow and quiver procured by the
Curator of the Botanical Gardens at Lagos, to which
port they no doubt found their way from the interior.
204 NORTHERN NIGERIA
The quiver has an elongated cover, from the top of
which hang a number of leather strips stamped with
a St. Andrew's cross pattern, together with narrow
tags, their object being evidently decorative. A long
round plaited cord acts as a suspender, and the whole
article (26 inches long) is covered with dark-brown
leather. The bow coming with it is of stout make
and 55^ inches in length, of round section with slightly
flattened back, and of smoothed brown wood. To
one extremity is sewn a 4-inch hide band, and on the
other is a band of iron \ inch deep. The string is
thick, made of twisted sinew, with a knot about the
middle. This quiver contained thirteen poisoned
arrows, the upper parts of four being drawn in Fig. 120
and two more in Fig. 121. The shafts are of pale
yellow reed, notched but unfeathered, and many of
the arrows are so like Nos. 1 and 4 of Fig. 118 that
the same district is indicated, if not the same tribe.
Some of the fore-shafts seem to have been loosely
wrapped with a thickly-poisoned binding, now in a
brittle condition — the binding probably to keep the
poison damp. Many of the heads are more or less
one-sided, and the number of barbs is from one to
three. I have another set from the same region, the
quiver being a plain cylinder with a long cover, made
of (or covered with) almost black leather, stamped
with a saltire cross here and there. The arrows are
of the same type as in the first one, but a few have
heads in the form of a sharp spike.
NORTHERN NIGERIA
205
1 J
Fig. 120.— Arrows from the Quiver shown in Fig. 119-
Fig i2i -Arrows from Northern Nigeria. (1) Three-barbed type.
(I? With binding over poisoned fore-shaft. (3), (4), (5) Munshi
poisoned arrows.
NORTHERN NIGERIA 207
The arrows Nos. 3, 4, and 5 of Fig. 121 belong
to a set captured in the expedition against the Munshi
tribe of Northern Nigeria, under Col. Sir Frederick
Lugard. They were in a quiver of the usual cylindrical
form, constructed of light wood covered with smooth
yellowish hide, sewn up the side and across the bottom.
It was suspended by a sling of black net material
(European), passing through two loops in the hide
covering and forming bands near the ends. It had
no cover, and measured 23 inches. The bow is
44^ inches long, and of very stiff wood coloured black ;
strung with twisted sinew or hide, the string passing
through a hole at one end of the bow, and wound
spirally round it for 17 inches, ending in a plaited
band. The string is whipped for some inches with soft
thread (to protect it from being chafed by the notch
of the arrow), but the position of this binding leads
one to suppose that the arrow was not discharged
from the centre of the bow. The range, however, is
said to be surprising. The arrows (18) average
25 inches in length, and have (with the exception of
one which has a needle-shaped point) elongated barbed
heads of ogee section. The shafts are of reed, un-
feathered, the lower ends covered with flat black bind-
ing, diagonally crossing. The heads and fore-shafts
are thickly covered with pitch-like poison, said to kill
in eight minutes, for which the natives pretend to
know no antidote. The best way to exhibit African
arrows is to wire them tightly to a panel, as this
2o8
NORTHERN NIGERIA
diminishes the risk of being accidentally scratched by
them. They should on no account be kept loose, and
it is as well to clean the points and barbs with the
carborundum rubber now sold. Some collectors even
go to the length of cleansing the heads by fire, but
this might easily ruin an interesting specimen.
Fig. 122. — Munshi Archer's Dagger.
Fortunately many of these African poisons are only
effective when fresh and in a damp state, and arrows
treated with them usually become fairly harmless in
time. I know of a case where a deep wound was
accidentally inflicted by one of these poisoned arrows,
and the injury healed quite normally.
A dagger of very peculiar design (Fig. 122) is made
and used by this Munshi tribe, a loop, forged with the
NORTHERN NIGERIA 209
blade, taking the place of a hilt. It is worn over the
palm of the Munshi archer's right hand, so as to be
available the very moment his poisoned arrow is dis-
charged, its looped hilt permitting it to be thus held
without in the least interfering with the use of the bow.
The usual length is a little under 6 inches, the blade
being quite short, triangular in shape, and with medial
ridge.
The Fulani horsemen of Nigeria use long lances, of
which a specimen in my collection is said to be an
example. It has a shaft of dark-brown polished wood,
with a swell 3 inches below the end of the socket,
gradually increasing in diameter towards the butt,
which is strengthened by an iron band. The head runs
to an angle on each side, and is plain, the socketed
fore-shaft having a curious ball-shaped collar. Total
length, 7 feet.
I have another Nigerian spear which has a leaf-
shaped head with midribs, a brass collar divided into
three projecting ridged bands, and a socketed fore-
shaft engraved with bands and four X-shaped figures,
this part being strengthened by two shuttle-shaped
pieces of iron, riveted to opposite sides. The wooden
shaft is neatly covered with leather, joined by a sewn
seam, and is decorated by four plaited bands of leather
thongs, under which are tassels of leather thongs,
coloured red. The shaft terminates in a short iron
spud-shaped butt, socketed and nailed on. This
weapon may possibly come from some part of the
14
2io NORTHERN NIGERIA
lower Niger, but the shuttle-shaped ornaments on the
fore-shaft are very like those on the spears obtained at
I lor in and in Bornu.
Nigerian canoe-paddles (one of which is represented
in Fig. 123) come in large numbers from Lagos, and
are therefore easily obtainable in this country at
moderate prices, looking very well as wall ornaments.
It is difficult to assign them to any particular district,
as the same pattern seems to be used in both Lower
and Upper Nigeria, on the lagoons and rivers, including
the Niger far up from the coast. These paddles are
carved and pierced with open-work on both the blade
and the termination of the shaft, the blade being of
remarkably tapering leaf-shape, running to a fine point,
and usually with a long and narrow opening cut com-
pletely through the centre, with semi-circular openings
above and below. The shafts are also often pierced
near the middle, either divided into two small columns
or in the form of a chain-link, the end spreading out
into a flat ornament, ornamentally pierced and termin-
ating in a point. The opening in the shaft must
weaken these paddles considerably, and those in the
blade must somewhat diminish the effect of a stroke
in the water ; but ornament appears to be the chief
thing aimed at, as, besides the piercings, the blades
and terminals are covered with zigzag and other carved
decoration. The wood is usually of a light colour,
unpolished, and two specimens in my collection are
each 5 feet 5 inches long. Many examples are no
NORTHERN NIGERIA 211
Fig. 123. — Nigerian Paddle.
NORTHERN NIGERIA 213
doubt specially carved for sale as curios, for at Lagos
and other West African ports, there is a great trade
in native carvings turned out to order for the European
market.
Amongst miscellaneous objects from Northern
Nigeria I have a drum of peculiar construction. It is
made of wood, and is 1 7 J inches in length, with circular
parchment heads about 6 J inches in diameter. Each
of these heads is enclosed by a rounded leather hoop,
these hoops being connected by 87 twisted hide thongs,
by pressing which it is said that the note of the drum
can be altered. The wooden body is narrow at the
centre, but bulges out at the ends. It is painted red,
and ornamented with incised patterns of checkers and
diagonals picked out in white, and has a longitudinal
patch of some pitch-like substance, possibly covering
a crack. Inside are several large seeds and shells of
money cowries, to rattle when the drum is beaten. A
broad band of canvas-like material (probably European)
is attached for suspension.
The neck of the short drumstick bends at a con-
siderable angle, its spreading head, with a flat end,
being almost at right angles to the handle. The neck
is covered with black leather, and there is another
broad band lower down. The head is carefully made,
apparently from a separate piece of wood, but the
handle is rather rough.
This type of drum is common throughout British
West Africa, and is probably used to transmit mes-
2i 4 NORTHERN NIGERIA
sages to a distance, though how this is done has long
been a puzzle to Europeans. It is certain, however,
that the natives in many parts of Africa have some
system by which they can send information by drum-
beating, the news being passed on, from drummer to
drummer, until it reaches places incredibly remote.
Drums much of the same shape as this one, but without
the thongs, are used in Morocco, and I have a speci-
men, the body of which is of painted pottery.
SOUTHERN NIGERIA
The remarkable specimen seen in Fig. 124 at first
sight looks like a war weapon, but is, in fact, one of
Fig. 124. — Ibibio Memorial Spear.
the memorial spears which the Ibibio tribe of the Eket
District of Southern Nigeria set up before the shrines
215
216 SOUTHERN NIGERIA
of their ancestors. Its total length is 45 inches, the
shaft being of whitish wood, carved into a series of
reels, discs, etc., and terminating with a grotesque
human head, suggesting that of a music-hall comedian
wearing a ridiculously small top hat. This, however,
is no doubt intended to be a complimentary portrait
(possibly of the deceased), and the three black patches
on each side of the face may be tribal marks. The
shaft is ornamented in black and white, and is fixed
into a socketed head of iron or steel-, this being leaf-
shaped, with openings cut to leave a central connec-
tion with two barbs, but as these are enclosed by an
outer border they are probably merely ornamental.
I picked up this specimen at a curio shop in Bristol,
and it is probably an old one. I have seen nothing
similar, but the type is known at the museums as
distinct from the spear made in the same region for
ordinary use.
CENTRAL AFRICA
On the White Nile and its tributaries are to be found
several tribes concerning which we have not much in-
formation, one of the most important of them being the
Shilluks. These are pure negroes, inhabiting the north
bank of the White Nile south of Fashoda, and the atlas
marks the district of the Upper Sobat as Shilluk terri-
tory, though this is perhaps now incorrect. Other
tribes of the group are the Nuer, the Jer, the Dor, and
the Dinkas — the last a scattered pastoral people.
From the neighbourhood of the White Nile come
"mushroom-headed" clubs, of which Fig. 125 is a
fine example, attributed to the Shilluks or one of the
related tribes. It is 27 inches in length, and has a
heavy head and a tapering shaft with pointed end,
this part being covered with the skin of some reptile,
probably the Monitor Lizard. This would give a good
grip, and a leather thong, to wind round the wrist,
passes through the shaft 3J inches from the point of
the butt. The workmanship is excellent, the wood,
which is of a lightish colour, being carefully smoothed,
but not polished. A Dor type of mushroom club has
the head more expanded, and with a sharp edge, and
217
218 CENTRAL AFRICA
I have seen mushroom clubs from this part of Africa
which might be mistaken for specimens from the South
Seas. The Dinkas use wooden parrying-shields almost
Fig. 125. — Mushroom-headed Club, White Nile Region.
exactly like certain Australian patterns, which is re-
markable considering the impossibility of any connec-
tion between the natives of Central Africa and those of
Australia.
NYASSALAND PROTECTORATE
Fig. 126 shows one of a pair of elephant-spears from
the Nyassaland Protectorate. It weighs 5 pounds, is
Fig. 126. — Elephant-Spear, Nyassaland Protectorate.
70^ inches long, and is remarkable for the bulge at the
bottom of the shaft, this part being coloured black.
219
22o NYASSALAND PROTECTORATE
The head is of elongated leaf-shape, with medial
ridges, and has a long rounded fore-shaft entering a
thick wooden shaft, the upper part of which has a hide
binding covered with some kind of brownish gum or
wax. This binding shows a corded appearance, which
is, I fancy, deceptive. The central part of the shaft is
uncoloured. The other spear is of the same construc-
tion, though rather shorter.
A kind of harpoon is used for elephant-killing by
some East African tribes, and hippopotamus harpoons
come from the Congo State. I take it that these
Nyassaland spears are hurled, and their heavy weight
should easily drive the head through the elephant's
tough hide .; but it must need much courage and agility
to dispatch an elephant by means of such clumsy
weapons without mishap to the hunters.
EAST AFRICA
I HAVE two war-knives procured by a relative at Lamu,
a port on the coast of British East Africa, one of which
Fig. 127.— (i) War-Knife from Lamu, East Africa. (2) Masai
Dagger.
is sketched in Fig. 127, No. 1. This is 25 inches
long, and has a plain leaf-shaped blade on a long and
222 EAST AFRICA
narrow neck which is bevelled at the sides. The handle
is of wood, slightly projecting at the pommel, and the
grip is covered with black leather. The sheath is of
brown leather, sewn down the back, and with a leather
strap for suspension attached in front. The second
specimen is of similar size and shape, but the blade is
slightly ridged on both faces, the bevelling becoming
more acute on the neck.
The Masai Tribe
Masai-land, running across the boundary which
separated British and German East Africa before we
conquered the latter, furnishes the next specimens to
be described. Fig. 127, No. 2, shows a Masai knife
or dagger, 11^ inches long, called a banyoro, which
has a very sharp double-edged blade like the head of
an assegai, the hilt being a rectangular piece of wood,
unornamented in any way. As the sheath is missing
it cannot be described.
The most characteristic Masai weapon is the spear
(Fig. 128, No. 1), which has an enormously long
sword-like blade quite unlike any other African pattern.
I have two examples, brought home by Mr. H.J. Lind,
the blade of one measuring no less than 33! inches,
not counting a 4-inch socket, whilst the blade of
the other measures 32! inches. The wooden shafts
are remarkably short, respectively exposing the wood
to a length of only 6\ inches and \\ inches, each
EAST AFRICA
22'
spear having a heavy iron butt, pointed at the end,
socketed to the shaft in order to balance the elongated
head. Masai spears seem to be intended for throwing,
and their points are said to be rendered innocuous,
Fig. 128. — (1) Masai Spear. (2) Somali Spear. (3) Spear from
Kikuyu District.
when not in use, by balls of ostrich feathers impaled
upon them. The average weight is a little over
3 \ pounds ; the heads have prominent ridges, and there
is no decoration upon my specimens except a band of
224 EAST AFRICA
copper wire below the socket of the butt upon one of
them.
A most interesting archery outfit is given in Figs . 1 29
and 130. The bow is of tough light-coloured wood,
strengthened by a binding of fine iron wire, leaving the
wood exposed for the space of 6 h inches at the centre,
where the weapon is grasped, and at the extremities,
which terminate in button-shaped ornaments. The wire
Fig. 129. — Masai Bow and Quiver.
was originally very tightly wound, but has now become
loose in places. The cord is fairly thick, twisted from
some kind of fibre of a dark-brown colour. This bow,
although only 3 feet 10 inches long, is a very powerful
and durable weapon, and great pains have been taken
in its manufacture. The quiver is of a very striking
pattern, being decorated with a funereal black plume
apparently made from dyed ostrich feathers. Each
EAST AFRICA 225 )
feather is carefully bound to a leather band by two-4aide y
laces, this band encircling the upper part of the quiver,
which is suspended by a strap passing under the band
and also under a plain one at the centre. The quiver
is cylindrical, 2 feet 2 \ inches long, and is stoutly made
Fig. 130. — East African Poisoned Arrows.
of leather, very neatly sewn up the side. The top is
covered by a leather cap, attached to the end of the
suspending strap, so that it cannot be lost.
This Masai quiver contained, when brought home,
eleven poisoned arrows, two of which are shown in
Fig. 130. These probably belonged to it, but if not
226 EAST AFRICA
Masai are from one of the neighbouring tribes. The
shafts are very neatly bound with light and dark thread,
and are triply feathered. The iron heads are flat and
triangular, and, with the fore-shafts, are thickly
smeared with a viscous poison of a black colour, which
in each specimen is prevented from drying up, or being
rubbed off, by a long strip of thin hide, wound spirally
up the fore-shaft and round the head. This covering
would protect the owner from accidental injury, and
could be removed in a few moments when the arrow
might be required. The heads are intended to become
detached on striking, remaining in the wound to give
the poison time to get into the system. The shafts
are of unknotted reed, the total length being about
25^ inches. This outfit was bought at Mombasa.
THE KIKUYU DISTRICT
KlKUYU is a district crossed by the railway line from
Mombasa to Uganda, and the tribe inhabiting it is
called the AKikuyu. A fine spear from this
region is figured with Masai and Somali spears in
Fig. 128. The total length is 5 feet 5^ inches, the
head being 14J inches long and 3 \ inches broad, with
an octagonal fore-shaft, 3^ inches in length, socketed
to the shaft, which is of a dark wood. On the lower
end of the shaft is socketed a square iron spike,
13-I inches long, by which the weapon is balanced.
The octagonal fore-shaft seems to indicate a Somali
influence.
Fig. 131 gives a Kikuyu war-knife, with hilt of
ebony-like wood, ending in a conical octagonal copper
pommel, silvered over. The blade is almost flat, and
is of irregular outline, the workmanship of this part
being very inferior when compared with that of the
hilt. The scabbard is flat, made of two thick pieces of
leather, sewn over a thinner piece by means of slender
thongs of animal tissue ; and the upper part of the
front, which is white, is ornamentally stitched with red
and green laces. There are two diagonally-placed
228
THE KIKUYU DISTRICT
projections on the sides of the scabbard for the attach-
ment of the suspending strap, which has a rude iron
Fig. 131. — War-Knife, Kikuyu.
buckle. Arabic influence is strongly marked. Length
of knife, 17^ inches.
SOMALILAND
Returning to Fig. 128 we see a Somali spear in
No. 2. This has a much elongated double-edged head,
measuring 28 -J inches from point to base of socket,
with central ridge at the base, between grooves, above
which it runs to the point as an obtuse angle. The
socket is octagonal, the shaft of roughish wood, look-
ing as if it may have been stained, and possibly a
replacement. Total length, 7 feet f inch. A lighter
specimen came with it, this one being 5 feet 2 \ inches
in length. The head is sharply pointed, of flattened
diamond-shaped section, and has a slight squared pro-
jection at each side of the neck, above a long octagonal
socket — this seeming to be a feature of Somali spears.
Neither of these spears seems adapted for throwing,
but as weapons in a hand-to-hand fight they would be
extremely formidable, being well-balanced, and with a
stouter shaft than is usual in most parts of Africa.
A different Somali type, apparently intended for
throwing, is noticeable through having two arc-shaped
depressions, divided by a central ridge, on each face of
the blade. I have a specimen about 5 feet 6\ inches
229
23o SOMALILAND
long, the head and socketed fore-shaft together measur-
ing 14J inches, the latter being octagonal, with a raised
rim at the end. The shaft is of light-coloured wood,
fairly slender, terminating at the butt in a curious
projecting spiral ornament.
HINTS TO COLLECTORS
As many persons seem to be taking up the collecting
of curious weapons formerly made by the savage tribes,
now in many cases rapidly disappearing, a few hints as
to the best way of displaying and preserving ethno-
graphical specimens may not come amiss. The writer
has made a hobby of collecting such objects since boy-
hood, so may venture to offer some suggestions founded
on personal experience. Firstly, having acquired, say,
a few clubs and spears, the buyer naturally considers
how best to display them, and the appliances he will
require for the purpose.
In a museum the walls are usually covered with re-
movable wooden panels to which the specimens are
wired, the wire passing over the object at a suitable
place and disappearing through holes in the panel,
being fastened behind. This is an ideal method, but
too elaborate and expensive for the average collector
who merely desires to hang a few specimens on the wall
of his hall or staircase. Well, experience has proved
that the best means of attachment is the more pliable
kind of picture-wire, except for specimens of very light
weight, for which fine brass wire (as sold for noosing
231
232 HINTS TO COLLECTORS
rabbits) would be sufficiently strong. Copper bell-wire
or iron wire should be avoided, being too rigid and
liable to kink, and most kinds of cord or string are un-
reliable, as they perish in time. The nails should have
heads of moderate size, and straight objects (such as
spears) when to be hung vertically are best attached
in the following way : Make a neat loop at each end
of a piece of wire long enough, when the loops are
made, to be double the circumference of the object
(which we will suppose to be a spear) . Pass the middle
part of the wire round the shaft, draw it tight, and give
it a couple of twists behind, turning the looped ends
outwards, to pass over the heads of two nails, just clear
of the shaft on each side. The wire should be under
some projecting part, such as the spear-head, to
prevent the specimen from slipping downwards ; and
suspended in this way it will always hang straight,
which it would not do from a single nail. When
weapons are arranged in a slanting or horizontal posi-
tion two wire bands will be needed, but only one nail
for each, and the loops should be made to pass over
the nail-heads with ease, so that the weapon may be
easily detached for inspection or cleaning, without
having to untwist any wire.
Now as to cleaning. Steel and iron parts should be
cleared of rust as thoroughly as possible, and then be
painted with one of the preservatives procurable from
ironmongers. Steel weapons hung in a hall or passage
are exposed to unsuspected damp, and if at all high up
HINTS TO COLLECTORS 233
may get into a deplorable state before their condition
is noticed. To clean them periodically causes needless
trouble, as a good preservative will keep them bright
for years, and does not in any way spoil their appear-
ance. In the initial scouring care must be taken not
to leave visible scratches, which are often caused by
the coarse emery-paper now sold, so it is wiser to use
knife-powder or, better still, a twopenny slab of the
rust-rubber (indiarubber containing powdered carborun-
dum) known as "Rasrust." Weapons of the harder
dark woods are much improved in appearance by an
occasional rubbing with linseed or other oil, and those
of soft wood are preserved from the attacks of wood-
boring beetles by the application, now and then, of
paraffin. I have found that the heavy South Sea clubs
are practically immune from these pests, but they seem
particularly keen on African curios of light-coloured
wood.
Every specimen should be scientifically labelled with
details (when known) of the locality and tribe ; but no
known cement, glue, paste, or gum will attach a label
for any length of time to some specimens, owing to the
wood being greasy. It is therefore better to type the
label and paste it to an oblong slip of stout card,
attaching it to the specimen with thin wire, passing
through the end of the card. Labels should hang
loosely, to escape being torn off by the housemaid's
brush. Specimens from the same region should be
grouped together, as mixed trophies never look well.
234 HINTS TO COLLECTORS
I should, in fact, advise the beginner to specialize in
the weapons of some selected class (say, African,
Australian, Polynesian, or Asiatic) rather than to form
a heterogeneous collection of anything he may pick up
cheaply. Arrows look best when wired, side by side,
on a panel painted some light colour, and may be
arranged fan-wise if desired. The African ones should
not be fixed with the points projecting, as they are
usually poisoned.
Now as to buying. The number of specimens in the
curio shops is surprising, but the dealers hardly ever
know where they come from, and have the vaguest
ideas about their respective rarity. Still, most dealers
have the notion that all these things are now valuable,
and often begin by asking quite a ridiculous figure for
anything selected. No doubt the values of really
desirable specimens (such as Maori, Easter Island, and
certain other South Sea weapons) will steadily rise, as
they have long ceased to be made ; but bargains are
still to be found. Mr. J. C. Stevens, of 38, King
Street, Covent Garden, holds sales of such curiosities
every fortnight, and though the prices obtained for
rarities are often quite high, bundles of interesting
specimens may often be picked up at these auctions
far more cheaply than if the weapons were bought
separately from the dealers.
INDEX
Admiralty Islands, 118-121
Adze, memorial, 73-75 ; from
New; Guinea, 133, 134
Africa, Central, 217, 218; East,
221-230; South, 138-150;
West, 153, 185-216
AKikuyu tribe, 227, 228
Angola, 153
Animals on Gaika walking-
stick, 147; on Bornu knife,
191, 192
Arrows, East African, 225, 226;
Kasai, 156-163 ; Munshi, 205,
207; from New Guinea, 131-
133; New Hebrides, 107;
Nigerian, 200-207; Py£ m y>
158, 161, 163
Asbinawa (Kano Province),
spear from, 199, 200
Ashburton District (Western
Australia), spear - thrower
from, 22, 23
Ashburton River, kylies from,
33, 34 ; message-sticks from,
47, 48; spear from, 15, 16
Assegai, varieties of, 138, 139;
Gaika types, 141 ; Zulu tvpes,
139-142 '
Assegai wood, 139
Austral Islands, 68-72
Australia, 6-49
Axe from Angola, 153; Aus-
tralian, 44-47; BaMbala, 154,
155; Bechuanaland, 151, 152;
Kasai, 155, 156
Azandeh tribe, falchion of, 168-
170; throwing-knives, 170-
172 ; war-knife probably of,
167, 168
B
BaMangwato tribe, 151, 152
BaMbala tribe, 154
Bantu tribes, 138-152
Banyoro, 222
Bark-cloth beater, 134
Bark shield, 40, 41
Basalt meris, 53
Battle-axe from Bechuanaland,
151, 152 ; Maori, 59, 60
Beagle Bay, chnringa from,
49
BeChuana tribe, 151, 152
Bechuanaland, 151, 152
Belgian Congo, 154-172
Beri Beri tribe, war-knife of,
187
Binding of assegais, 139
Bird-headed clubs, 101-102
Birnin Kebbi, throwing-spear
from, 198
Bismarck Archipelago, 122
Blackboy gum, n-15, 23, 46
Blackboy tree, 14, 15
Bone-cleaning ceremony, 54
Bone clubs, 54
Bone - tipped throwing - spears,
136, 137
Boomerangs, 31-34
Bornu Province, spear from,
197; war-knives from, 187-
192
Bouka, clubs from, 109-111,
114
Bow, East African, 224 ;
Munshi, 207 ; from New
Hebrides, 107; Nigerian, 203,
204; from Santa Cruz Island,
108
Bull-roarers, 34-37
-35
236
INDEX
c
Carved patterns from Fiji, 86-
91 ; Mangaia, 73 ; New
Guinea, 130 ; NewZealand, 57 ;
Raivavai, 68-72 ; Tonga, 80
Carvings, Gaika, 143-147
Central Africa, 217, 218
Ceremonial axe, Kasai, 155, 156
Chiefs' staves, Gaika, 142-147;
Maori, 55-58
Clubs from Australia, 6-12 ;
Central Africa, 217, 218;
Easter Island, 64-66; Fiji, 86-
92; Hervey Islands, 75, 76;
Marquesas Islands, 67; Mas-
sim district, 124, 125; New-
Britain, 122, 123; New Cale-
donia, 101-103; New Guinea,
134; New Hebrides, 105, 106;
New Zealand, 50-54 ; Samoa
and Tonga, 77-80; Solomon
Islands, 109-1 13 ; South Africa
(see kerries) ; bone, 54 ; cylin-
drical, 7, 91, 92; missile, 88,
89; mushroom-headed, 102,
106, 217, 21S; pineapple, 134;
star-headed, 106, 134 ; stone-
headed, 134
Coco-palm, club of, 109 ; spears
of, 114, 128, 129; arrows
partly of, 131, 132
Collingwood Bay, cloth-bark
beater probably from, 134
Congo, Belgian, 154 - 172 ;
French, 172-184
Cook's Islands, 73-76
Crossbow, Fang, 176-178
Cygnet Bay (Western Aus-
tralia), shield from, 41, 42
D
Dagger, Bornu, 188, 189;
Masai, 221, 222; Munshi,
archer's, 208, 209
Dance-stick, in, 113
Deadum deadum, 10
Digging-stick, 28, 29
Dinka tribe, parrying-shields of,
resembling an Australian
type, 218
Diorite, adze-blade of, 74
Dogs' hair, 56
Dor tribe, mushroom-headed
clubs of, 217, 218
Double spear, 194-196
Drum, Nigerian, 213, 214
Drysdale River (Western Aus-
tralia), club from, 7, 8;
digging-stick from, 28, 20
East Africa, 221-230
Easter Island, 64-66
Eket district, memorial spear
from, 215, 216
Elephant-spears, 219, 220
Falchion, Azandeh, 168-170
Fan tribe. See Fang
Fang tribe, 172-184; crossbow
of, 176-178; throwing-knives,
I 7 2 " I 75 ; throwing-spears, 180-
184; war-knives, 173-176
Fiji, 86-94
Fishing-spears, 85, 125
French Congo, 172-184
Friendly Islands (Tonga), 77-
So
Fula tribe, 209
Fulani horseman's lance, 209
G
Gabun River, throwing-spears
from, 178-180
Gaika assegais, 138, 141, 142;
staves, 142-147; walking-
stick, 147
Geraldton district (Western Aus-
tralia), spear from, 15, 16
Gilbert Islands, 95-99
Glass-headed spears, 18, 19
God of Defiance, Maori, cc-
60
Goodenough Island, fishing-
spear attributed to, 125, 126
Grass tree, 14, 15
INDEX
237
H
Hani, 55-58
Hausa spears, 197-200
He ko kuti, 53
Hervev Islands, 73-76
High Island (Raivavai), 68-72
Hints to Collectors, 231
llunga-munga, 172, 173
I
Ibibio tribe, 215, 216
Ilorin Province, double spear
from, 195, 196; man-catcher
from, i93- x 95; thrusting-
spears from, 196, 197
Isdell Ranges (Western Aus-
tralia), kylie from, 31, 32
J
Jade, Maori tneris of, 53, 54
]umba, 185
K
Kaffir tribes, 138-150
Kamerun (the Cameroon?), 185
Kamerun River, war - knife
from, 185
• Kangaroo Rat," 27, 29
Kangaroo-tail sinew, 24
Kano Province, spears from,
197-200
Kasai district, arrows from, 156-
163 ; ceremonial axe from,
155. 156
Katta, 28, 29
Kerries, 148-150
Kikuvu district, 227, 228
Kimberley (Western Australia),
kylie from, 32
Kingsmill (Gilbert) Islands, 95-
99
Knife, edged with sharks' teeth,
98, 99; obsidian, 118, 119
Knobsticks, 147, 148
Kookynie district (Western Aus-
tralia), bull-roarer from, 36,
37 ; parrving-sticks from, 1 1 ;
shield "from, 44; spear-
throwers from, 21, 22
Kra kra, 193-195
Kylies, 31-34
Lamu, war-knives from, 221,
222
Lance, Fulani, 209
Leah, 10
Leowal, 12
Lukuga River, axe from, 154,
M
Maisai tribe, 222-226; arrows of,
224-226; bow, 224; dagger,
221 ; spears, 222-224
Malaita, 114
Malga, 11
Man-catcher, 193-195
Mangaia, memorial adze from,
73 > 75
Maori carving, 57
Marquesas Islands, 67
Massim district, 124-126
Memorial adze, 73-75; spear,
215, 216
Meri, 50-54
Message-sticks, 47-49
Middle Congo, curious weapon
from, 167
Midlah, 20
Missile clubs, 88, 89; knives,
170-175
Monitor lizard, skin of, on club,
217
Monkey carved on staff, 145
Mulabakka, 40, 41
Mundu (Azandeh sub-tribe), 168,
169
Munshi tribe, 207 ; archer's
dagger of, 208, 209 ; arrows
of, 205-207 ; bow, 207
Murchison, Upper, spear from,
13. !4
Mushroom-headed clubs, 102,
106, 217, 21S
N
Nail-head pattern, 91, 92
Navigators' Islands (Samoa).
77-80
New Britain, 122, 123
New Caledonia, 101-103
2 3 8
INDEX
New Guinea, 127-134
New Hebrides, 105-107
New Ireland, 122, 123
New Zealand, 50-63
Niam Niam (or Neam Nam)
tribe. See Azandeh tribe, 16S-
172
Nigeria, Northern, 187-214;
Southern, 215, 216
Niue, (Savage Island), 81-85
Nulla-nulla, 6
Nyassaland Protectorate, 2 19, 220
O
Obsidian, 65, 66, 118, 119
Onslow (Western Australia),
kylie from, 32, }}; shield
from, 43
Ostrich feathers on Masai
quiver, 224
Paddle, decorated official,
wrongly attributed to Hervey
Islands, 69-72 ; Fijian pattern,
93, 94; Nigerian, 210-213
Paddle-shaped clubs, no, in,
"3
Parrying-shields, 37-40
Parrying-sticks, 10, n
Patu-pannva, 50, 51
Paua (Haliotis shell), 55
Poisoned arrows, Kasai, 156-
163 ; Masai, 225, 226 ; Munshi,
205, 207; Nigerian, 200-207;
Pygmy, 158, 161, 163
Port Moresby, adze probably
from, 133, 134
Poverty Bay, Maori club from, 5:
Pygmy tribe, 158
Q
Queen Charlotte Islands (Santa
Cruz), 108
Queensland, spear - throwing
club from, 24, 27, 29
Quivers, Masai, 224, 225 ;
Nigerian, 200-207
R
Raivavai (High Island), 68-72
Rapa Nui (Easter Island), 64-
66
Red ochre on weapons, 7, 12, 22,
49
S
Sago-palm, beater of, 134, 135;
weapons of, 85, 124, 125, 128,
130
Samoa, 77-S0
San Cristoval, spears from, 114,
"5i ll 7
Sanga, war-knife probably from,
164, 165
Santa Cruz Island, 108
Savage Island, 81-85
Sennit (or Sinnet), 75, 97, 98,
102, 122, 123
Sharks' teeth on weapons, 95-99
Shields, Australian, 37-44; bark,
40, 41 ; parrying, 37-40; of the
Dinka tribe, 218
Shilluk tribe, club attributed to,
217, 218
Snakes carved on staves, 142,
143' J 45
Sokoto Province, throwing-
spears from, 197-199
Solomon Islands, 109-117
Somaliland, 229, 230
South Africa, 138-150
Spears, Admiralty Islands, 118-
121; Australia, 12-20; Bornu,
197; Fiji, 91-93; Gilbert
Islands, 9S ; Goodenough
Island, 125, 126; Hausa, 107-
200; Kikuyu, 223, 227; Masai,
222-224; Massim district (?),
125; New Guinea, 127-130;
New Zealand, 60 ; Savage
Island, 81-85; Solomon
Islands, 114-117; Somali, 22.;.
229, 230 ; Torres Straits
Islands, 134-137 ; Yoruba, i<).S-
107; elephant, 219, 220; fish-
ing, 85, 125; glass-headed, 18,
19; obsidian-headed, 118, 121 ;
stone-headed, 16, 18. See
also Assegais
INDEX
239
Spear-paddles, 75, 76, 81, 82
Spear-throwers, 13, 20-27
Spear-throwing club, 24, 29
Spinifex gum, 14-16, 47
Spinifex plant, 14
Stanley Falls district, war-knife
from, 166
Star-headed clubs, 106, 134
Staves, Gaika, 142-147; Maori,
55-58
Stone-headed adzes, 73-75, 133,
134; axe, 45, 46; clubs, 134;
spears, 16, 18
Swan River, climbing-axe prob-
ably from, 45, 46
Tatnarang, 37, 39
Tapa (bark-cloth), 134
Tewhtt-tewha, 57, 58
Throwing - spears, French
Congo, 178-184; Gaika, 138,
141, 142; Hausa, 197-200;
Somali, 229, 230; Torres
Straits Islands, 134-137; Zulu,
139-142
Tiki (Maori god), 51
Tofoke tribe, war-knife of, 164,
165
Toko, 88
Toko-toko, Maori, 60-63
Tonga, 77-80
Torres Straits Islands, darts or
throwing-spears from, 134-137
Tubuai (Austral) Islands, 68-72
Turkey Creek, East Kimberley,
spear from, 17, 18; spear-head
from, 19 ; spear-thrower from,
23. 25
U
Ubangi River, war-knife prob-
ablv from, 166
Via, 88
Upoto, war-knife from, 164, 165
Yavitau (Raivavai), 68-72
Victoria, shields from, 37-41
w
Waddy, 6-10
Walking-sticks, Gaika, 147 ;
Maori, 60-63
War-knives, AKikuyu, 227, 228;
Congo, 163-176; Kamerun,
1S5, 186; Lamu, 221, 222;
Northern Nigerian, 187-193
Weet-weet, 27, 29
West Kimberley, kylie from,
32
Wiluna (Western Australia),
bull-roarer from, 36
Wire binding on knobsticks,
.M7-I49
II itarna, 35, 36
Wuumero, 13, 20-27
Wyndham, Kimberley, axe
from, 46, 47 ; spears from,
16, 17 ; spear-thrower from, 23
Yoruba tribe, 193-197
Zulu assegais, 139-142 ; kcrries,
149. 150
Printed in Great Britain by Billing and Sons, Ltd., Guildford and Esher.
MARIO 1975
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