Pole club "bowai" · Fidji Islands · ID: 3051973
sold
EUR 1,500
Provenance
Alexander Kubetz, Munich, GermanySize
L: 104 cm
L: 40.9 inch
Description
hard wood,
These massive clubs made of extremely heavy wood were designed to smash skulls with one blow (“head-breaker” club). They were favored by Fijian and Tongan warriors.
From the earliest reports, Fiji was characterized as having endemic warfare, the causes of which ranged from raiding for sacrificial victims to disputes over chiefly precedence, women and land. Fiji also produced the greatest variety of weapons including clubs, of any Oceanic culture.
Comparing literature
Kaeppler, Adrienne, Polynesia, Honolulu 2010, p. 240, ill. 125 ff.