1935.71.14

Collection type

Object

Description

Dance shield of wood with two ornate paddles and central grip (a piece broken off). [El.B 25/01/2012]

Long description

Dance shield of wood with two ornate paddles and central grip (a piece broken off). The paddles are carved and incised into swirly scroll-patterns and painted orange, black and white. [El.B 25/01/2012]

Geographical reference

Papua New Guinea

Oceania > Melanesia > Papua New Guinea

Milne Bay Province Kiriwina Goodenough District Trobriand Islands

Person

Field collector Alan Herbert Coltart

PRM source Alan Herbert Coltart

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1935

Date collected

By 1935

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1935

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Process Carved, Process Incised, Process Perforated, Process Painted

Dimensions

Width: max 302 mm largest fragment, Length: max 730 mm largest fragment

Object numbers

Accession number: 1935.71.14

Research and responses

The kaydiba is a dance shield used in the energetic male dances of the same name. There was traditionally a three-month dancing season in Trobriands culture – the milamila – of which the kaydiba formed a major attraction. In this dance, young men wore loincloths and elaborate and beautiful cockatoo feather headdresses, and held these dance shields in their right hands. They danced in an anti-clockwise circular formation, around the singers and drummers. The kaydiba has been anthropologically interpreted as a forum for men to display their beauty to the watching women, who themselves used the kaydiba as an opportunity to spot a potential partner. The form of the kaydiba is symmetrical across the handle. The principal whorl represents – in a highly schematic form – the beak of a hornbill bird. The more substantial mass at the base of each panel near the handle bears some resemblance to the head of a snake, which was associated metaphorically with the penis in Trobriands mythology. The carving of the elaborate fretwork required very high levels of skill, and the reputation of individual specialists - who carved both dance shields, canoe prow-boards, and other fine works – made their work much sought after. Some scholars have argued that the similar curvilinear fretwork designs which appear on Trobriand Islands canoe prows are intended to bewilder and mesmerise the viewer, and make social relations between trade partners flow as the designs do. If this is the case, it seems possible that a young Trobriands man might implement such powerful carvings to aid him in the course of love. Relevant Reading: Malinowski, B. (1932) The Sexual Life of Savages in Northwest Melanesia. London: Routledge. Guiart, J. (1963) The Arts of the South Pacific. London: Thames & Hudson. Newton, D. (1975) Massim: Art of the Massim Area. New York: Museum of Primitive Art. Gell, A. (1992) The Enchantment of Technology & the Technology of Enchantment. In: Coote, J. & Shelton, A. (eds.) Anthropology, Art & Aesthetics. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Research Conducted for DCF Cutting Edge 2006/2007 [AM].

Search terms: Dance, Weapon, Dance Accessory, Shield