Wooden barkcloth beater. It comprises a short cylindrical handle, flaring at the base, which expands into the long, square-sectioned head. The head is carved with longitudinal grooves, with the faces having varying degrees of fineness. Both ends are squared-off.

Collection type: Object
Description: Wooden barkcloth beater. It comprises a short cylindrical handle, flaring at the base, which expands into the long, square-sectioned head. The head is carved with longitudinal grooves, with the faces having varying degrees of fineness. Both ends are squared-off.
Geographical reference: French Polynesia (Overseas Collectivity of France)
Oceania > Polynesia > French Polynesia (Overseas Collectivity of France)
Person: Maker Unknown Maker; Field collector Unknown Collector; PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1874
Date collected: Prior to 1874
Acquisition information: Donated: 1884
Materials and processes: Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Process Grooved
Dimensions: Length: max 378 mm, Width: max 51 mm, Depth: max 50 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1884.45.3
Research and responses: Beyond the Binary project researcher Mara Gold responded to barkcloth beaters in June 2019 as part of the Beyond the Binary project, which ran from 2018 to 2020. This particular barkcloth beater was displayed in conversation with object 1891.61.26 in the 2020 Beyond the Binary exhibition. The following response was recorded: Most, if not all, of the Islands in the area now known as Polynesia appear to have enjoyed a certain fluidity in their concepts of gender and sexuality, and upheld traditions of a third gender, including fa’afafine in Samoa, fakaleiti in Tonga and māhū in Tahiti. Fa’afafine in Samoa, and māhū in the Society Islands were strongly associated with the production of barkcloth and celebrated as being skilled at this work. [OS 14/02/2020]

Search terms: Barkcloth, Tool, Beater

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