1954.2.105

Collection type

Object

Description

Ceremonial feather hat: a crown of twill plaited basketry surrounded with cut macaw feathers, black powis feathers and a thick band of cotton yarn. At the back are two long macaw feathers decorated with duck down. [LM 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 6/12/2005]

Long description

Ceremonial feather hat: a crown of twill plaited basketry surrounded with cut macaw feathers, black powis feathers and a thick band of cotton yarn. At the back are two long macaw feathers decorated with duck down. [LM 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 6/12/2005]

Geographical reference

Guyana

Latin America and the Caribbean > South America > Guyana

Mazaruni River

Cultural groups

Akawaio

Person

Field collector Audrey Butt Colson

PRM source Audrey Butt Colson

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1952

Date collected

1951 - 1952

Acquisition information

Donated: 1954

Materials and processes

Material Bird Feather, Material Cotton Seed Fibre Yarn Plant, Material Plant Fibre, Process Twill Plaited, Process Basketry

Dimensions

Height: max 660 mm, Diameter: max 280 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1954.2.105

Research and responses

Andrew Gosler and Juan Gonzalez, during a research visit, thought that the black feathers were from the powis bird. They were uncertain about the identity of the other feathers. [ROH 07/03/2012]

For notes on the Amazonian featherwork and related material on display in the Museum in April 2016, including this object, with suggestions regarding provenance and species identification, see the untitled report by Andreas Schlothauer and related correspondence in the RDF: Researchers: Andreas Schlothauer. [JC 8 7 2016]

Related Documents File - Typed manuscript: 'AKAWAIO INDIAN PLANT NAMES by D.B. FANSHAWE Deputy Conservator of Forests British Guiana.'

Miss Butt's list of specimens from British Guiana, entitled 'ETHNOLOGICAL ARTICLES OBTAINED FROM THE AKOWOIO TRIBE OF THE UPPER MAZARUNI DISTRICT OF BRITISH GUIANA FOR THE PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, OXFORD.' This list is divided into sections such as 'Decorative', 'Toys', 'Travelling', and so on, and has been annotated with the accession numbers. [MOB 5/2/2002]

Associated publications

In essay by Peter Riviere and illustrated in black and white as figure 172 on page 157 of Basketmakers Meaning and Form in Native American Baskets, edited by Linda Mowat, Howard Morphy and Penny Dransart (Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum, University if Oxford, Mongraph 5, 1992). Caption reads: 'Guyana, Upper Mazaruni district, Akawaio. Man’s ceremonial hat made from a framework of twill plaited reed surrounded with macaw feathers, black powis feathers and a thick band of cotton yarn. Two long protruding macaw feathers are decorated with duck down and worn at the back of the head. Formerly worn for war or celebrations; more recently for the symbolic dance of cassava growing. H: 600 mm. Collected by Audrey Button Colson, 1951-52. 1954.2.105' [MJD 16/01/2013] This object was featured in the Museum's on-line fact sheet ‘South American Feather Headdresses’ produced during the DCF-funded 'What's Upstairs?' project, 2004–2006. [BR 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 8/11/2005] This object was featured in the Museum’s ‘web gallery’ (‘Selected Objects from the Lower Gallery’) produced during the DCF-funded ‘What’s Upstairs?’ project, 2004–2006, with the following caption: ‘This headdress was collected among the Akawaoi in Guyana. Headdresses such as this were traditionally worn by men at ceremonies, or by the leader of a war party. It is made from macaw feathers, black powis feathers, and a thick cotton band. The two long macaw feathers are decorated with duck down and were worn at the back of the head.

Search terms: Clothing Headgear, Ritual and Ceremonial, Dance, Basketry, Hat, Headdress