1932.76.10

Collection type

Object

Description

Three-pronged palm-wood sword, edged with sharks' teeth. [AB [OPS Move] 20/6/2017]

Long description

Three-pronged palm-wood sword, edged with sharks' teeth. There is a straight central prong at the base of this there are two shorter curved prongs, each is edged with sharks' teeth which are bound with plant fibre. The handle is straight and bound in palm leaf. There are bands of plant leaf along the prongs. [AB [OPS Move] 20/6/2017]

Geographical reference

Kiribati

Oceania > Micronesia > Kiribati

Gilbert Islands

Person

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source James Thomas Hooper

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1932

Date collected

By 1932

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1932

Materials and processes

Material Shark Tooth Fish, Material Palm Wood Plant, Material Palm Leaf Plant, Material Plant Fibre, Material Plant Leaf, Material Sennit Coconut Seed Fibre Yarn Plant, Process Carved, Process Bound, Process Perforated

Dimensions

Length: max 1136 mm, Width: max 273 mm, Depth: max 57 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1932.76.10

Research and responses

Carved from separate pieces of coconut wood, grooved to accommodate the teeth of the Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) and/or the Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus). These teeth are drilled through and lashed onto the blade with the pinnules (side-ribs) of the coconut leaf, and occasionally female human hair. The aim for the use of all I-Kiribati weapons was to open the enemy’s abdomen, or the major artery inside the elbow. Warriors took magical precautions before battle to deflect their enemy’s weapons. Immediately before the battle, the warrior would strip a single pinnule of a coconut leaf and join the ends into a necklace to wear. As he joined the ends, he chanted: “The weapon is descending, it has nearly descended! But I shall deflect it downwards or upwards. The weapon is descending, but it is afraid, it is a coward. Uh! All is well!”. Relevant Reading: Murdoch, G.M. (1923) Gilbert Islands Weapons & Armour. In: Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol.32, pp.174-5. Gudger, E.W. (1930) Helmets from Skins of Porcupine Fish. In: Illustrated Science Monthly, Vol.30, pp.432-442. Guiart, J. (1963) The Arts of the South Pacific. London: Thames & Hudson. Grimble, A. (1972) Migrations, Myth & Magic from the Gilbert Islands. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Koch, G. (1986) The Material Culture of Kiribati. Suva: University of the South Pacific. Grimble, A.F. (1989) Tungaru Traditions: Writings on the Atoll Culture of the Gilbert Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Research Conducted for DCF Cutting Ede 2006/2007 [AM]

Search terms: Weapon, Sword