Helmet made from coconut fibre in two colours.

Collection type: Object
Description: Helmet made from coconut fibre in two colours.
Long description: Helmet made from coconut fibre in two colours white/natural (kafa) and "black" (kafa 'uli) - dyed in lagoon mud. The black colour appears in diamond shaped pattern on the helmet It is notable for being exactly as wide as it is high. The manufacture technique is almost exactly the same as that used in the construction of Kato 'Alu - the most prestigious form of Tongan basket. Whereas a Kato 'Alu would have its spiral "rope" with a coconut leaf midrib core, this helmet '"rope" has a core of unplaited (?) kafa, which is wrapped in plaited kafa (basic 3-ply). Each turn of the plaited kafa secures the rope to the previous coil on the first winding and the next on the second. The natural kafa is continuous, & the black spliced in & out on each lozenge.
Geographical reference: Tonga
Oceania > Polynesia > Tonga; Cook Islands
Oceania > Polynesia > Cook Islands
Person: Field collector Frederick William Beechey; Field collector HMS Blossom; PRM source Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1828?, uncertain
Date collected: 1825-1828 ?
Acquisition information: Transferred: 10/02/1886
Materials and processes: Material Coconut Fibre Plant, Process Basketry, Process Woven, Process Plaited
Dimensions: Height 190 mm, Diameter 210 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1886.1.1529 Other numbers: 140
Research and responses: Andy Mills (doctoral student at the Sainsbury Research Unit at the University of East Anglia) examined this object on 6 February 2007. His manuscript notes (preserved in the RDF) read: 'Possibly unique example of an early C19th Tongan helmet, made entirely from coconut fibre (kafa), in 2 colours - white/natural (kafa) & "black" (kafa 'uli) - dyed in lagoon mud. It is notable for being exactly as wide as it is high - i.e. it fits inside an imaginary square - classic Tongan aesthetic proportionality. The manufacture technique is almost exactly the same as that used in the construction of Kato 'Alu - the most prestigious form of Tongan basket. Whereas a Kato 'Alu would have its spiral "rope" with a coconut leaf midrib core, this helmet '"rope" has a core of unplaited (?) kafa, which is wrapped in plaited kafa (basic 3-ply). Each turn of the plaited kafa secures the rope to the previous coil on the first winding, & the next on the second. The natural kafa is continuous, & the black spliced in & out on each lozenge. / There is a superficial resemblance in the lozenge decoration to the boss patterning on clubs of the Fijian-Tongan type known as Dui. The lozenge is also associated with inlaid whaletooth shapes found on Tongan clubs. / Although I know of no Tongan term for such helmets (as I said, this is quite possibly the only example left in existence), it seems they were worn under the turbans warriors wore as head protection in battle. These barkcloth turbans were termed Ao, & associated with reckless & scornful displays of bravado. The shape also seems to imply the use of a pad (again, probably barkcloth) on the crown under the helmet. / The quality of the manufacture implies it was the product of a specialist basket-maker, & therefore a woman - although it is likely the kafa was plaited by a man.' [ZM 21/08/2008; JC 1 7 2011]
At Jeremy Coote's request, this object was examined on 12 July 2011 by Professor Steven Hooper (Director, Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania & the Americas, University of East Anglia) during a visit to the Museum. Hooper suggested a possible Cook Islands provenance, which is supported by a brief discussion of Cook Island helmets in general and of two apparently similar pieces in the collections of the Bishop Museum (C2848 and C2849) on pages 83-6 of Arts and Crafts of the Cook Islands (Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 179), by Te Rangi Hiroa (Peter H. Buck), Honolulu: Bernice P. Bishop Museum (1944). (Copy of relevant pages in RDF.) Beechey did not visit either Tonga or the Cook Islands on the Blossom voyage, so assuming that it was indeed donated to the Ashmolean by Beechey, he must have acquired it from a third party, either in the Pacific or elsewhere. [JC 8 8 2011, 11 8 2011]
Associated publications: Listed as number 140 on page 183 of A Catalogue of the Ashmolean Museum Descriptive of the Zoological Specimens, Antiquities, Coins, and Miscellaneous Curiosities (Oxford, 1836): 'South Sea Islands, &c.... 140. War helmet of Tangataboo, Friendly Islands. (Capt. B[eechey].' [JC 5 7 2011] Illustrated in black and white as Figure 4 on page 203 of The Austral Islands: History, Art and Art History, by Rhys Richards (Paremata: Paremata Press, 2012). Caption (same page) reads: 'Coir cap made from coir and sinnet cord. Collected by Captain F. W. Beechey, probably at Tahiti as he did not visit Tonga, the Cook Islands or the Austral Islands. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Item 1886.1.1529. (H. 19cm. D. 21cm.)' [JC 21 6 2012]

Search terms: Clothing Headgear, Armour Weapon, Basketry, Helmet, Headdress