1918.2.5

Collection type

Object

Description

Throwing club with bulbous fluted head (I ula tavatava) [FC 01/08/2011]

Long description

Throwing club with bulbous fluted head (I ula tavatava). The head has deep lobes and ends in a finely formed domed cap. The bottom half of the handle, to approximately 140 mm has been decorated with zig-zag carvings, traditionally tattoo designs called tavatava. [FC 01/08/2011]

Geographical reference

Fiji

Oceania > Melanesia > Fiji

Person

Field collector William Johnson Sollas

PRM source William Johnson Sollas

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1918

Date collected

By 1918

Acquisition information

Donated: 1918

Materials and processes

Material Wood Plant, Process Carved

Dimensions

Length: max 425 mm approx, Diameter: max 120 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1918.2.5

Research and responses

I Ula tavatava is the native name for this type of club. Throwing clubs characteristically have short handles and bulbous ends. The origins of the fluted head of the 'Ula' lie in the buttress roots of the uprooted ironwood saplings from which these clubs are made. The grip on the handle has a decorative and functional carved motif consisting of a series of parallel zig-zag lines called 'tavatava' which help the warrior to grasp the club firmly when swinging or throwing the weapon. Such clubs were hurled with great skill, precision and speed and was often carried in conjunction with a heavier full length club or spear which served to finish an opponent after initially being disabled by a blow from the ula. [FC 25/07/2011]

Throwing club. See F Clunie 'Fijian Weapons and Warfare' 1977 Fiji Museum, Suva, Bulletin of the Fiji Museum no.2 and R. Ewins, Fijian Artefacts: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery collection' Australia 1982.] [AP Leverhulme project on founding collection 1995-1998]

Search terms: Weapon, Club