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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ukraine
Posts: 128
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Hello!
I find the names of samoan weapons. Please, tell me, this correctly or not? 1. Povai - long and thin club. 2. Fa'aaufala - mace, covered with numerous spines. 3. Uatogi - club, made in the form of coconut stem or veins. 4. Talavalu - club witch 8 spikes, 4 on both sides. 5. Fa'alaufa'i - tooth club, made in the form of banana leaf. 6. Amu'amu - club, made in the form of paddle. 7. Fa'alautaliga - club, made in the form of two ears are connected together. 8. Nifo Oti - tooth club, which has on one side a parallel fang. 9. Samoan fire knife - metal version of Nifo Oti. 10. Tao - samoan spear. 11. Faitasi - club of samoanese chief. 12. Samoan war axe - club, made in the form of axe. 13. Katoya (???) 14. Anave - club, made in the form of speare. 15. Ulu manu - club, made in the form of head of the animal (bird). 16. Lapalapa - club, made in the form of elongated triangle. 17. Tafesilafa'i - club of Nafanuna, samoan god of war. 18. Olomoe - samoan throwing club. 19. Aufana - samoan bow. 20. Ma'ata - samoan sling. 21. Unnamed club with root-head. Any corrections and additions are welcome! And, please, tell me, these names are pronounced as normal words or there are any features? |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ukraine
Posts: 128
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It's all right? Tell me, please.
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#3 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: What is still UK
Posts: 5,776
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Classification can be a real problem. Often the classification has been made long after the clubs were made for war, usually hindered by the fact that compilers are not of the same cultural origin . Also the same club forms would have been used on many Islands other than the Samoan Islands. This page from "Samoan Arts & Artists, Hawaii university press " is helpful but it is only a scratch on the surface. Other members may have more information. I will look in other books.
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#4 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ukraine
Posts: 128
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Thank you. I'm waiting for the opinion of others.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ukraine
Posts: 128
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And I know about samoan glove witch shark teeth. And they had some kind of armor. Images from book by Wood, J. G.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ukraine
Posts: 128
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And another question: all of the above weapons also applies to American Samoa, or not?
And someone has information about their armor? |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,430
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Hi KraVseR
I have read your thread and can offer the following input :- a) In my opinion, the best reference for identification of Oceanic weapons, and other artefacts, is the following :- "Ethnographical Album of the Pacific Islands" by James Edge-Partington, reprint 1996. Its a big, heavy book, but you can find most items there. b) In my copy of the Rev. Wood book, the cocoa-nut fibre suit is captioned as being from Kingsmill Islands (now Kiribati). c) I had always thought of those shark tooth weapons as being from Micronesia and Hawaii, but Samoa is relatively close to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, so perhaps there was some crossover, or it could be a simple mistake in the book ? Regards. |
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#8 |
(deceased)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: OKLAHOMA, USA
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IN MY OPINION THE NIFO OTI IS THE CLUB THAT BEST REPRESENTS SAMOA AS ITS FORM IS NOT FOUND ON OTHER ISLANDS AS FAR AS I KNOW. THE METAL KNIVES EVOLVED FROM THIS AND THE DANCES WITH TWO OF THESE KNIVES LATER EVOLVED INTO THOSE USED IN THE FIRE DANCES POPULAR IN POLYNESIAN SHOWS TODAY. THE USE OF THESE TEETH THAT HAVE 4 SIDES IS MOST NOTED AS A SAMOAN FEATURE FOUND ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF CLUBS. I WILL GET BACK TO THIS SAMOA POST WHEN TIME ALLOWS AS I AM STILL WORKING ON FIJI AND WILL HAVE TO REGROUP FOR SAMOA. GOOD POST AND INFORMATION
![]() I HAVE ADDED SOME PICTURES OF THE CLASSIC FORM OF WOODEN NIFO OTI CIRCA 1920 TO 1930'S. THERE IS A PICTURE OF TWO SAMOANS WITH THE WOOD VERSION OF THE STEEL BLADED LATER FORM AND AN EXAMPLE OF THE STEEL BLADED FORM FIRST USED FOR THE SAMOAN KNIFE DANCE AND A PICTURE OF THE MORE SHOWY FIRE DANCE. ACTUALLY THE OLD KNIFE DANCE WAS MORE DANGEROUS UNLESS YOU ACCIDENTALLY CAUGHT YOUR COSTUME OR THE CLUB ON FIRE. ![]() Last edited by VANDOO; 8th August 2013 at 04:47 PM. |
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#9 | |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ukraine
Posts: 128
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#10 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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In Micronesia (e.g. Kiribati and Truk), they braced the teeth between two thin splints, presumably of pandanus or coconut wood, and then tied the splinted teeth to whatever the body of the weapon, using cords that went entirely around the weapons and passed from tooth across to tooth (you can see that construction in this article). The neatest trick here was drilling the hole in the shark tooth, since that's harder than it looks, at least in my experience. Although I'm sure construction techniques are all jumbled together now that island artists are learning from books and selling to tourists, I'm fairly confident that in pre-WW2 pieces, the construction techniques are separate and distinct. That should help you figure out which piece came from where. Best, F |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Ukraine
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Thank you!
But I know the only glove of weapons with shark teeth in Samoa. I did not find war club with such teeth of Samoa. |
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#12 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,430
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Hi
Looking into this subject a bit more - seems shark-tooth weapons/implements were also used in Tahiti and New Zealand.... |
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