THE EARLY WAR CLUBS WERE CARVED USING SHELL, BONE AND CORAL AND STONE WHERE AVAILABLE. THEIR CONSTRUCTION WAS A SLOW AND DIFFICULT TASK SO THEY WERE CARVED MOSTLY FOR DESIGN AND FUNCTION. THIS BEING THE CASE DECORATION WOULD HAVE BEEN HELD TO A MINIMUM AND PROBABLY SERVED TO HELP THE GRIP AND PERHAPS FOR SOME TAILSMANIC PROPERTYS. MARKS AND DESIGNS COULD HAVE BEEN ADDED LATER AS A WARRIORS STATUS GREW DENOTING KILLS AND VICTORIES. PERHAPS SOME CARVING WOULD HAVE DENOTED AN ACE BASED ON HIS NUMBER OF KILLS.
HUMAN TEETH WERE SOMETIMES INSET IN CLUBS FROM FIJI, I AM NOT AWARE OF THAT PRACTICE ON OTHER ISLAND GROUPS WEAPONS.
THERE WERE NO DOUBT SOME CEREMONIAL CLUBS OR THOSE CARRIED BY HIGH CHIEFS OR ALEEHE THAT WERE MORE FULLY CARVED. THESE WOULD HAVE BEEN STATUS SYMBOLS AND NO DOUBT WERE ATTRIBUTED TO HAVE MAGIC POWERS (MANNA) WHEN CONTACT WAS MADE AND METAL TOOLS ARRIVED IT MADE MAKEING AND CARVEING WEAPONS MUCH EASIER AND FASTER SO MORE DESIGNS COULD BE EASILY ADDED. THERE WOULD ALSO HAVE BEEN MORE OUTSIDE INFLUENCE FROM OTHER ISLANDS AS WELL AS FROM EUROPE. PATTERNS WERE NO DOUBT COPIED FROM WEAPONS AND TEXTILES AS WELL AS ACTUAL OBJECTS SUCH AS SHIPS AND PEOPLE.
AT THAT POINT I WOULD SAY IT WAS THE GOLDEN AGE OF CARVEING AND THE MOST INTRICATE AND ARTISTIC EXAMPLES WERE MADE. THEY MAY HAVE NOT BEEN AS TRADITIONAL AS THE OLDER WEAPONS BUT AS FOR ART AND WORKMANSHIP WERE THE BEST. OVER THE YEARS IT WOULD HAVE DEGRADED WHEN CARVERS SAW THEY COULD SELL A INFERIOR EXAMPLE WHICH TOOK A FRACTION OF THE TIME AND WORK TO MAKE FOR AS MUCH AS A MASTERPIECE.
THERE IS A RECENT BOOK OUT ON THE SAMOAN FIRE KNIFE. IT HAS SOME HISTORY BUT IS MOSTLY ABOUT THE SAMOAN WHO MADE THE FIRE KNIFE DANCE A POPULAR PART OF ALL POLYNESIAN SHOWS.
TWO PICTURES OF A TONGAN STYLE CLUB WITH HUMAN FIGURE
ONE PIC OF RECENT FIJI CLUB WITH SENNET CORD BINDING ( NOTE THE SHAFT IS CARVED IN AS A SQUARE SHAFT NOT ROUND AS IS PROPER)