This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 Excerpt: ...parts of New Guinea, as Maclure Gulf, possess no clubs. These weapons serve for striking or for guarding arrows and javelins, and in general they form the accompaniment of every expedition. Hence their double position as insignia of rank and weapons. They are often so heavy and shapeless, and yet wrought with such an ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 Excerpt: ...parts of New Guinea, as Maclure Gulf, possess no clubs. These weapons serve for striking or for guarding arrows and javelins, and in general they form the accompaniment of every expedition. Hence their double position as insignia of rank and weapons. They are often so heavy and shapeless, and yet wrought with such an expenditure of labour, patience, and ingenuity, that they must be intended for some purposes other than fighting only. The clubs of celebrated warriors in Fiji used to have names of honour or pet names; in their shapes some seem to be connected with the four-edged Tongan type, others with the paddle-shaped weapons of Tonga and Samoa. A peculiar form is the imitation of a flint musket, lock and all; another is a point projecting from a prickly fruit. In New Caledonia the most frequent form of club is the simplest, namely a bludgeon merely taken from a knotty branch. The first stage towards finishing lies in the making of a sharp edge round the knob, the next in childish striped ornaments; or a favourite plan is to jag the end in a star shape. A peculiar club is one in the shape of a bird's head, which here replaces that used in Mota to open bread-fruit. But in all an easily recognisable difference from those of Fiji and Tonga is formed by the grip which thickens abruptly at the handle end. Together with this goes the splicing of the handle with string, ribbon, palm fibres, even dry fern. In the case of the richest or most distinguished persons the throwing-cords are fitted with reddish brown knots. This ultimately led to the reddish brown shaggy ornament as found also on spears. In recent times it has been imitated by means of imported red wool, even by miserable shreds of cotton, a melancholy symbol of the decay of the old glory of the Kanakas....
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