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Description: | Sceptre or Baton in wood. At one end, two different carved heads, back to back. Eyes, cheeks, mouths and teeth inlaid in mother-of-pearl. Stem of the baton inlaid with mosaic of small rectangles of mother-of-pearl. At other end spherical ?stone covered with woven ?palm fibre (very fine) and bound above with same coloured red. Reid (1912): 'Tailivau, sceptre, with head in stone and handle inlaid with mother of pearl, in wood.' Museum's 'Slip Catalogue': 'See article 'Some Notes on the Assassins Batons of Malaita' by Douglas Rannie and also additional notes by Professor Enrico H Giglioli 'received direct from Sir William Macgregor who gave me that very rare object' which states 'they are not arms, nor are they ever used for fighting but are instead a staff of command, emblem of the authority of King or Chief of a village, in other words a true sceptre' (ARTICLE AND NOTES PLACED UNDER LABEL IN CASE BESIDE SPECIMEN). '
"39. Ceremonial baton, 'wari hau'. Solomon Islands, Malaita. Presented by Sir William Macgregor, 1899. Worn suspended between the shoulder blades by men to signify their status as killers. These objects were seen and wrongly considerd to be clubs by members of the expedition of Alvaro de Mendana in 1568."
Author: Hunt,Charles Date: 1981 Purpose: Shark.Tooth.&.Stone.Blade - Exhibition.Catalogue
"Wood carving in the Solomon Islands was practised widely. Wood was inlaid with mother of pearl into the resin of the putty nut. These carvings could be used to decorate houses or canoes.or were used ceremonially and during certain activities. During the first visits of Europeans to the Solomon Islands, Alvaro de Mendana in 1568 saw decorated batons which he assumed to be war clubs. Subsequently it has been found that they had a symbolic purpose, and were too delicately constructed to have been weapons. This is a sceptre or assassination baton made from wood, with a spherical stone head, usually made of pyrites, covered by finely woven fibre, possibly palm fibre, and a suspension point woven at the end. It is bound on with broader fibre which is coloured red. The shaft of the baton is inlaid with small rectangles of mother of pearl, like a mosaic. The other end is carved into two heads, back to back, both with curled, crest-like head-dresses. ** The two heads are different, one with a headband, cicatrices on the cheeks, teeth and eyes inlaid with mother of pearl, the other with an unscarred face, the ears, eyes, teeth and a vertical forehead band inlaid with mother of pearl. It is possible that the two heads are of a different sex. This baton has been called a 'Tailivau' by its collector, William Macgregor. The accompanying notes say that it was, 'a staff of command emblem of the authority of king or Chief of a village, in other words a true sceptre'. Hunt describes it as a 'wari hau', ceremonial insignia worn by men to signify their status as licensedexecutioners. The baton was suspended with the spherical end uppermost between the shoulder blades. this suggests that killing others conferred power and high status. The threatening nature of the baton is in the perceived significance of the wearer, rather than its actual ability to physically maim."
Author: Feilden,Rosemary Date: 2000 Purpose: WS2001
Field collector: MacGregor, Sir William Sir | License: | http://www.abdn.ac.uk/historic/Copyright_terms_conditions.shtml | Publisher: | ABDUA University of Aberdeen, Marischal Museum | Rights holder: | 47718 | Temporal: | 1800-1898 | Source: | University of Aberdeen | Creator: | Solomon Is | Identifier: | http://calms.abdn.ac.uk/Geology/dserve.e... | Go to resource |
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