Accession No
Z 2936 A
Description
Needle of bone, made from the leg bone of a Fijian native killed and eaten at mBau.
Place
Oceania; Polynesia; Fiji; Viti Levu; Rewa river and province
Period
Source
von Hügel, Anatole Andreas Aloys (Baron) [collector and donor]
Department
Anth
Reference Numbers
Z 2936 A; 1923.H210 b; ?O.X.342.b.H [from catalogue card]; ?E 22b [from catalogue card]
Cultural Affliation
Material
Bone [?human]
Local Term
Saulinaca [Fijian Art research project]
Measurements
Events
Context (CMS Context)
Catalogue card 1 reads [stamped in black ink:] 'Z 2936 A FIJI'. [typed:] 'Rewa river and province. Viti Levu. Needle of bone, length 8 7/8", made from the leg bone of a Fijian native killed and eaten at Bau. "bokolo = eaten man." [added in pencil 'man to be eaten']. Presented to the Baron Von Hugel by Masadroka the Vunivalu = war chief, of rewa after they had just finished sewing mats (tabakau) for a new Christian church. S. Cowles says that the Baron told him that this needle was made from the leg bone of a chief of one of [back of the card:] the islands. The Baron von Hugel talking one day with the Vunivalu of Rewa the latter said that he had killed and eaten the man from whose leg bone the needle was made. Used in the making of sails and mats.' [stamped in black ink:] 'THE VON HÜGEL COLLECTION CIRCA 1875'. [added in pencil:] 'K. Roth says MBOKOLA signifies person whom it is intended to eat, future tense not perfect. Hazelwood says 'the dead body of an enemy slain in war, designed to be eaten. TAMBAKAU = interplaited coconut leaves.' [on front of card, added in pencil:] 'OX 342 b H', 'E 22 b' and '1932 H210'. [in pencil in the bottom left corner:] '4/91'. [stamped in black ink in the bottom right corner:] 'SHOW CASE NUMBER 4'. A small round red sticker pasted to the front of the card.
Catalogue card 2 reads [handwritten in black ink:] 'Z 2936 A Rewa river and province. Viti Levu. Needle of bone, length 8 7/8", made from the leg bone of a Fijian native killed and eaten at Bau. "bokolo = eaten man." [added in pencil 'man to be eaten']. Presented to the Baron Von Hugel by Masadroka the Vunivalu = war chief, of rewa after they had just finished sewing mats (tabakau) for a new Christian church. S. Cowles says that the Baron told him that this needle was made from the leg bone of a chief [back of the card:] of one of the islands. The Baron von Hugel talking one day with the Vunivalu of Rewa the latter said that he had killed and eaten the man from whose leg bone the needle was made. Used in the making of sails and mats.' [added in pencil:] 'K. Roth says MBOKOLA signifies person whom it is intended to eat, future tense not perfect. Hazelwood says 'the dead body of an enemy slain in war, designed to be eaten. TAMBAKAU = interplaited coconut leaves.' [on front of card, added in pencil:] 'OX 342 b H', 'E 22 b' and '1932 H210'. [in pencil in the bottom left corner:] '4/91'.
Event Date 1/6/1996
Author: maa
Description (CMS Description)
Needle of bone, made from the leg bone of a Fijian native killed and eaten at mBau.
Event Date 1/6/1996
Author: maa
Context (CMS Context)
Wrongly recorded in 'Chiefs & Governors: Art and power in Fiji' - Z 2936 B was exhibited, not Z 2936 A.
Event Date 13/12/2013
Author: Lucie Carreau
Context (CMS Context)
Labels & inscriptions: '1923.H.210 b' and 'Z 2936 A' inscribed in black ink on one side of the needle.
Event Date 13/12/2013
Author: Lucie Carreau
Description (CMS Description)
Short needle of bone, tapering and flattened at one end and pierced with a neat round hole at the other. One side shows the porous part of the bone.
Event Date 13/12/2013
Author: maa
FM:109439
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