Accession No
TEMP.03705
Description
Nifo'oti. Toothed club. Wooden club with a series of 16 wooden 'teeth' running down one edge of the blade. The other edge features a hook at the distal end which curves around and up the edge of the blade. The flat surfaces on both faces of the blade are decorated with intricate, triangular surface carving.
Place
Oceania; Polynesia; Samoa
Period
Source
Department
Anth
Reference Numbers
TEMP.03705; MAA: No. No. [No number] 9
Cultural Affliation
Material
Wood
Local Term
Nifo'oti
Measurements
190mm x 54mm x 770mm
Events
Context (Analysis)
The nifo'oti are a unilaterally toothed club, with a trademark hook curving up and along the non-toothed edge. The name nifo'oti combines from Samoan words for tooth, or teeth; nifo, and death, 'oti. According to Te Rangi Hiroa, Sir Peter Buck, this definition is contentious.
Augustin Kramer states in The Samoan Islands, Vol. II, Material Culture, that the hook (or tooth) was used to drag the corpse of the fallen opponent, after which, the head was to be removed and placed on the hook as a trophy.
This is likely where the name for the club was coined.
These clubs were usually paraded around by the Taupou (experts in Samoan hospitality, dance, ceremony, among other things) of the villiage, and became purely ceremonial as Samoa shifted to a more peaceful existence. Nifo'oti are still used today in Samoan dance, however, these are often made with a steel blade and wooden handle, and without the trademark toothed edge.
Event Date 13/6/2025
Author: jimmy ma'ia'i
Description (Physical description)
Nifo'oti. Toothed club. Wooden club with a series of 16 wooden 'teeth' running down one edge of the blade, 7 of which are damaged. The other edge features a hook at the distal end which curves around and up the edge of the blade. The flat surfaces on both faces of the blade are decorated with intricate, triangular surface carving.
Event Date 13/6/2025
Author: jimmy ma'ia'i
FM:327019
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