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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