IDNO

P.87204.VH

Description

Studio portrait of two untamed “Kai Colo” or highlanders of the “Koro qaqa [Nakoroqaqa?] tribe” in the interior of Vitilevu, seated on chairs, with the bases of a pair of photographer’s clamps visible on the floor behind them. The man on the left is Nabukatavatava - see P.87203. for details - in this picture he has shifted his imilamila head-scratching needle from beside his right cheek-bone to directly above his forehead. His companion at right has a similarly massive and flamboyant pre-Christian hairstyle. At his throat is a doubled trade bead necklace, black beads above white, with a throat pendant with dangling beaded tails. The lanyard worn round his neck has a cord attached to something that is tucked beneath his waistband, possibly an ikalu dwarf coconut-shell whistle, or a set of panpipes. The fan he holds in his hands is an iirimasei or iirisakiki, made from a leaf of the niumasei fan-palm, Pritchardia pacifica, and borne by chiefs and priests as a symbol of rank and as a sunshade. Both men appear to be wearing their malo in the vakasulu fashion - wrapped round their waists as isulu kilts rather than passed between their legs and fastened round their waists as loincloth - perhaps in polite or self-conscious deference to being in Christian Levuka.
Early 1870s. [Fergus Clunie, 26/7/2003]

There are another two duplicate images of the man on the right hand side, against a background of foliage. The background of this print also looks like it has been manipulated. For instance, note the sudden appearance of a chair back and dark backdrop in the gap of the left hand man’s arm. [Alex Nadin, 26/9/2003]

Physical Condition: Print mounted onto paper.

Place

Oceania Polynesia; Fiji; Ovalau Island; Levuka

Cultural Affliation

Kai Colo [historically Big Head Mountaineers]

Named Person

Nabukatavatava (Na Buka Tavatava)

Photographer

Dufty Brothers, Levuka (Dufty, Francis Herbert)

Collector / Expedition

?von Hügel, Anatole (Baron)

Date

circa 1870 - 1875

Collection Name

Source

Format

Carte-de-visite; Print Black & White Mounted

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.87203 to P.87221 were in the Museum’s paper archive envelope, OA2/5/12, which has now been re-numbered C511/.

Related Image: Two prints were found in sleeve P.87204., the second duplicate print has now been assigned the accession number P.109436. [JD 13/4/2010]

Publication: Duplicates of this photograph are on the websites ‘www.pictureaustralia.org’ and ‘www.nla.gov.au/catalogue/pictures/’
‘www.fijimuseum.org.fj/fm-glassplatenegs.htm’. [AN 2/7/2003]

Publication: A duplicate carte-de-visit is held at the Fiji Museum, with the following information:
“Fiji Hill Tribe warriors with wigs (ulumate) photographed at the Dufty Studio in Suva. Dufty Collection, circa 1890.”
[Source: www.fijimuseum.org.fj/online_exibitions_glassplate_negatives.html, JD 10/3/2012]

Publication: This image is also held at the National Library of Australia, reference nla.pic-an10975065-12, with the following information:
Creator: Dufty, Francis H., 1846-1910.
Title: Mountaineers from inland Viti Levu (Kai Colo people) [picture] / F.H. Dufty.
Date: between 1870 and 1879.
Extent: 1 photograph : carte de visite ; 8.6 x 5.5 cm.
Context: Part of Dufty, Francis H., 1846-1910. Panorama of Levuka, Fiji, and portraits [picture]
Series: Panorama of Levuka, Fiji, and portraits.
Summary: The two men are wearing wigs of human hair.--Information provided by Dr. R. Ewins; RO8/102782.
Notes: Mounted with a montage of 5 albumen prints forming a panorama, and 11 other carte-de-visite portraits of Fijian and Tongan Chiefs and people.
[Source: www.nla.gov.au, JD 9/3/2012]

Photographer: This print was provisionally attributed to “?Dufty Brothers, Levuka”, but a duplicate print is published on the National Library of Australia website with the attribution to Francis Dufty. The same iirimasei chief’s or priest’s fan, made from a single leaf with regular spacing and spaced fringing, only appears in Dufty’s early photographs where the studio has been decorated with foliage. This configuration of studio props appears to be used by Dufty between circa 1870 - 1875. The Photographer, Place and Date fields have been amended accordingly. [JD 9/3/2012]

Related Image: This print appears to be the original image from which the associated photographs have been derived from. [JD 8/11/2011]

This print has been catalogued with the support of the Getty Grant Program One. [A. Nadin, 2/7/2003]