[olikara]

Norman,

About the figure on the Kora, I think he is wearing leopard skin garments. Garments made of the skins of wild animals like leopards, cheetah(now extinct in India), tigers (very rarely lions as they are not colorful) were the common attire of warriors and holy men like someone who would do a ritual sacrifice in India. Very often a leopard, tiger skin would be draped over the normal attire. The upper body was usually bare while the lower body would be covered with a dhoti. These type of garments denoted the fierceness of the warriors and their valor in a hunt.

On his upper body we see 2 strings of bead ornaments. The larger one has a pendant hanging from it. They are very very commonly worn by religious Hindus in India and called 'Rudraksha Mala'. They are seeds from a holy tree. You can also see a larger dot on his belly which is his navel.

He has a typical Hindu amulet tied around his right upper arm.

Why should the item that the figure holds in one hand be a boomerang? Why can't it be a simple shield. Small shields like that are also known in India(I have seen many in Kerala).

As for the headgear why should one look at it as similar to a European crown? Indian tribals have hundreds of types of Head gear the most common ones being a string tied round their heads and adornments like peacock feathers, leaves, bamboo shoots, etc. inserted between the string and the haer. I think that this is the case here.

I was just looking in my own way at the figure.