MOST DESIRED OCEANIC WAR CLUBS 3: FIJI

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WHAT IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE GUN STOCK CLUB IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF FIJI CLUB FOUND BUT THERE IS VARIETY IN USE AND TYPE IN THIS CATEGORY WHICH IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED. THE TERM GUNSTOCK IS NOT A GOOD ONE AS THIS FORM HAD BEEN IN USE IN FIJI LONG BEFORE CONTACT WITH PEOPLE WITH GUNS. CLUNNIE RIGHTLY SUGGESTS GUN STOCK SHOULD BE DISCARDED AND PERHAPS REPLACED WITH SPURRED CLUBS.
KIAKAVO , KIAKAVA OR ULULALA THESE CLUBS WERE FOR CEREMONIAL USE AND DANCING. THEY WERE RARELY IF EVER USED FOR FIGHTING SO LACKED A CUTTING EDGE. THE UNDERSIDE OF THE HEAD IS ROUNDED IN KIAKAVO, NOT ANGLED AS IN AS WITH GATA AND SALI SPURED CLUBS. TRUE KIAKAVA WERE SMALL AND LIGHT FOR DANCING AND WERE REFERRED TO AS KIAKAVO DINA. A TYPE OF THIS FORM WAS CALLED KIAKAVO VIVIDRASA WHICH REFERS TO THE MAGIMAGI COIR SENNET HANDLE WRAPINGS. I HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF THE KIAKAVO SHOWN ON CLUNIES FIGURE 1 IT IS ITEM C, PAGE 52. THIS EXAMPLE IS 29 INCHES LONG AND HAS A FULLY WRAPPED HANDLE ( FIBER WRAP IN POOR SHAPE). IT COULD BE USED FOR FIGHTING BUT AS MENTIONED ABOVE HAS NO SHARP SPUR OR EDGE AND IS SMALLER THAN THE AVERAGE FIGHTING CLUB.
HERE ARE 3 MORE PICTURES SHOWING A COMPARASON OF THE DANCE CLUB AND OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE A GOOD OLD FIGHTING CLUB OF THE SAME GENERAL FORM. THE FIGHTING CLUB IS 35 INCHES LONG AND HAS SEVERAL DIFFERENCES IN THE HEAD SHAPE WITH MORE BLADE LIKE STRIKING EDGES. THE BUTT END HAS THE PHALLIC SHAPE FOUND ON MOST OLDER FIJIAN CLUBS THAT HAVE LITTLE TONGAN INFLUENCE.
IN CLUNIE'S BOOK IT USES THE NAME KIAKAVA TO REFER ONLY TO DANCE CLUBS AND THE PICTURES ON PLATE 1 ARE ALL SUPPOSED TO BE DANCE CLUBS. ON MY SMALL EXAMPLE WITH THE WRAPPED HANDLE IT IS EASY TO SEE THE THINGS HE REFERS TO THAT SETS THEM APART, ON MY OTHER EXAMPLE MANY OF THESE INDICATORS ARE DIFFERENT? HERE ARE OTHER EXAMPLES CLOSE TO THIS FORM ONE WITH INSET HUMAN TEETH IT IS 35 INCHES LONG. TWO EXAMPLES HAVE FIBER RINGS ON THEM. UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE NO FURTHER INFO ON THESE EXAMPLES.

[KraVseR]

Thank you.
And muskets used by other warriors of the Oceania, yes? Samoans, Solomons, Tongan, etc.

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ONE IMPORTANT THING I LEFT OUT ON IDENTIFYING THE KIAKAVO FORM OF CLUB. THERE IS A SMALL ROUNDED RIDGE LOCATED AT THE CROTCH OF THE SPUR AT THE HEAD OF THE CLUB. IT IS CALLED TERETERE AFTER THE COMB OF A ROOSTER OR THE FRILL OF THE IGUANA LIZZARD. THIS VERY RARELY SHOWS UP ON THE OTHER FORMS OF SPURRED CLUBS. SEE PICTURE .

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THE NEXT FORM OF SPURRED CLUB IS THE GATA WHICH IS THE NAME OF THE PACIFIC PYTHON /BOA SNAKE. CLUNIE SIMPLIFYS THIS TO CALL THEM SNAKE CLUBS AS THE CLUB IS LIKE THE STRIKE OF A SNAKE (QUICK AND DEADLY). THE SPUR IS SHARPER AND HAS EDGES RATHER THAN A ROUNDED STRIKING SURFACE. THE CLUB EDGES COULD BREAK BONES AND THE SPUR COULD PENETRATE THE BODY OR SKULL OF THE FOE.
MOST GATA HAVE A CURVE TOWARD THE HEAD AS DOES THE KIAKAVO FORM BUT THERE IS A STRAIGHT FORM OF GATA CALLED TUDONU.
THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF VARIATION IN THIS FORM WHICH I WILL NOT GET INTO HERE TAKE A LOOK AT CLUNNIES BOOK FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.
THE FIRST 3 PICTURES ARE OF A CURVED GATA AND A STRAIGHT (TUDONU) CLUB. THE STRAIGHT CLUB WAS COLLECTED IN THE 1930'S AND IS 41.5 INCHES LONG. THE CURVED CLUB IS FROM THE 1960'S AND IS AN ART PIECE THE SHAFT TAPERS AND IS NOT ROUND AS IS TRADITIONAL BUT IT FOLLOWS FORM AND DECORATION WELL EXCEPT FOR THOSE TWO THINGS. THE OTHER 3 CLUBS SHOW SOME VARIATIONS ON FORM AND CARVING ONE EVEN HAVING INLAYED DESIGNS. THESE 3 SHOW TONGAN INFLUENCE ON THE BUTT ENDS AND CARVING STYLE AND WERE CARVED FROM THE 1950'S TO 1960'S. SIZE RANGE IS 41.5 TO 39.5 INCHES.
THREE PICTURES SHOWING FIJI WARRIORS WITH THE CLUB IN ONE OF ITS STRIKING POSITIONS.

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A FEW MORE EXAMPLES OF THE GATA FORM OF CLUB. THE FIRST PICTURE IS OF THE CURRENT TOURIST MODEL COMPLETE WITH TAPA CLOTH AND SCRATCHED IN DESIGNS. THE SECOND EXAMPLE SHOWS A GOOD OLD FIJI CLUB REFERED TO AS GATA WAKA, THE WIDE CHEEKS OF THE CLUB WERE POUNDED WITH STONES TO SHAPE THE TREE BEFORE IT WAS CUT. THERE ARE A FEW PICTURES OF EXAMPLES OF THIS SORT OF CLUB WITH DIFFERENT RESULTS IN THE ROUGH FINISH OF THE CLUB. THE CLUBS WITH LOTS OF CARVEING SHOW TONGAN INFLUENCE AS USUAL.

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MORE EXAMPLES OF GATA FORM CLUBS. NOTE TWO PICTURES HAVE CLUBS WITH HOLES THRU THE HEAD. THESE ARE CALLED TUDONU BECAUSE OF THE HOLES IN THE BLADE, THESE HOLES WOULD ORIGINALLY HAVE BEEN STRUNG WITH WIRY BLACK WAIOA CREEPERS THREADED WITH MULTI-COLORED TRADE BEADS. THE FORTH PICTURE MAY SHOW A FORM REFERED TO AS A WAKA KIAKAVO THIS WOULD BE DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF THE SMALL RIDGE AT THE CROTCH OF THE SPUR.

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THESE ARE THE LAST OF THE GATA FORM THE NEXT FORM IS THE SALI WHICH HAS EVEN MORE SIMULARITY TO THE GATA FORM THAN THE KIAKAVO TO EITHER OF THE OTHER TWO. THERE ARE MORE SUB-CATEGORYS AMONG THE MAIN 3 TYPES OF SPURRED CLUBS BUT I HAVE NOT TRYED TO BREAK THEM DOWN COMPLETELY HERE. HOPEFULLY I HAVE NOT MIXED THEM UP ALREADY.
THREE PICTURES TOWARD THE END ARE OF ONE EXAMPLE OF A VERY GOOD TONGAN CARVED GATA CLUB.