Earring

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-ear ornaments-earrings

Culture Dani

Datemid to late 20th Century

Made AtPapua (Irian Jaya) Province, Indonesia

Collection SitePapua (Irian Jaya) Province, Indonesia

MediumCassowary Quill

Dimensions3 3/8 × 3 3/4 × 1 in. (8.6 × 9.5 × 2.5 cm)

Credit LineGift of Jean Brenner

Object number2017.4.31.1

DescriptionThe Dani are known to use cassowary quills in certain ornamental items such as headdresses. Not much is known about their usage of cassowary quills as earrings. If these earrings were used similarly to other area groups, then they were generally reserved for festivals or celebrations, but were sometimes worn on a day to day basis. Based on Asmat usage, it is likely that at most two of these earrings were once connected like links in a chain.

Per Jean Brunner, when she first came across these items in 1996 they were being worn by a Kombai woman at a wedding. This is a small group of tree dwelling people living just southeast of the Dani. Tobias Schneebaum mentions a similar group, the Korowai as casual wearers of cassowary quill earrings. There are more examples still of the nearby Asmat’s ear ornaments made from cassowary quills.

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