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Throwing Club (Iula Drisia), early to mid 20th Century
Fiji, Melanesia
Wood; 16 3/4 × 4 1/8 ×…
Club (Iula Drisia)
Throwing Club (Iula Drisia), early to mid 20th Century
Fiji, Melanesia
Wood; 16 3/4 × 4 1/8 ×…
Throwing Club (Iula Drisia), early to mid 20th Century Fiji, Melanesia Wood; 16 3/4 × 4 1/8 × 3 7/8 in. 2018.13.11 Gift of Anne and Long Shung Shih

Club (Iula Drisia)

ClassificationsArms and Armor-clubs
Dateearly to mid 20th Century
Made AtFiji
MediumWood
Dimensions16 3/4 × 4 1/8 × 3 7/8 in. (42.5 × 10.5 × 9.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih
Object number2018.13.11
DescriptionThis is a Fijian iula drisia wooden root missile club. Warfare was a constant feature throughout Fijian history, even into the 19th Century, but many weapons’ decorations saw more effort than their utility. Even as weapons intended to break bones and kill, clubs filled an equally important symbolic role as items of immense power in Fiji. These clubs were almost exclusively decorated with intricate carvings or ivory or shell inlays, making them important symbols of status for their owners and valuable exchange items. Iula drisia are a variant of the iula tavatava with spherical heads. Missile clubs were sometimes used as melee weapons, but their intended use as a thrown weapon was far deadlier. It was previously thought that the small triangles at the base of the club were kill tallies, but they in fact mark the passage of feast nights and rituals associated with deceased kin.
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