Belt
ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-waist garments
Date20th Century
Made AtSouthern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea
MediumBark
Dimensions6 × 12 3/8 × 12 3/4 in. (15.2 × 31.4 × 32.4 cm)
Credit LineAnonymous Gift
Object number99.76.129
DescriptionWhen men in the Mt. Hagen area of the Southern Highlands Province ready themselves for battle or ceremony, they dress in their full regalia of feathers, necklaces, armbands, plant materials, and daggers. This waistband serves as a belt to hold a variety of items in place such as daggers and tropical branches that are worn as ornamentation. It could be worn only by initiated men, who received larger or more highly decorated belts as they advanced in age and wisdom. The intricately decorated band serves both as a fashion and status item, but in its width it also serves as protection for the most vulnerable part of the body, the abdomen, against arrows and spears thrown in battle.On View
On viewCollections
