Poo Rapa
 

wending it's way to me from san francisco

attributed to Rarotonga, Cook islands:

looks like a traditional form (as in vanadoo's excellent club info series on the cook islands clubs. does not appear to be very old. listed as circa mid 20th c.

13.75 in long 5.5 in. across the blade 5/8in. thick. hardwood. (looks somewhat opalescent in some of the photos) looks like a coconut fibre cord in the central butt hole which appears rather rougher than a modern drill would produce.

vanadoo mentioned these appear to be ceremonial rather than weapons. i note a certain boxy similarity to maori wahaika and the tewhatewha which were used as weapons, at least up to the arrival of the brits. on both of those, the strike is made with the long edge rather than the shorter edge or thrust into a soft spot - like a throat. i wonder if the same was not used here. would certainly be a nasty close range weapon like a wahaika/patu/mere. will be interesting to see if it has a useful edge or is rounded.
this one shows added serrations to the edges.

the tewhatewha was a chief's weapon and signalling device, used to direct lesser warriors as well as kill. same here?

could the pair of rather roughly cut & unoccupied holes (butt and/or leading edge)have been used to tie decorative feather bundles as for signaling in the tewhatewha?

Poo Rapa + crap music :o

your c-word ends in rap.

how that can that be called music, i still do not understand.

this has been a public information announcement
funded by the council for real musical appreciation.

we now return to our regularly scheduled program.

CONGRATULATIONS ITS DIFFICULT TO FIND ANYTHING EVEN A GOOD REPLICA FROM THE COOK ISLANDS. THERE IS LITTLE INFORMATION ON ANY OF THEIR WEAPONS THE MOST COMMON THING I SEE FOR SALE THESE DAYS IS THE CEREMONIAL ADZ FROM THE COOK,S.
ADD SOME PICTURES OF YOUR EXAMPLE AND YOUR OPINION OF IT AND ANY INFORMATION TO THE REFERENCE POST ON THE COOK ISLANDS IF YOU LIKE ITS NOT JUST MY POST, MORE IS DEFINITELY BETTER ON REFERENCES. :)

There seem to be only two old examples known of this sort of club; one in the British Museum and the other in Cambridge University Museum. For a description and illustrations see Peter Buck's 1944 book on Arts and Crafts of the Cook Islands. But that isn't the only place they are mentioned;Terence Barrow's (1979) book on the Art of Tahiti and Neighbouring Islands also has a photo of the Cambridge club.

club has arrived, the only thing i can add to the posts above is that it weighs 260 grams (0.57 lb or 9.17 oz.)

the serrated 'edge' is sharp all the way around. there is some very slight wear on the short edge, leading me to think it has been used, and that it is used like an axe, and by thrusting like a maori patu. there is a very small chip off the rounded exterior 'corner' of the short edge. the grip is not uncomfortable, the serrations add to keeping a secure grip. not sure if it would remain comfortable with sustained use, but i doubt a combat with it would last long, win or lose.

there are parallel scratches transverse and longitudinal that appear to be from sanding with, er...sand. :) it has an lightly varnished but matt surface. could be an oil finish.

the holes are all the same, about 1/8 in. & look like they are from a modern twist drill. one hole had a small seed husk in it, but no seed. overall, some slight dings from handling.

the coconut fibre hanging loop is braided & looks old. it has a much thinner tan cotton loop added that appears to have once been attached to a, sadly now missing, label tag that may have had more info.

i'll try to get some more photos and add this to the cook island club thread over the next few days.

found out what goes in the two holes at the top.