Wayana
 

New addition to the Amazon collection. It has still to arrive and I only have the one cropped picture. It is the club with the handle uppermost in the pictures. Wayana is only one group that this form may be found. The other pictures are from- the club without teeth additions

Amazonien Indianer der Regenwalder und Savannen, Museum fur Volkerkunde Dresden. Just listed as a flat club.

the other with Jaguar teeth- Arts of the Amazon- Thames and Hudson. Listed as a ceremonial club used by shaman in the ant shield ceremony.

My club has additions of Peccaries teeth. This form of club is found in the rain forest borders of the Guiana's.

This is a very interesting link that helps set the surroundings, about elusive people in this region.

http://www.kitlv-journals.nl/index.p...File/5298/6065

I just thought I ought to add this comparison of iconography to what is clearly recognized as Amazonian.

Finally ready to show this. I know there is limited interest in this sort of thing. Just think about it? yes its not hundreds of years old but it is far from common and I have been informed of its rarity due to evangelism, let alone the small size of population. Poor versions are made for sale. A great deal of the "antique" weapons we collect are very common made in there millions but still seem to be rather expensive.
I have restored the missing tusks, thank you "weapons27" as the tusks were all damaged. Only one of the original tusks was usable after some super glue.

Wow, never seen peccary teeth used for anything before! How is the internal structure of the tooth - very much like that of a pig's, I imagine?

Mounted on the club, one can't tell the difference. You've done a good job of replacing them!

Thanks for putting it up Tim. This thread is really interesting, and I'm always excited to see you update with new stuff.


All the best, - Thor

I had concerns about Peccary v Feral Pig tusks. I do not know if the originals were one or the other. I have put my mind at rest as Feral Pigs have been in South America since the 16th century.

Don't worry, I'm sure there are those who are intrigued but unable to add much input. It was the same for Taiwanese aborignal knives - it's just not a collector's hot-spot so-to-speak. Nihonto, keris, Moro & Filipino, and Indo-Persian stuff is a whole 'nother story...
I for one am fascinated, but I don't have any authentic vintage/antique clubs or some immense wealth of knowledge ...I just have an old 70+ yr old set of apinaje bow and arrows, and it's Amazonian archery that I have more knowledge on.

More recently collected or not, this club is an example of their material culture, and even if it is a ceremonial-oriented object, or a warclub design no longer (if ever) used in war, it sheds light on what is, what was, and what may have been...

I did find this flat convex edged paddle-like club here at American Museum of Natural History: http://anthro.amnh.org/south

They are attributed to the Wayana - you probably knew already.


What interests me somewhat is that it resembles one of the paddle-club shapes that Walter Roth describes. Essentially Don Arp, Jr. breaks down Guianan clubs as "block", "spatulate", "paddle", and "dagger"... he is mainly drawing upon Walter Roth's work I think.
I am getting my information from here: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi...lock%20Club%22
That article has been posted on the Ethno. Arms & Armor forum before, in the macana/aputu thread.

Check page 15, the generalized shapes for the "paddle clubs" have one incomplete sketch on the right that resembles these Wayana clubs... Where-as the left-most I have seen attributed to Kali'na/Caribe and Makushi... and the centeral one I have seen in depictions of Arawaks/Lokonos.


These clubs, having two bulges and a spike remind me of an arawak club:
http://www.americanindian.si.edu/sea...size=75&page=1
which looks relatively similar to the central sketch of paddle clubs in the Aputu article I linked to earlier...



:)

Very nice restoration. I'm certainly interested in this sort of thing - I just have so little knowledge its hard to know what to say. :D I will say thank you, because threads like these end up providing more info than the rest of the Internet, particularly because the items in question are actually shown and not just written about. :)

Found this picture of the necklace of a Colombian Amazon Indian chief. The tusks have all been trimmed to some degree as I have had to to get the tusks to fit in the holes on the club which is really a cult item rather than a weapon. If you really needed to hit somebody, it would hurt. I am quite happy with the restoration.

I was emailed these two pictures of thr sort of made for sale versions that are found these days.

Yabahana, Rio Apaporis, E Colombia. Tusks.

Ikpeng club
 

The Brazil/south American section of my collection keeps growing with the addition of this splendid Ikpeng club. The first contact with the Ikpeng was 1960 so one cannot expect antique examples. There are signs of metal tools file? marks. Carved from a heavy dark palm wood 1.7kg. The current Ikpeng population is around 500 souls up from a post contact disease low of 50. I can only imagine that they are not the most common form of Amazon Indian club like those of the Kayapo and Karaja. This little educational film taken from youtube is pleasant to watch {as is the second part}. 3.08 minutes in two young boys pull clubs from the thatch and laughingly demonstrate there use.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xafm2Edcgq8

The club has an unusual hollow carved into one side of the blade and small ridge at the very distal end on the other side. It is very comfortable in the hand. I also show it in a group of South Seas clubs. All except the Micronesian example next to the Ikpeng, are very common indeed yet command at the very least 3 times the money in the "market". They are all lighter in weight the new club is 104cm long.

Interesting Tim, thanks for posting - your collection is certainly expanding...

Thanks Colin. A little bit of follow up to this new club. From, Museums fur Volkerkunde Dresden "Amazonien Indianer der Regenwalder und Savannen" Here the Ikpeng are called Txicao their language group. I am sure people will find the pictures interesting, the club is 115cm long.

Amazing collection of Amazon clubs you have there Tim, congrats! :)

Regards,

Detlef

Thought these recent finds (Amazonian club and beaded apron), would be best tacked onto Tim's thread. Northern Brazil/Southern Guyana ?

I do like those Amazon strong geometric designs...

Regards.

the bat looks like Kayapo weaponry to me :shrug:

I agree, some of them have very nice geometric weaving, like that one

Just to show the range of size and shapes of some of these old Amazon Makana and Sapakana from Guyana/Guiana and Brazil, here are some photos of a friends collection, some nice examples pretty much showing all the forms used for bashing heads... enjoy! Stefan

WOW!!! WHAT A REMARKABLE COLLECTION SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY HAPPEN IF YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND THRU MANY YEARS OF COLLECTING. THANKS FOR SHAREING :D

Thanks Barry. Yes years of collecting and quite some dedication to the subject. These things in particular look good in a group. Apparantly once you have one you want them all...

What a magnificent collection! Thanks to your friend and you for sharing.

Regards,

Detlef

I am in awe... there are so many real examples of clubs I have only seen sketches of. This is amazing.


Well, I can't possibly show that sort of volume... but, I got a Yanomamö dueling club recently. It, like most things made by them, are made of natural materials, with no decor, and relatively simple but effective. You can see them briefly in the famous "Axe fight" scene, here. They began fighting with roof poles, and normally would have escalated to a club duel with these wooden-sword/shortstaff style clubs... but it escalated right into an ax/machete fight.

These are incredibly rare in collections, I know of only 2, mine and the one in the American Museum of Natural History.

I WOULD THINK THE COLLECTOR WHO HAS THIS COLLECTION WOULD HAVE QUITE A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THESE WEAPONS AND COULD ANSWER MANY QUESTIONS.
I KNOW THE SHORT HOURGLASS SHAPED CLUBS SOMETIMES HAVE TRIBAL DESIGNS.
FOCUSING ON THEM.
1. DO DIFFERENT DESIGNS TELL WHICH TRIBE AND REGION THEY CAME FROM.?
2. ARE MOST OF THE TRIBES MAKEING THESE CLUBS COASTAL TRIBES OF CARIB ORIGIONS?
3. WHICH ONES ARE WAR CLUBS AND ARE SOME OF THESE CLUBS FOR CEREMONIAL USE OR TO DENOTE PRESTIGE OR RANK OF THE OWNER.?

Truly amazing collection. This collector must have a group of porters to carry the wallet.

Want to post pictures from this Kayopo club which just ended on ebay without someone bid but think the price was ok.

I think the price was not too bad. For me +shipping +import tax +VAT too much for one of the more common club types.

The hour-glass ones, you mean the Aputu?

They're mainly from the Carib and Arawak tribes. Caribs including island Carib, Kali'na, Ye'kwana, etc. and the related Makushi and other groups. The whole Guianas region had these clubs (French Guinana, Suriname, and Guyana).

I'm not sure about carvings or painting or designs denoting rank or tribal affiliation but I do know in more recent times there have been ones of poorer quality for tourism, or smaller seemingly less combat effective ones probably for dance... but all the really old ones seem at least 15-16" or a little more and made of quality hardwoods.

Hello Tim,

yes understand. But it seems to have a nice patina and I have posted the pictures mainly for reference and you can see good at the pictures the original bindings at the end of the wooven grip.

Regards,

Detlef

This one sold very recently in Aus for a very good price. If I did not have one already I could have gone for it with all the shipping, customs duty and VAT add on. Looks as if it has a native plant juice lacquer? 80cm so a quite a bit shorter than the other one in the USA.

Very, very nice one. Could it be made from black wood?

Regards,

Detlef

Looks beautiful. I wonder how often they are lacquered... the Kayapo clubs you see today (used in protests moreso than fights now) come in a variety of finishes, roughly hewn out or finely sanded down, some look newly made and some look older.

For anyone who's interest (or just "for the record") here's an example of Yanomami clubs from a museum in Venezuela. Seems to me, the Yanomami clubs are more roughly made than Shipibo, Kayapo, or many Guiana clubs... they're either sword-like 5-6' clubs made of palmwood, or 6'+ pool cue style staves often used in duels. I suspect the palmwood ones are more often used in war and for killing as the semi-sharp edges and material make killing easier... where-as the poles used in village duels (where opponents exchange blows on the head) is not usually lethal, but leaves nasty scars and concussions. Having said that, from my reading of Chagnon's works, it seems like in raids the Yanomami prefer to use their bows and arrows... but occasionally will use axes, machetes, and clubs in close - however a raid is considered a failure if even one of the raiders is killed by the enemy village...

Regarding Post #51 with the Ikpeng sword-bat

I found a video, at 3 minutes you see the kids showing two such clubs
the raised area on one side and the shallow furrow on the other is clear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TOirYOJEt4

:)

I took a picture of these two clubs in the Dhalem Berlin. They are from Micronesia. I cannot remember the exact Island group. I add them here just to show how similar they are to Amazon clubs.

Orinoco
 

From late last summer I made two purchases hoping to add to my collect but badly burnt my fingers on bad judgement. I console myself with the fact that things were a little troublesome at the time and you win some and you lose some when you gamble. However a New Year and a birthday too boot. So what about this. I am informed that it was collected by missionaries {1950s} from the Maquiritare peoples who inhabit areas of the extreme south of Venezuela and the border with Brazil, the area would have been part of the old idea of the Guyana's. Missionaries may have questionable motives but they have always been a good source of ethnographic material. 32 inches long, hard to get a good sense of it from one picture and not with similar pieces. Just have to go through a few weeks of waiting. What I do find immediately interesting is the difference in weave pattern when compared to the previous examples from much further south in this thread. When I have it I can make a more serious comparative study. In the meantime here is the item.

I LOOKED AT THE ITEM LAST NIGHT AND DECIDED TO PONDER ON IT FURTHER TODAY. GLAD TO SEE YOU GOT IT. :D
I JUST COULD NOT DETERMINE TO MY SATISFACTION IF IT WAS A WEAPON SYMBOLIC OR OTHERWISE OR SOME SORT OF IMPLEMENT. :confused: I DO BELIEVE THE INFORMATION OF AGE, LOCATION AND TRIBE AND WHO COLLECTED IT. A NICE AUTHENTIC TRIBAL NON-TOURIST ITEM. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR ASSESMENT WHEN YOU RECEIVE IT. :cool:

I think I have seen pictures of other Amazon pronged weapons I will search.

I am keeping me fingers that this is a case of---- He who hesitates is lost, rather than ---- Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread. ;)

Its could be a native cigar-holder, I will see if I can dig up some pics...

I HAVE SEEN TWO SOUTH AMERICAN FORK LIKE ITEMS REFERED TO AS WEAPONS THAT WERE NOT AS WELL MADE AS YOUR EXAMPLE, I NEVER COULD MAKE UP MY MIND ON THEM EITHER. :) THE WOOD USED TO MAKE YOUR EXAMPLE APPEARS TO BE A VERY NICE DARK HEAVY RED WOOD CALLED PAU IN BRAZIL. I THINK YOU DID WELL AT THE PRICE EVEN IF IT IS NOT A WAR CLUB. IT IS HARD TO GET ANY OLDER GOOD QUALITY ITEMS FROM SOUTH AMERICA AND THE PRICES DEMANDED BY MANY DEALERS ARE USUALLY TOO HIGH FOR ME THESE DAYS.

Colin I know what you mean by cigar holder, The end without the prongs is slightly reminiscent of the curved ends of a cigar holder. This item is 32 inches long, the same length as the Sudan club in the center of these two Amazon clubs. So it is quite substantial and will have some weight. I have found this picture of an Amazon forked weapon. I am sure I have seen larger version but cannot find any. The Indians in this region get their dart and weapon poison from tree sap. All you would need is some sap on the prongs and you have an extremely deadly close quarter weapon. The sourcing of this poison and much more background information on the Maquiritare and surrounding peoples can be found by watching a 6 part documentary on "youtube"

The Mystery Mountain.

I cannot remember which part has the poison collecting, best watch it all. Mention is made of the dangers posed by missionaries. As soon as I have it I will be able to show with other clubs.

Thanks Barry, I hope I have done well this time.

Scroll down and all is reveled. I think I have been very lucky, as you can see my item has been well handled and has substance. :cool:

http://www.indian-cultures.com/cultu...kuana-indians/

CONGRADULATIONS INDEED. SOMETIMES IT PAYS TO TAKE A LEAP AND NOT PONDER. :D THE ITEMS I HAD SEEN WERE LIKE THE TOURIST OR NEWLY MADE ONES WITH POOR WORKMANSHIP AND NO DECORATIVE FIBER WRAP. I NEVER COULD FIND ANY INFORMATION TO BE SURE THEY WERE A REAL TRIBAL OBJECT OR SOMETHING MADE UP OR A TOOL.
THIS LINK CLEARS THAT ALL UP. THE CLUB YOU HAVE IS LIKELY FOR CEREMONIE OR DANCE RATHER THAN WAR BUT THE 1950'S WAS EARLY CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD FOR MANY TRIBES. THAT BEING THE CASE YOUR EXAMPLE IS A GOOD OLD AUTHENTIC ONE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MADE FOR TRIBAL USE. THE HANDLE END APPEARS TO HAVE HAD SOME CORDS MOST LIKELY DECORATIVE IN THE PAST. THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS PONDERING IF THE PRONGS WERE STUCK IN SOMETHING AND CORDS TIED TO SOMETHING ELSE . I THOUGHT THAT ONE OUT TOO FAR :rolleyes:
HERE IS AN OLD BOOK PLATE SHOWING KALINA, CARIB WEAPONS, ECT. NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CURRENT CLUB BUT IT ADDS TO THE REFRENCE.