THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRE-CONTACT AND POST CONTACT COMES ABOUT GRADUALLY FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
1. PRE-CONTACT CLUBS SUCH AS THESE WERE HELD AS SACRED IN THE SOCIETIES AND ONLY THOSE WHO HAD THE POWER AND PRESTIEGE TO OWN OR HANDLE THEM WERE ALOWED TO. THE TAPU'S (TABOO'S) HAD SEVERE PENALTYS AND WERE STRICTLY ENFORCED. ONLY CERTIAN PEOPLE WERE ALLOWED TO CARVE THEM AND THEY NO DOUBT KEPT STRICTLY TO THE TRADDITIONAL SACRED STYLES OF DESIGN AND FOLOWED SOME RITUALS WHILE MAKEING THEM. THESE DESIGNS HELD STRONG POWER (MANA) AND MEANING. THIS GAVE THE CARVERS SOME PRESTEGE AND POWER BUT IF THEY BROKE A TAPU OR OFFENDED THE CHIEF THEY COULD END UP IN THE POT LIKE ANYONE ELSE. SO THE PROPER WOODS TECKNIQUES AND DESIGNS WERE FOLLOWED UNLESS A CHIEF WITH ABSOLUTE POWER ASKED FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT. PERHAPS DIFFERENT TRIBES, FAMILIES AND DIFFERENT ISLANDS HAD VARIATIONS TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THE OTHERS.? THESE CLUBS WERE ALL CARVED WITH PRIMITIVE TOOLS STONE, BONE, TEETH, CORAL AND FINISHED WITH SHARK SKIN OR SAND. THEY TOOK A LOT OF TIME AND CARE TO MAKE DUE TO THE TOOLS AND TAPU'S OF THE TIME.
2. POST- CONTACT WHEN THE INCREDIBLY RICH AND POWERFUL STRANGERS ARRIVED IT WAS FOUND THEY WOULD TRADE INCREDIBLE WEALTH FOR WHAT THEY WANTED. THE CHIEFS AND POWERFUL WERE THE ONES WHO PROFITED MOST AT FIRST BUT AS THE TRADITIONAL SOCIETIES BROKE DOWN THE LOWER LEVELS OF ARTISTS AND FISHERMEN AND FARMERS WERE ABLE TO GET INTO THE TRADE. PERHAPS THE WOOD CARVERS CHANGED THE TRADITIONAL DESIGNS AT FIRST TO KEEP FROM BREAKING TAPU AND ANGERING THE CHIEFS. LATER THEY WOULD FIND THAT A CLUB WITH INFERIOR WOOD AND CARVING WOULD BRING THE SAME PRICE SO THE QUALITY WENT DOWN FROM THERE. SOFT WOOD WAS MUCH EASIER TO CARVE AND CHEAPER TO BUY, METAL TOOLS MUCH EASIER AND FASTER AND WORKMANSHIP WAS NO LONGER A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.
ON A GOOD NOTE SOME OF THE MODERN CARVING BEING DONE TODAY IS VERY WELL DONE AND SOME CARVERS DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO DUPLICATE THE OLD ORIGINAL CLUBS. THE TOOLS WILL BE MODERN STEEL AND PERHAPS DUPLICATING MACHINES MAY BE USED? THE ART MAY BE VERY GOOD BUT THERE IS NO HISTORY OR MANA.
THIS IS JUST MY OPINION FROM THINGS I HAVE READ AND SEEN OVER THE YEARS AND I AM VERY FAR FROM BEING AN EXPERT IN THIS FIELD SO CONSIDER THIS CONJECTURE AND DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE YOU QUOTE ANYTHING FROM MY POST HERE.
