Galvano, they are super clubs and it was very cheeky of me to suggest they were of late date
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Colin thanks for the book info.
I got this picture from the "Art of Tonga" Very beautiful but also quite short 31cm, my Ula is 41cm. They are clearly objects that belonged to the elete. Although marvelous to behold I sometime feel this type of object is not helpful in a general study. Tongan artist were in the employ of royalty on Fiji and that would have been the main island. What about the more isolated islands and Samoa.
Also a picture looking on the top of my Ula. I do not believe it is the result of random carving. There is a distinctive star shape, three large lobes at the top of the picture and four small lobes at the bottom. I might think the carving on the head is relativly minimal with the lobes largely form by constriction of the shrub root ball.