MOST DESIRED OCEANIC WAR CLUBS 4: SAMOA

VANDOO · 3rd October 2013, 03:34 AM

#1 THERE ARE SEVERAL FORMS OF TEETH USED IN POLYNESIAN / OCEANIC CLUBS HERE IS A PICTURE SHOWING THE VARIOUS FORMS.
SEVERAL PICTURES OF THE EARLY FORMS OF NIFO OTI THAT HAD NO TEETH OR HOOK. THIS IS SPECULATION AS THE FORMS EXHISTED AT THE SAME TIME BUT THIS IS A FORM LIKELY TO HAVE EVOLVED INTO THE TOOTHED CLUB WITH HOOK. THIS CLUB DID HAVE A EDGE FOR STRIKING WHERE THE TEETH WERE LATER PLACED AND STRANGELY THE FORM WENT BACK TO THE EDGED FORM WITH THE ARRIVAL OF STEEL BLADES.
SEVERAL EXAMPLES AND ONE EXAMPLE THAT IS A UNILATERAL TOOTHED EAR FORM AND A BILATERAL TOOTHED FORM OF NIFO OTI.

VANDOO · 3rd October 2013, 03:59 AM

HERE ARE THE HOOKED AND BLADED FORMS OF THE NIFO OTI CLUB IN BOTH WOOD AND STEEL.
THE TWO WOODEN ONES PICTURED TOGETHER ARE PRE 1940.
THE BOOK PLATE WITH TWO EARED CLUBS AND 2 NIFO OTI IS FROM 1917

Billman · 3rd October 2013, 09:35 AM

Hypothesis - the Samoans has wooden clubs with or without teeth, but with a decoratiive (?) back hook before European contact. The similarity with hooked blubber knives, maybe seen on whaling ships that stopped at the islands, or maybe by Samoan crew members who worked on them, led to the adoption of steel blades, made in England during the early 19th century. Like the tomahawks that were traded with native americans by both English and French traders, these blubber knives were traded for valuables (e.g. pearls) with native Samoans.

My first image, above shows an obvious wooden copy of a machete, complete with carved rivet heads on the handles. Several of your later images, show a style of war club that is almost identical in shape to an English double edged billhook - it would be interesting to know if this shape predates European contact, or is a wooden copy of a billhook????

Below: left a Westmoreland pattern with a double edge, right a Hertfordshsire pattern with a single edge, but a curved hook on the back. There are many other regional patterns of double edged billhooks.

VANDOO · 3rd October 2013, 06:31 PM

IN THE POST ABOVE THERE IS A PICTURE OF 4 CLUBS THE LAST ONE TO THE RIGHT MAY BE THE CLOSEST TO A BILL HOOK. THIS BOOK WAS PUT OUT IN 1917 AND THE CLUBS COLLECTED BEFORE THAT AND MAY HAVE BEEN OLDER WHEN COLLECTED. I SUSPECT THE FORM WAS PRESENT IN SAMOA BEFORE CONTACT BUT CAN NOT BE SURE. THE ISLANDS WERE DISCOVERED IN THE EARLY 1700'S THE BRITISH ARRIVED AND BECAME ACTIVE THERE IN 1722 AND MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS ARRIVED IN THE 1830'S. GERMANY STARTED PLANTATIONS THERE SEVERAL YEARS LATER AND THE UNINTED STATES ARRIVED IN 1877. ALL 3 COUNTRIES HAD ALLIENCES WITH DIFFERENT SAMOAN TRIBES AND THIS LED TO TWO SAMOAN CIVIL WARS STARTING IN 1886 AND ENDING IN 1899. THE BILL HOOK WOULD UNDOUTABLY HAVE ARRIVED FOR WORK ON PLANTATIONS AND WOULD ALSO SERVE AS A WEAPON TO USE AGAINST OPPOSING FACTIONS. THIS IS LIKELY WHEN LARGE NUMBERS OF BILLHOOK /CANE KNIVES/ NIFO OTI WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPORTED. THE EUROPEAN POWERS WOULD HAVE BEEN CAREFUL NOT TO SUPPLY THE SAMOANS WITH FIREARMS BUT NO DOUBT SUPPLIED LOTS OF BLADED WEAPONS AND TOOLS. THE WHALERS MAY NOT HAVE PLAYED A IMPORTANT PART IN THIS BUT THE EARLY BLUBBER KNIVES MAY HAVE STARTED THE DESIRE OF THE SAMOANS FOR THE NIFO OTI FORM OF KNIFE INITIALLY. ALL JUST CONJECTURE
THE SAMOANS DID TAKE HEADS SO THE STEEL WEAPONS MADE THIS ACTIVITY MUCH EASIER SO CLUBS BECAME SECONDARY WEAPONS WHERE STEEL WAS AVAILABLE.
I WONDER IF TOOLS SUCH AS THE BILLHOOK WERE USED ON SHIPS? THEY WORK WELL FOR CLEARING AN AREA AND COULD BE USED TO CLEAR A CAMP OR PATH ON LAND BUT WHAT WOULD A CARPENTER OR SAILOR USE ONE FOR ON A SHIP? A MODIFIED BILLHOOK MAY HAVE BEEN USED FOR FLENSING WHALE BLUBBER , THE LONG HANDLE AND BLADE WOULD BE GOOD FOR MAKEING THE LONG DEEP CUTS AND THE HOOK ON THE BACK USED TO MOVE THE STRIPS OF BLUBBER. THERE SHOULD BE LOTS OF INFORMATION ON WHALEING IN MUSEUMS AS IT WAS A JOB ROMANTISIZED AND WRITTEN ABOUT A LOT IN THE HEYDAY OF THE BUSINESS. THE HAZZARDS OF THE PROFESSION FAR EXCEEDED ANY OF TODAYS TV PROGRAM MOST DANGEROUS JOBS.

VANDOO · 4th October 2013, 07:36 PM

A BIT MORE SAMOAN HISTORY I CAME ACROSS. THE ISLANDS HAD LARGE SANDLEWOOD TREES AND THE ISLANDERS USED THE OILS FOR MEDDICINAL PURPOSES. THE LEAVES WERE USED FOR THE FUNERAL BED AND THE WOOD WAS BURNED AT THE FUNERALS OF CHIEFS AND IMPORTANT PEOPLE. THE EUROPEAN SANDLEWOOD TRADE STARTED IN SAMOA IN 1860'S TO 1900 WHEN THE SANDLEWOOD WAS ALL GONE. THIS TRADE MOVED FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND WITH THE SAME RESULTS EVERYWHERE IT WENT.

THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN YET ANOTHER OUTSIDE INFLUENCE THAT CHANGED ISLAND LIFE AND BROUGHT IN NEW IDEAS AND STUFF.

VANDOO · 14th October 2013, 05:30 AM

THE FIRST 6 PICTURES ARE THE LAST OF THE UNILATERAL TOOTHED CLUBS.
#3 & #4 THREE EXAMPLES OF NIFO OTI THE SMALLEST ONE FROM 1920 OR BEFORE 36 IN.,32 IN. ,& 22IN. LONG.
PICTURES #1 & #2 OF WOODEN FORMS OF THE KNIFE 25 INCHES & 17 IN. LONG,
PICTURE #5 OF A RECENT EARED AND TOOTHED FORM.
PICTURE #6 A OLD STEEL WORK KNIFE MAY HAVE BEEN USED AS A WEAPON 35.5 INCHES LONG.

THE NEXT FORM IS BILATERAL TOOTHED CLUBS (TEETH ON BOTH SIDES) CALLED ( FA'ALAUFA'I ) SEE PICTURES 7 THRU 12
ONE FORM IS REFERED TO AS 8 SPIKED CLUBS THEY HAVE 4 TEETH ON EACH SIDE TOTALING 8. THE TOOTH COUNT SEEMS TO BE UNIMPORTANT AFTER 8 FOR SOME REASON AS THERE ARE NO 10 OR 12 SPIKED CLUBS.

. ONE PICTURE OF 3 CLUBS WOULD BE REFERRED TO AS A TOOTHED PADDLE FORM LONG ONES 38 IN.AND SHORT ONE 21.5 IN.
THE OTHER PICTURES OF A CLUB WITH A MORE ROUNDED END FAVORS THE BANNA LEAF FORM AND HAS THREE SETS OF 8 TEETH EACH.

VANDOO · 14th October 2013, 07:57 PM

SEVERAL MORE VARIATIONS OF BILATERAL TOOTHED CLUBS. SOME APPEAR TO HAVE A TOOTHED STRIKING AREA WHILE OTHERS SEEM TO HAVE THE TEETH NEAR THE GRIP PERHAPS TO KEEP THE ENEMY FROM GRABBING THE CLUB THERE. THE SHORTER ONES USUALLY HAVE THE TEETH NEAR THE GRIP AND LIKELY FUNCTIONED MORE FOR STABBING AND THRUSTING THAN FOR SKULL OR BONE BREAKING.
TWO PICTURES OF A RECENT CLUB IN BANNA LEAF FORM SHOWING MODERN STYLE DECORATION 37 IN. LONG, TALAVALU IS THE NAME IN THE DESCRIPTION.
TWO PICTURES OF A CLUB WITH SPIKES ON 4 SIDES NEAR THE GRIP.
THREE PICTURES OF A CLUB WITH A SHARP THRUSTING END AND TOOTHED GRIP 33.5 X 4 IN. WIDE LATE 1800'S.
#12 A PICTURE OF 4 OLD CLUBS CIRC 1817
#11. TRADITIONAL OLD TALAVALU FORM

14th October 2013, 07:57 PM	#7
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	SEVERAL MORE VARIATIONS OF BILATERAL TOOTHED CLUBS. SOME APPEAR TO HAVE A TOOTHED STRIKING AREA WHILE OTHERS SEEM TO HAVE THE TEETH NEAR THE GRIP PERHAPS TO KEEP THE ENEMY FROM GRABBING THE CLUB THERE. THE SHORTER ONES USUALLY HAVE THE TEETH NEAR THE GRIP AND LIKELY FUNCTIONED MORE FOR STABBING AND THRUSTING THAN FOR SKULL OR BONE BREAKING. TWO PICTURES OF A RECENT CLUB IN BANNA LEAF FORM SHOWING MODERN STYLE DECORATION 37 IN. LONG, TALAVALU IS THE NAME IN THE DESCRIPTION. TWO PICTURES OF A CLUB WITH SPIKES ON 4 SIDES NEAR THE GRIP. THREE PICTURES OF A CLUB WITH A SHARP THRUSTING END AND TOOTHED GRIP 33.5 X 4 IN. WIDE LATE 1800'S. #12 A PICTURE OF 4 OLD CLUBS CIRC 1817 #11. TRADITIONAL OLD TALAVALU FORM Attached Images Last edited by VANDOO; 14th October 2013 at 11:18 PM.

3rd October 2013, 03:34 AM	#1
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	#1 THERE ARE SEVERAL FORMS OF TEETH USED IN POLYNESIAN / OCEANIC CLUBS HERE IS A PICTURE SHOWING THE VARIOUS FORMS. SEVERAL PICTURES OF THE EARLY FORMS OF NIFO OTI THAT HAD NO TEETH OR HOOK. THIS IS SPECULATION AS THE FORMS EXHISTED AT THE SAME TIME BUT THIS IS A FORM LIKELY TO HAVE EVOLVED INTO THE TOOTHED CLUB WITH HOOK. THIS CLUB DID HAVE A EDGE FOR STRIKING WHERE THE TEETH WERE LATER PLACED AND STRANGELY THE FORM WENT BACK TO THE EDGED FORM WITH THE ARRIVAL OF STEEL BLADES. SEVERAL EXAMPLES AND ONE EXAMPLE THAT IS A UNILATERAL TOOTHED EAR FORM AND A BILATERAL TOOTHED FORM OF NIFO OTI. Attached Images

3rd October 2013, 03:59 AM	#2
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	HERE ARE THE HOOKED AND BLADED FORMS OF THE NIFO OTI CLUB IN BOTH WOOD AND STEEL. THE TWO WOODEN ONES PICTURED TOGETHER ARE PRE 1940. THE BOOK PLATE WITH TWO EARED CLUBS AND 2 NIFO OTI IS FROM 1917 Attached Images

3rd October 2013, 09:35 AM	#3
Billman Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 129	Hypothesis - the Samoans has wooden clubs with or without teeth, but with a decoratiive (?) back hook before European contact. The similarity with hooked blubber knives, maybe seen on whaling ships that stopped at the islands, or maybe by Samoan crew members who worked on them, led to the adoption of steel blades, made in England during the early 19th century. Like the tomahawks that were traded with native americans by both English and French traders, these blubber knives were traded for valuables (e.g. pearls) with native Samoans. My first image, above shows an obvious wooden copy of a machete, complete with carved rivet heads on the handles. Several of your later images, show a style of war club that is almost identical in shape to an English double edged billhook - it would be interesting to know if this shape predates European contact, or is a wooden copy of a billhook???? Below: left a Westmoreland pattern with a double edge, right a Hertfordshsire pattern with a single edge, but a curved hook on the back. There are many other regional patterns of double edged billhooks. Attached Images

3rd October 2013, 06:31 PM	#4
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	IN THE POST ABOVE THERE IS A PICTURE OF 4 CLUBS THE LAST ONE TO THE RIGHT MAY BE THE CLOSEST TO A BILL HOOK. THIS BOOK WAS PUT OUT IN 1917 AND THE CLUBS COLLECTED BEFORE THAT AND MAY HAVE BEEN OLDER WHEN COLLECTED. I SUSPECT THE FORM WAS PRESENT IN SAMOA BEFORE CONTACT BUT CAN NOT BE SURE. THE ISLANDS WERE DISCOVERED IN THE EARLY 1700'S THE BRITISH ARRIVED AND BECAME ACTIVE THERE IN 1722 AND MISSIONARIES AND TRADERS ARRIVED IN THE 1830'S. GERMANY STARTED PLANTATIONS THERE SEVERAL YEARS LATER AND THE UNINTED STATES ARRIVED IN 1877. ALL 3 COUNTRIES HAD ALLIENCES WITH DIFFERENT SAMOAN TRIBES AND THIS LED TO TWO SAMOAN CIVIL WARS STARTING IN 1886 AND ENDING IN 1899. THE BILL HOOK WOULD UNDOUTABLY HAVE ARRIVED FOR WORK ON PLANTATIONS AND WOULD ALSO SERVE AS A WEAPON TO USE AGAINST OPPOSING FACTIONS. THIS IS LIKELY WHEN LARGE NUMBERS OF BILLHOOK /CANE KNIVES/ NIFO OTI WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPORTED. THE EUROPEAN POWERS WOULD HAVE BEEN CAREFUL NOT TO SUPPLY THE SAMOANS WITH FIREARMS BUT NO DOUBT SUPPLIED LOTS OF BLADED WEAPONS AND TOOLS. THE WHALERS MAY NOT HAVE PLAYED A IMPORTANT PART IN THIS BUT THE EARLY BLUBBER KNIVES MAY HAVE STARTED THE DESIRE OF THE SAMOANS FOR THE NIFO OTI FORM OF KNIFE INITIALLY. ALL JUST CONJECTURE THE SAMOANS DID TAKE HEADS SO THE STEEL WEAPONS MADE THIS ACTIVITY MUCH EASIER SO CLUBS BECAME SECONDARY WEAPONS WHERE STEEL WAS AVAILABLE. I WONDER IF TOOLS SUCH AS THE BILLHOOK WERE USED ON SHIPS? THEY WORK WELL FOR CLEARING AN AREA AND COULD BE USED TO CLEAR A CAMP OR PATH ON LAND BUT WHAT WOULD A CARPENTER OR SAILOR USE ONE FOR ON A SHIP? A MODIFIED BILLHOOK MAY HAVE BEEN USED FOR FLENSING WHALE BLUBBER , THE LONG HANDLE AND BLADE WOULD BE GOOD FOR MAKEING THE LONG DEEP CUTS AND THE HOOK ON THE BACK USED TO MOVE THE STRIPS OF BLUBBER. THERE SHOULD BE LOTS OF INFORMATION ON WHALEING IN MUSEUMS AS IT WAS A JOB ROMANTISIZED AND WRITTEN ABOUT A LOT IN THE HEYDAY OF THE BUSINESS. THE HAZZARDS OF THE PROFESSION FAR EXCEEDED ANY OF TODAYS TV PROGRAM MOST DANGEROUS JOBS. Last edited by VANDOO; 3rd October 2013 at 07:08 PM.

4th October 2013, 07:36 PM	#5
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	A BIT MORE SAMOAN HISTORY I CAME ACROSS. THE ISLANDS HAD LARGE SANDLEWOOD TREES AND THE ISLANDERS USED THE OILS FOR MEDDICINAL PURPOSES. THE LEAVES WERE USED FOR THE FUNERAL BED AND THE WOOD WAS BURNED AT THE FUNERALS OF CHIEFS AND IMPORTANT PEOPLE. THE EUROPEAN SANDLEWOOD TRADE STARTED IN SAMOA IN 1860'S TO 1900 WHEN THE SANDLEWOOD WAS ALL GONE. THIS TRADE MOVED FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND WITH THE SAME RESULTS EVERYWHERE IT WENT. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN YET ANOTHER OUTSIDE INFLUENCE THAT CHANGED ISLAND LIFE AND BROUGHT IN NEW IDEAS AND STUFF.

14th October 2013, 05:30 AM	#6
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	THE FIRST 6 PICTURES ARE THE LAST OF THE UNILATERAL TOOTHED CLUBS. #3 & #4 THREE EXAMPLES OF NIFO OTI THE SMALLEST ONE FROM 1920 OR BEFORE 36 IN.,32 IN. ,& 22IN. LONG. PICTURES #1 & #2 OF WOODEN FORMS OF THE KNIFE 25 INCHES & 17 IN. LONG, PICTURE #5 OF A RECENT EARED AND TOOTHED FORM. PICTURE #6 A OLD STEEL WORK KNIFE MAY HAVE BEEN USED AS A WEAPON 35.5 INCHES LONG. THE NEXT FORM IS BILATERAL TOOTHED CLUBS (TEETH ON BOTH SIDES) CALLED ( FA'ALAUFA'I ) SEE PICTURES 7 THRU 12 ONE FORM IS REFERED TO AS 8 SPIKED CLUBS THEY HAVE 4 TEETH ON EACH SIDE TOTALING 8. THE TOOTH COUNT SEEMS TO BE UNIMPORTANT AFTER 8 FOR SOME REASON AS THERE ARE NO 10 OR 12 SPIKED CLUBS. . ONE PICTURE OF 3 CLUBS WOULD BE REFERRED TO AS A TOOTHED PADDLE FORM LONG ONES 38 IN.AND SHORT ONE 21.5 IN. THE OTHER PICTURES OF A CLUB WITH A MORE ROUNDED END FAVORS THE BANNA LEAF FORM AND HAS THREE SETS OF 8 TEETH EACH. Attached Images Last edited by VANDOO; 14th October 2013 at 07:46 PM.