figure
- Museum number
- Oc1927,1003.44
- Description
-
Wooden carved figure, painted. Feather head-dress, band of plaited dark vine-strip with red and yellow patterning (like an armband) around the neck.
- Dimensions
-
Height: 50 centimetres
-
Width: 12.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Wheeler's catalogue ETHNOGRAPHICA FROM ALU AND MONO (Eth.Doc.1096) reads:
26. beku. Wood carving called porivai in Rufara (Telei speech; carved by Raimo (living in Bakai, Alu), a youth from Tekurai in the Telei area of Buim; in meeting-house (Alu, kalofa; Rufara, avasio) of Buim many such figures are put on tall posts. The slit at the lower end is for fixing on the post, which is cut away underneath it. The figure represents a nitu (supernatural being) of the kind called in Alu sakusaku (See Religion). The white spaces perhaps represent gorau (shell armlets); the grass (latili) bands are pago (armlets);the grass band below the face is a malioto (waist belt, called kenovi in Rufara made of kafako, or of takatako, a creeper; sometimes of mimisi, but only for dancing); the two lowest grass bands are pago on the feet (but these are not worn by men); the pago-armlets (here four) are in actual life too made of latili. The marking at the back of the neck respresente tatuing (Mono, kepo; Rufara, torogui orobasi); the marks on the face represent ilopa (whitening).
Note sheet number: 1432, 2315. Ref.Tk.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1927
- Acquisition notes
- Gerald C Wheeler was an anthropologist who researched in Solomon Islands in 1908 to 1909 on an expedition with W. H. R. Rivers and A. M. Hocart. He began on Simbo but spent most of his time on Alu. He gave collections of artefacts to the British Museum in 1927, registered as Oc1927.0310 and Oc1927.1003 and documented in Eth Doc 1096.
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Oc1927,1003.44
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: 26 (Wheeler catalogue in Eth Doc 1096)
