Pouvai

Pouvai. Club. This is a carved pouvai made from toa (ironwood). The base of the handle is flat and is wider than the proximal part of the blade. Keeping its cylindrical shape, the pouvai widens from the handle, and rounds out towards the other end, much like a baseball bat. This pouvai is adorned with mamanu (Samoan decorative motifs) in the form of five bands made of triangular indents. The mamanu are filled with white powder, however much of this powder has fallen out resulting in a random pattern. This powder has also left smudges on undecorated parts of the pouvai such as at the tip of the blade. The pouvai has a smooth finish and is varnished also, creating a warm shade of brown. At the base of the handle are two triangular protrusions which may have been connected creating a suspension hole. On the handle is a yellowed rectangular sticker with a blue border where a illegible word has been handwritten in blue ink. A pouvai is a type of 'au'upega used in close combat. Pouvai were both cylindrical in shape, like this example, or four - six sided.

Other Name

Club (English)

Place

[Samoa]/Pacific

Accession Date

1915

Other Id

12811 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific