185 Woven arm bands are made from dyed grasses. The width is usually between two to four centimeters. The
designs are woven into an all-black band with grasses dyed green, red, or yellow. A typical band pakou is shown below:
In the past, armbands were especially meaningful in warfare. They could be endowed with special protective powers by the fight leader.
Typical design on Rotokas armband
Beads have been used to decorate the body for many years. They apparently were items for trade used by early explorers and government personnel. An old village site below Ruruvu provided a source for aquamarine
colored beads which had been traded to the Rotokas by officers of the German administration. Today, an infinite variety of colors, shapes, and sizes of beads can be purchased usually by the spoonful in tradestores
on the coast and locally. Gifts of multi-stranded beaded necklaces are given by older women to their granddaughters or nieces.
14.5 Designs of Weapons and Carvings Stone axes
Although more functional than aesthetic, Rotokas stone axes can be beautifully shaped. Obviously not in use today when even power chainsaws are not uncommon, stone axes turn up in old garden sites or in
collections of the original owner’s relatives. Some have been sent to the National Museum in Port Moresby. Others have been collected and removed by plantation and mission personnel.
An expatriate employee working on a nearby plantation had a very fine collection of stone axes and pineapple clubs. The collection was made before much interest was shown in keeping this kind of artifact in
national or provincial museums. The pineapple club was unusual. It was identified by a Harvard anthropologist as a possible link with the people of the main island of New Guinea. Another unusually shaped ax head was
shown to the anthropologist. He hadn’t seen another like it on Bougainville island. However, later on, we sent one similar to the first in very good condition to the National Museum in Port Moresby. The shape of the
unusual ax head is shown in illustration A along with more common shapes. The sizes would range from a small ax head B to a larger ax head shown in illustration C.
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Three Rotokas stone ax designs
Handles for these axes were not carved to any particular shape. However, after the introduction of commercially made steel axes, the advantage of having a handle of proper shape and curve was recognized.
Today, some of the Rotokas carve their own ax handles out of a very hard red wood. These men learned this skill while at the Methodist school, Iagama on the coast. A man from Tonga taught them how to shape,
smooth, and finish the wood.
Fighting club
The fighting club kakuto was made of a limbum tree called vopato. This palm grows to be very tall. It is cultivated and the fruit is sometimes used for medicinal purposes [see section 8.4.1]. A length of the tree bark
is cut about a meter and a half long. It is first shaped with a bush knife, then sanded down with either commercial sandpaper or an abrasive leaf native to the area used for this purpose. It is then “polished” with a
very sharp knife edge or piece of broken glass.
A lengthwise ridge is shaped along the middle of the top end of the club. The ridge is called kikisi and the woven grips below it and at the extreme end are known as pakoua. These grips are formed from woven strips
of rattan garoa. The design known as koria is made by rubbing white lime akoro into the carved grooves. The hard black, shiny face of the club is the bark rakariaro of the palm. The backside of the club is the
pithy inside kopukopu of the palm. Although we never observed it being used, it is said that the face of the stick harder surface was used to
hit men while fighting. Usually the blow is made to the side of the head. The flatter side “softer” surface was used to hit women.
In 1974, the price of a fighting club was K2.00. Not so today. It is shown in the following illustration. [Others are visible in the picture illustrating the night singsing—section 5.1.]
A
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Bow and arrows
The typical Rotokas bow is not unusual compared to that used in most parts of Papua New Guinea. It is made of black palm bark and is approximately 150 centimeters in length. A beautifully-designed bow is also
made, mainly in the Aita area, however, and it is here that the artist shows his handiwork. The bow is encased in an intricately woven sleeve and is for the tourist trade, in particular. The Rotokas people say that Aita vara
koetara riporipopaiveira the Aita people are always making woven designs on bows. One of their bows is pictured here:
Aita bow with woven design
The construction of arrows has been described in section 13.1.1. Little attention was paid to the designs and variations of shapes in that section, however. Thanks to the interest of Rev. A.H. Voyce of New Zealand
United Church, there is a collection of bows, arrows, spears, clubs, and fighting axes from Bougainville- Buka, both in the Otago University Museum in Dunedin, New Zealand, and in the Voyce Collection in the
Auckland War Memorial Museum also located in New Zealand. Drawings of many of these pieces were made by Mr. H.W. Voyce, the father, and were published in a booklet in 1973, but are no longer generally
available. I stumbled onto it at a “special discount” table in the Arawa Supermarket. It couldn’t have been more “special” The illustrations below are from the booklet Voyce 1973:1ff:
Arrow shaft designs—Rotokas Rotokas fighting club—Kakuto
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Arrow shaft designs—Pipipaia
Arrow shaft designs - Aita
Sample of arrow tips
Sample of spear tips
Arrow shaft designs - Pipipaia
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14.6 Earth Paints and Dye
