Warfare

Warfare was frequent in Fiji until the mid-nineteenth century; the country continues to maintain a proud martial tradition. Fijian troops currently serve in Sinai and with United Nations Peacekeeping forces elsewhere. More than weapons, Fijian clubs and spears were important ritual objects and expressions of supreme carving and military skill. The clubs included in this exhibition demonstrate the great variety of forms made in Fiji.

Although most were effective weapons for hand-to-hand combat, some are relatively unwieldy, even for powerful Fijian warriors; their appearance and form was often considered more important than their technical efficiency. Very little is known about the specific makers of these clubs and what the different forms represent or signify, but large numbers have survived in collections, partly because of their durability and partly because of nineteenth-century European interest in collecting weapons. A club or two was the expected accoutrement for active Fijian men, and, as in other regions, pomp and display were important aspects of military action. Combat was traditionally preceded by vigorous parading, performance, and boasting. It is difficult to assign particular club forms to regions of Fiji because clubs, like many other objects, were exchange valuables that circulated widely within Fiji and beyond, including to Tonga and eventually to Europe and America.