Roromaraugi

A roromaraugi is a parrying shield from San Cristobal Island in the Solomon Islands.

Roromaraugi
Makira warrior handling a roromaraugi in his right hand

Uses

It was used to deflect the enemy’s arrows and spears. It has a broad sickle shaped head[1] that is separated by a well-marked central ridge with an ergot at his back. The handle is often finished by an anthropomorphic sculpture and the whole is done in very hard wood.[2] It was also used in war dances and measures more or less 150 cm.[3] It should not be confused with the qauata which does not have an ergot and looks more like a leaf.[4]

References
  1. The British Museum Yearbook, British Museum, 1979, p.218
  2. Deborah Waite, Art of the Solomon Islands, 1983, p.135
  3. Douglas Newton, Arts des mers du sud: Insulinde, Mélanésie, Polynésie, Musée Barbier-Mueller, 1998, p.270
  4. Deborah Waite, Art of the Solomon Islands : The Conru Collection, 2008, p.113

Bibliography
  • Purissima Benitez, Jean-Paul Barbier, Alain-Michel Boyer, Boucliers d’Afrique, d’Asie du Sud-Est et d’Océanie, Paris, Éditions Adam Biro, 1998.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.