Supi (weapon)
Appearance
The supi is a war club of the Solomon Islands.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Supi_war_club.png/220px-Supi_war_club.png)
Uses
[edit]Cut from iron wood, its diamond shaped head is specific to the Solomon Islands.[1] About thirty centimetres long, it has a carved striking head with well-marked ribs. It is native to Malaita island.[2] Besides its common name of supi, it can sometimes be referred to as a supe or subi.[3] Some were carved from whale bones.[4] The handle was sheathed with coconut fibre braiding, sometimes engraved or inlaid with shells. Some, carved with a crocodile face at their end, were reserved for the tribes chiefs.[5]
![Supi from Malaita](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Supi%2C_Solomon_Islands_war_club_1.jpg/200px-Supi%2C_Solomon_Islands_war_club_1.jpg)
References
[edit]- ^ Ethnologia Cranmorensis - Volumes 1 à 4, 1937, p.61
- ^ Deborah Waite, Kevin Conru, Art of the Solomon Islands, 2008, p.118
- ^ Deborah Waite, Artefacts of the Solomon Islands in the Julius L. Brenchley Collection, 1987, p.39
- ^ Charles Elliot Fox, Grafton Elliot Smith, The Threshold of the Pacific: An Account of the Social Organization, Magic and Religion of the People of San Cristoval in the Solomon Islands, A.A. Knopf, 1924, p.188
- ^ L’éclat des ombres. L’art en noir et blanc des îles Salomon [1]
Bibliography
[edit]- Anthony JP Meyer, Oceanic Art, Könemann, 1995.