Supi (weapon)

The supi is a war club of the Solomon Islands.

Supi from Malaita

Uses

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
Supi from Malaita

References
  1. Ethnologia Cranmorensis - Volumes 1 à 4, 1937, p.61
  2. Deborah Waite, Kevin Conru, Art of the Solomon Islands, 2008, p.118
  3. Deborah Waite, Artefacts of the Solomon Islands in the Julius L. Brenchley Collection, 1987, p.39
  4. 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
  5. L’éclat des ombres. L’art en noir et blanc des îles Salomon

Bibliography
  • Anthony JP Meyer, Oceanic Art, Könemann, 1995.


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