Canoe prow ornament
Production date
Pre 18 May 1896
Country
Australia
State/Province
Queensland
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Object detail
Description
Wooden canoe prow. Face represents 'dogai', surmounted with cassowary plumes.
Classification
INDIGENOUS CULTURES Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ornament
Maker
Production date
Pre 18 May 1896
Production place
Measurements
L445 x W510 x D312mm
Media/Materials description
wood, feather, shell, natural pigment
History and use
Seafaring canoes from the Torres Strait, called gul or nar, were renowned for their elaborate ornamentation. Paint, shells, streamers and feathers were all used to adorn the vessels. The dugout hull was traded from the Fly River estuary and fitted in the Torres Strait with twin outriggers, washstrakes, masks and sails of pandanus matting. The platform midships contained woven storage crates and had a hearth of tea-tree bark and sand for cooking fire. Hulls and washstrakes were decorated in red, black, blue and white, with bunches of sago leaf and white cowrie shells at bow and stern. Often, these vessels featured elaborate canoe prows and washboards.
This face represents dogai. In the Torres Strait, dogai were a 'class of sorcerers, or bogeys'. They imbued canoes with spiritual protection for the journey ahead.
"Figureheads were used on the canoe as an adornment. Nudhuwa (skirt fibre) was usually suspended below the figurehead and adorned with bubuwam (cowrie shell) and woez (small cowrie shells). This figurehead was placed on the prow of a war canoe with the cassowary feathers as a projection of the warriors in the canoe. The cassowary feathers indicate that it would only be used in time of war." (Mariana Babia, Saibai, Torres Strait)
This item was most recently on display in the exhibition 'Connections across the Coral Sea: A story of movement' at Museum of Tropical Queensland (2021-2022) and Queensland Museum (2022-2023).
This face represents dogai. In the Torres Strait, dogai were a 'class of sorcerers, or bogeys'. They imbued canoes with spiritual protection for the journey ahead.
"Figureheads were used on the canoe as an adornment. Nudhuwa (skirt fibre) was usually suspended below the figurehead and adorned with bubuwam (cowrie shell) and woez (small cowrie shells). This figurehead was placed on the prow of a war canoe with the cassowary feathers as a projection of the warriors in the canoe. The cassowary feathers indicate that it would only be used in time of war." (Mariana Babia, Saibai, Torres Strait)
This item was most recently on display in the exhibition 'Connections across the Coral Sea: A story of movement' at Museum of Tropical Queensland (2021-2022) and Queensland Museum (2022-2023).
Registration number
MAC3935