Fijian ‘Buli Buli’ War Club the Expanding Spherical Head

Period: 1700-1900

Origin: Fiji

Medium: Wood

Literature: Comparable to a European mace, clubs such as this were designed to inflict a lethal crushing blow to the head. To slay an enemy with a club at close quarters brought more prestige than any other form of combat and earned the warrior the coveted status of ‘Koroi’ or killer. Like the swords of medieval Europe and Japan, Fijian clubs were often given individual names referring to their destructive powers. In 1858 the missionary Thomas Williams wrote ‘…those clubs which belong to distinguished warriors have emphatic names… Kadiga Ni Damuni, Damaging beyond Hope… Na Tagi Ka Kere Bole, The Weeping (for the Dead I Slew).’