Luf boat
The Luf-Boot (also Agomes-Boot ) is a large outrigger boat and an exhibit of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin . It was bought on the island of Luf in 1903 and came to Berlin in 1904. In Dahlem it was one of the highlights of the exhibition from 1968. It has been restored and de-dewed there since 2016 . On May 29, 2018, it was lifted into the new Humboldt Forum in an 18-meter-long transport box with a crane . After the reopening, it will be presented in the entrance area of the Ethnological Museum.
history
In 1545, Spanish sailors arrived on the Hermit Islands (Agomes) and were shelled by the residents. In 1874, around 400 to 500 people lived on the island when the Hamburg company JC Godeffroy & Son began to send merchant ships to the islands. Violent clashes broke out again, and the inhabitants were decimated by floods and a subsequent famine in 1875.
In 1882 there was a punitive expedition of two German warships, the crew of which destroyed 67 houses and 54 boats and killed three residents. The destruction of the boats that are vital for fishing and the loss of control over the main island of Ninigo of the Ninigo Islands , 40 nautical miles away , led to the hopelessness of the residents. In an attempt to regain this rule, three out of four boats capsized in a storm in 1889. Most of the men fit for war died on this trip. As a result, the population committed itself not to have any more children and to die out.
After a huge tree was sprouting, "the men's desire for boat building and seafaring" reawakened and the islanders began to manufacture a large outrigger boat under Chief Lebenan. The chief died in 1895 shortly after the completion of the boat and the old custom wanted to take him out to sea and sink the ship. However, it was no longer possible to lower the boat and it remained lying on the beach. Even after that, the Luf boat is said to never have been used.
Max Thiel, one of the partners in the German trading company Hernsheim & Co , acquired the boat in 1903. It was brought to Hamburg via the company's branch on Matupi and then to Berlin in February 1904. The buyer was the Museum für Völkerkunde , which had been exhibiting the Luf boat in today's Stresemannstrasse since 1906.
The object was stored during the Second World War and was shown from 1949 to 1955 in the "Shipping Exhibition". It was stored again by 1970, first in the atrium of the ruins of the partially destroyed museum and then in a motor vehicle hall of the guard barracks. From 1970 to 2017 it was the most important exhibit of the Ethnological Museum among the boats of the South Seas Department and enjoyed great popularity.
As of 2017, preparations were made to move the Museum from Dahlem to the center of the capital. After restoration and pest control, it was packed in specially made transport boxes. Before the new building was finally closed, a crane lifted the largest boxes to their final destination on May 29, 2018. With the opening of the Humboldt Forum, the boats of the South Seas department will be presented in a new setting.
description
The 15 to 16 meter long Luf boat is one of the last of this type of construction. Boats of this type were used for trade and war. On longer journeys on the open sea, up to 50 people could be carried. The boat is a seaworthy two-master, the keel of which was made from a single large tree trunk. The hull is planked , but the boat was built without a single nail, all parts are held together with plant material. Vegetable glue sealed the boat. The boom is attached to starboard . The platform above was used to transport goods. Two almost rectangular set sails are used for propulsion. These sails were typical of the region, but unusual in the South Pacific. In addition, paddles could be used near the reef and beach . The bow and stern are drawn up in an arch. The entire fuselage and other structural elements are richly decorated with ornaments. Depending on the wind strength, the crew was able to stabilize the boat by shifting weight.
Web links
literature
- Hans Nevermann : The Agomes boat of the Museum of Ethnology . In: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Hrsg.): Berlin museums . 4th year, no. 3rd / 4th , 1954, p. 35-38 , JSTOR : 4238115 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Hans Nevermann : The Agomes boat of the Museum of Ethnology . In: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Hrsg.): Berlin museums . 4th year, no. 3rd / 4th , 1954, p. 35-38 , JSTOR : 4238115 .