Nbouet
| Nbouet | |
|---|---|
|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Ax, knife |
| Designations: | New Caledonian Ax, Nbouet Ax |
| Use: | Ceremonial knife, ceremonial ax, knife, ax |
| Region of origin / author: |
New Caledonia , ethnic groups from New Caledonia |
| Distribution: | New Caledonia |
| Overall length: | between 40 cm and 60 cm |
| Blade length: | between 18 cm and 19 cm (diameter) |
| Blade width: | between 20 cm and 23 cm (diameter) |
| Blade thickness: | between 1.5 cm and 2.3 cm |
| Handle: | Wood, natural fibers (tapa) |
| Lists on the subject | |
The nbouet is a weapon and a ceremonial ax used as a knife by the Kanak in New Caledonia .
description
The nbouet has a flat, disc-shaped head made of serpentine , a mineral, occasionally the color of jade . The edges of the head are sharpened. Two holes drilled in the head tie it to the shaft with cords. The shaft is round, made of wood and covered with strings made of tapa (bark) or bat hair. The cords are made into several strands at the lower end.
The total length of the pieces obtained varies between 40 cm and 60 cm, the head is between 20 cm and 23 cm in width and between 18 cm and 19 cm in length. When ground, the thickness is between 1.5 cm and 2.3 cm. There are also almost round shapes that make them appear like a club head.
use
It has not been proven that the nbouet was also used as a weapon in combat. It was used to cut and split the bodies of killed enemies as part of the cannibalism prevailing there . Due to the general lack of meat there, a chief could also kill the criminal members of his own tribe with an ax.
literature
- Henry Swainson Cowper : The Art of Attack. Being a Study in the Development of Weapons and Appliances of Offence, from the Earliest Times to the Age of Gunpowder. Holmes, Ulverston 1906, p. 116. Pomona Press 2008, ISBN 978-1-4097-8313-8 (Reprint), archive.org .
- George Cameron Stone : A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times. Southworth Press, Portland, Maine 1934, p. 184. Reprint: Dover Publications, Mineola, New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-486-40726-5 .
Web links
- Example of a Nbouet in the Peabody Essex Museum
- Example of a Nbouet in the Museum of New Zealand (English) there are also other examples
Individual evidence
- ^ HS Cowper: The Art of Attack. Ulverston 1906, p. 116.