Description
A RARE ONO NIHA BATTLE SHIELD '' BALUSE'' Indonesia, West -, Nias (South-), 19th c. or ealy 20th c. H. 133,5 cm A rare, well-preserved battle shield from the island of Nias south of Sumatra. The oval, leaf-shaped and slightly curved shield is carved from a single piece of wood and reinforced with horizontally attached rattan bands. A raised ridge runs from the upper to the lower tip and leads into a shield boss in the centre. The handle is carved into the back. Good shields like this one are always made from a single piece, inferior examples have attached parts (handles). The shape of the baluse is symbolically associated with a crocodile. In South East Asia, the mythological significance of the crocodile goes hand in hand with the belief that deceased rulers or ancestors who have reappeared in the world as crocodiles. Shields like this were (and are) carried in the fatalya dance in combination with swords and spears. The real feuds that were (and are) so impressively practised and staged in the famous stone leaps and dances were short-lived and had more of a raiding character, with the capture of heads for building inaugurations and significant festivities (i.e. large-scale communal projects) being a key motivation. Spears were the actual offensive weapon in battle. Rifles have also been used for centuries in the defence of villages, as with other North Sumatrans (e.g. Alas, Batak, Aceh). The culture of the Ono Niha is particularly famous for its villages with spectacular monumental buildings (clan houses) made of mighty beams and cobbled streets, which are a World Heritage Site. The warriors' "stone leap" is also famous, in which stone walls over 2 metres high are overcome with spectacular jumps. From an old German private collection, assembled since the 1950s - Minor wear, partly slightly chipped Lit.: Barbier, J. / Newton, D. (1988): Islands and Ancestors. Indigenous Styles of Southeast Asia. New York. - Bonatz, D. (2001): Wandel einer Megalithkultur im 20. Jahrhundert (Nias/Indonesien). In: Anthropos, Vol. 96, no.1 - Hämmerle, J. (2006): Society and Culture in Nias; Vienna Conference. Wien. - Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara (1990). Nias: Tribal Treasures: Cosmic Reflections in Stone, Wood, and Gold. Delft. - Mittersakschmöller, R. (1998): Joachim Freiherr v. Brenner-Felsach. Eine Reise nach Nias. Unpublished manuscripts from the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna. Materials on exoticism and ethnography.
1522
A RARE ONO NIHA BATTLE SHIELD '' BALUSE'' Indonesia, West -, Nias (South-), 19th c. or ealy 20th c. H. 133,5 cm A rare, well-preserved battle shield from the island of Nias south of Sumatra. The oval, leaf-shaped and slightly curved shield is carved from a single piece of wood and reinforced with horizontally attached rattan bands. A raised ridge runs from the upper to the lower tip and leads into a shield boss in the centre. The handle is carved into the back. Good shields like this one are always made from a single piece, inferior examples have attached parts (handles). The shape of the baluse is symbolically associated with a crocodile. In South East Asia, the mythological significance of the crocodile goes hand in hand with the belief that deceased rulers or ancestors who have reappeared in the world as crocodiles. Shields like this were (and are) carried in the fatalya dance in combination with swords and spears. The real feuds that were (and are) so impressively practised and staged in the famous stone leaps and dances were short-lived and had more of a raiding character, with the capture of heads for building inaugurations and significant festivities (i.e. large-scale communal projects) being a key motivation. Spears were the actual offensive weapon in battle. Rifles have also been used for centuries in the defence of villages, as with other North Sumatrans (e.g. Alas, Batak, Aceh). The culture of the Ono Niha is particularly famous for its villages with spectacular monumental buildings (clan houses) made of mighty beams and cobbled streets, which are a World Heritage Site. The warriors' "stone leap" is also famous, in which stone walls over 2 metres high are overcome with spectacular jumps. From an old German private collection, assembled since the 1950s - Minor wear, partly slightly chipped Lit.: Barbier, J. / Newton, D. (1988): Islands and Ancestors. Indigenous Styles of Southeast Asia. New York. - Bonatz, D. (2001): Wandel einer Megalithkultur im 20. Jahrhundert (Nias/Indonesien). In: Anthropos, Vol. 96, no.1 - Hämmerle, J. (2006): Society and Culture in Nias; Vienna Conference. Wien. - Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara (1990). Nias: Tribal Treasures: Cosmic Reflections in Stone, Wood, and Gold. Delft. - Mittersakschmöller, R. (1998): Joachim Freiherr v. Brenner-Felsach. Eine Reise nach Nias. Unpublished manuscripts from the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna. Materials on exoticism and ethnography.
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