War weapons

The most numerous pieces of Fijian Art collections are war weapons. Through their sculptural pureness, weapons from Fiji take up a unique and special place within the Oceanian, each club shape corresponding to a precise use. To make weapon was a prestigious art and it could take years to complete some pieces. The "mana" whose weapon was invested was of benefit to the one that used it as well as the one who made it. 

War clubs "Qata" whose generic name are "sali", refer to the claw-like flower of the sali plant, from the ""musa" species which looks like banana trees. The ridge, so particular, is too small to be penetrating, but add weight to the weapon head.

The throwing club ula was the most used among fijians warriors. This small dimension object was thrown against the enemies and not used as weapon during hand to hand fight. According to the ethnologist, jet club are supposed to hit their aim with the handle rather than with the head. Several club types with this kind of shapes can be found in Fiji Island. According to their weight and their secondary ornementations, they will be considered as war weapons or ceremony weapons.

"Ula" throwing club.

Always carved out of a shrub foot, the "Ula" club bowl was formed by the starting point of the roots and its handle by the base of the trunk. The vegetal species were chosen according to their resistance and their hardness for the weapon to continue while remaining light at the same time. Most often, ironwood was used. We can find this club shape as well as in Tonga Islands, Futuna Island and Samoa Islands which is not very surprising bearing in mind the importance of the customary and commercial relationships between those islands.

Masi (or tapa)

The different kinds of masi were classified according to their patterns, their technique of making and their use.