Short Clubs

Maces. The short mace (Pl. LII, 11) has already been described on page 589.

Batons or short billets were used as single-handed weapons. The one in Plate LII, A, 7 is old and well polished. The specimen in Plate LII, A, 8 is thicker and has had sennit braid wrapped in loose spirals round the grip. It has a piece projecting from the proximal end that was too narrow to pierce with the ordinary sized hole. Both batons have a large hole bored transversely through the handle for the supporting cord.

Knobbed throwing club ('olo). The knobbed throwing club was described by Churchill (5, p. 32) for Fiji without including Samoa, but Kramer (18, vol. 2, p. 210, q) figures one from Samoa and the club in Bishop Museum (Pl. LII, A, 9) is also from Samoa. The Samoans call the club 'olo and it was evidently well known. The club was thrown with the handle in the hand but as it went forward, the ends reversed and the object was struck by the end of the handle. The club figured has four bands of carving round the handle and shaft. The handle increases in diameter towards the proximal end without marked flaring. The knobbed head is smooth and the distal end projects as if the handle had been inserted through the knob and projected beyond it for 0.2 inches. The proximal end of the handle is domed.