"Porcupine fish helmet from Kiribati, Oceania. Part of the Pitt Rivers Museum Founding Collection. Given to the Museum in 1884. This helmet is made from an entire porcupine fish, also known as a blowfish. It comes from Kiribati (pronounced 'kiri-bass'), a group of islands in the Micronesia in the Pacific. Before the 1970s they were a British colony and were known as the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. The Pitt Rivers Museum holds one of the most extensive collections of Kiribati arms and armour in the world."
what a bad idea! that shit better have been ceremonial.
ReplyDeleteThey wore these for real in duels.
ReplyDelete"Kiribati has a history of contrived and ritualized duels. The armor was made of thickly woven sennet, a kind of coconut fiber. The duelists wore helmets made of blowfish remains. The helmets were resilient and, due to the structure of blowfish, covered with many points, which had the ability of damaging weapons. The weapons resembled broadswords with a serrated edge created with many shark teeth. The duels were performed mostly for the purpose of settling disputes and maintaining honor. The practicality of the duels is debatable. Due to the difficulty of moving in this armor, falling over and becoming unable to get back up was common enough that duel assistants were required."
Fucking awesome!
ReplyDeleteFucking awesome!
ReplyDelete