Dani Tree Bark Fibre Cowrie Shell Currency Band Jetak
Dani Tree Bark Fibre Cowrie Shell Currency Band Jetak
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Dani people, early to mid. 20th century, Bailem Valley, Irian Jaya, Papua, Indonesia.
Stunning and finely knit band (jetak) made from tree bark fibre with cowrie shells sewn into the center of the band along its length. Often embellished with job's tears seeds (Coix lacryma-jobi), orchid fibers, feathers and fur tufts. The cowrie shell bands was used as currency or as a ceremonial transfers of wealth, and the band could also serve as a tool to measure pigs to determine worth and payment. Pigs are a symbol of wealth and major source of protein. Besides, the cowrie shell bands are exchanged as ritual offerings at funerals.
The Dani are a people from central highlands of Western New Guinea (the Indonesian province of Papua). They are one of the most populous tribes in the highlands, with related ethnic groups Yali, Moni and Lani. In traditional Dani village are three different kinds of cottages: Honai, Eweai and Leseai. Leseai is an oblong square kitchen house used for family gatherings, cooking, talking, eating. Honai and Eweai are round sleeping huts. Honai is for men, while Eweai is for women. Following the discovery of the Dani by Westerners at the end of the 1930's, the Dutch established their first colonial post in the remote area of the Bailem Valley in the mid 1950's. Prior to contact with people other than their own, the Dani were a basic, agricultural, hunting and gathering society. The Dani have traditionally been animists who believed in local land and water spirits. Particular attention was given to the restless ghosts of the recently deceased. These ghosts are potentially dangerous and cause misfortune, illness, and death. The Grand Valley Dani conceive of a soul-like substance "seeds of singing" (edai-egen), which is seen throbbing below the sternum. It is believed to be fully developed by about two years of age. Serious sickness or wounds can cause it to retreat towards the backbone, whence it is recalled by heat and by curing ceremonies. At death, this feature becomes a ghost/spirit (mogat), and it must be induced to go off into forest where it cannot harm living.
Until the 1960's, when metal tools were introduced by outsiders, the Grand Valley Dani tools were stone, bone, pig tusk, wood and bamboo. Stone used to make axes (kapak) and adzes. The Dani traditionally had no pottery and gourds were used for water containers. Dani men go around naked except the for a penis sheath (koteka), and ocassionally some bird of paradise feathers, cowry shells or pig tusks or a hair net as an a ornament. Unmarried women have traditionally worn grass skirts (sili) while married women wore a skirt made of fiber coils (yokal) or seeds strung together and hung below the abdomen to cover the buttocks. Dani crafts include intricately woven rattan bracelets (sekan), arm and head bands (milak), necklaces made of cowry shells, feathers and bone (mikak), and the head decorations often made with pig tusks (suale). Western Dani use wide range of wealth items. These included oblong polished stones (ye), slabs of salt, and looped carrier tree bark fibre bags (bilum, noken).
The method of making noken or bilum varies between communities, but in general, branches, stems or bark of certain small trees or shrubs are cut, heated over a fire and soaked in water. The remaining wood fibre is dried, then spun to make a strong thread or string, which is sometimes colored using natural dyes. The string is knotted by hand to make net bags of various sizes and patterns. The process requires great manual skill and takes several months to master.
A lengthy knit tree fiber band are partially painted with black plant-based color. Cowrie shells (132) are sewn on the one side of the band. Tufts of brown fur attached to the both ends of the band. Age-related wear and signs of use. Fraying to terminal ends. Missing fur tufts. Two cowrie shells are missing. Good condition. Lovely patina. Size approx. 280,0cm x 2,0cm x 1,0cm.
Provenance: Dutch private collection. According to information, originally from the collections of a closed ethnographic museum & foundation in the Netherlands.
References and further reading:
Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Oceania, Karl Heider, edited Terence Hays, G.K.Hall & Company, 1991.
Wealth Items in the Western Highlands of West Papua, Anton Ploeg, Ethnology, Vol.43. No.4 (Autumn 2004), pp. 291-313.
Papua blood: An account of West Papua, Peter Bang, BoD, 16 Apr 2018.
Dani tribe, Indonesia, Atlas of Humanity
Dani, Encyclopedia.com.
Who are the Dani People of Bailem Valley?, Crooked Compass, 3 Oct 2018.
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