War charm

This is a war charm, once worn by the nineteenth-century warriors from the Manus Province, Admiralty Islands. The adornment is tied and made to sit in the nape of the warrior's neck, and hangs out on a right angle to his back.

Design
This war charm consists of a carved wooden head with a headdress set above a plume of twenty-four black feathers representing a body. The head has a long face with a long narrow nose, elongated horizontal lens-shaped eyes, and a raised oval mouth, and is partly painted in black and white. In the nineteenth century this carved head was usually made from bone.

Significance
This type of war charm was thought to improve a warrior's accuracy with spears and make him invulnerable in combat. Later, during European colonisation, warlike activities declined and the adornments were commonly replicated in wood and made for sale. Today, similar nape ornaments are used in dance performances at cultural festivals.