A Tongan 'Apa'Apai' Club
A Tongan ‘Apa?Apai’ Club . Old dry patina
Early 19 th Century
Size : 107 cm long – 42 ins long
Early 19 th Century
Size : 107 cm long – 42 ins long
The task of differentiating clubs from the Fiji - Tonga - Samoa area is difficult . Clubs were gained as prestigious war trophies and exchanged from Island to Island , and the three groups have been in periodic contact for at least 3000 years .
However , Steven Phelps maintains ( The James Hooper Collection ) that the butts of 'Apa?Apai' clubs reveal a favoured Tongan form of butt lug , its sides not reaching the full width of the club shaft . On Samoan clubs they took the form of a broad pierced triangle , the sides of which sloped down to the full width of the handle .
Tongan 'Apa?Apai' clubs were almost certainly introduced to Samoa where they began to be made and were called 'Uatogi.'
However , Steven Phelps maintains ( The James Hooper Collection ) that the butts of 'Apa?Apai' clubs reveal a favoured Tongan form of butt lug , its sides not reaching the full width of the club shaft . On Samoan clubs they took the form of a broad pierced triangle , the sides of which sloped down to the full width of the handle .
Tongan 'Apa?Apai' clubs were almost certainly introduced to Samoa where they began to be made and were called 'Uatogi.'
A Tongan 'Apa'Apai' Club
SOLD