Arrows of Melanesia: a neglected art form

Examples of an interesting arrow type unique, to my knowledge, to the Eastern Highlands-the multipronged "adultery" or, in Tok Pisin, kot (court) arrow. They are used by vengeful husbands to punish men who infringe their marital rights. The guilty party is expected to stand still while the arrow is shot into his thigh. They can also be used where anger boils over within a group where killing is prohibited, such as in a quarrel between two brothers. They will stand apart and take turns shooting arrows into each other's thighs. An irritated husband can also use these arrows on his errant wife-one woman was carried into the Kainantu government station with twenty-three in her when my late father was officer in charge there in the 1946-1948 period. She survived-the arrows are designed not to penetrate deeply, and deaths are rare unless infection sets in. Among the Gahuku Gama of the Asaro Valley near the provincial capital of Goroka, during the wedding ceremony this type of arrow was shot into the thigh of the bride as she reclined on the ground with her head turned away, to mark her subordination to her husband.

In the East-Central Family language groups of the Eastern Highlands (e.g., Kafe, Bena Bena, Gahuku, Asaro), these arrows are called by the same name as the three- or four-pronged bird arrow (nagisa), but my informants qualified each individual arrow with the name of the design of the prongs, which are usually miniatures of different war arrows. Some may have a different design for each prong, so the informant names each when describing a nagisa.
Double-headed fighting arrows are known in other parts of New Guinea. It should be noted that the tips of the arrows are tied together. This would limit penetration.

The first measurement references the total length of the arrow, the second describes the head length from the end of the shaft. Objects are described from left to right.

1. is from the Kainantu area (McWilliam Collection). Each of the three blackpalm heads has long trailing barbs and orchid fiber wrapping around the tips. It has forty-two barbs in all. (120.5/41 cm).
2. also has three blackpalm tips carved in the Bena Bena fobaiyo design. (111/33.5 cm).
3. is a yaantre (rattan thorn) nagisa from the Kafe language group east of Goroka. It has four fire-hardened rattan thorn prongs decorated with orchid fiber. (126/25 cm).
4. is from the Kainantu area (McWilliam Collection) and has three hardwood prongs carved with many small barbs. (110.5/26 cm).
5. is from the Goroka area with the three blackpalm prongs carved in the menimu design common to the languages of the area, hence it would be called a menimu nagisa. Between each set of teeth on the prongs is a plaited collar of orchid fiber. (124/44 cm).
6. is from the Bena Bena language group. (121.5/31 cm).
7. is an aaramau from the small Binumarien language group on the eastern edge of the Eastern Highlands. It is a variant of the nagisa type in that it has two heads of blackpalm, not tied together, and could be used for fighting as well for punishment. It is painted with red ochre and decorated with orchid fiber. Each head has eight barbs. (31.5/32.5 cm).
8. is from the Goroka area and has three blackpalm prongs, each of different design. (116/26 cm).
9. is from the Kainantu area (McWilliam Collection) and has three barbed blackpalm heads. (109/31 cm).
10. is from Bena Bena, and each blackpalm prong has short trailing barbs. (120/24).