Headrest
date: label: Accession Date
content: 22 May 2013
label: Collection Date
content: 31 Jul 1972
name: label: Collector
content: Richard Feinberg
label: Donor Name
content: Richard Feinberg
notes: label: Notes
content: Headrest, carved from single piece of wood. T-shaped, with square base and slightly concave top. Triangles pointing down along underside of top part. Tag: "Te Urunga / made by Martin Vakaopea / Anuta Island / July 31, 1972."
label: Notes
content: Te Urunga ('headrest') -- Te (the) uru (head) nga (something that takes care of the head). Made by Martin Vakaopea (Pu Parekope) July 31, 1972. Used only by men while sleeping or resting. This is not widely used anymore but when Feinberg was there it was widely used. The head is the most important part of the body on Anuta - this is where the mana is concentrated. The head of the household uses one of these headrests and no one else can use this because it would be sacrilieous and dangerous for them. The triangles are pakarakei which is the generic term for decorations. There is no local explanation about why this is used other then to make it look nice. Not sure what the wood is but Feinberg guesses Calophyllum - Tepau. This was made for Feinberg. Martin got married and he took on the name Pu Karekope. Pu Karekope was his uncle - junior's chief's brother. This was a family name. Such that when he took on the name the uncle changed his name. Standard shape - only used by men, not women and children. When you sleep you lay on a mat with your face facing the sea with your feet towards the inland. Men would put their head towards the sea closer than their wife. (Per curator Joshua Bell; notes from speaking to Feinberg, Aug 16, 2012.)
label: Record Last Modified
content: 2 Dec 2014
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Anuta Island, Solomon Islands, Melanesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Anutan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2059846
label: USNM Number
content: E433248-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Headrest
physicalDescription: label: Height
content: 15.2 cm
label: Width
content: 29.2 cm
label: Depth
content: 10.2 cm