A Fijan war club Bulibuli 19th Century, having a domed head with a series of carved flat circular protrusions inlaid, with single marine ivory inlay, tapering to a cylindrical shaft with a carved handle, 103cm long

A private Gloucestershire Estate

A similar example can be found in Art and Artefacts of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas, The James Hooper Collection; Steven Phelps, 1976, plate no. 111, no. 865, page 198.

In Fijan culture, prestige was accorded to those accomplished in the martial arts and so the Fijian warrior would choose a club that suited his stature and natural movements. The two handed club was the traditional and favourite weapon. Different weapons were used for different types of blow and this club was a striker or crusher that was used with a downward smashing motion. It is said that the terrible wounds inflicted by the war clubs can still be seen on skulls in burial caves and that some warriors survived the heavy blows to live on for years with dramatically misshapen heads.