Tag: Gourd

“Those people are constantly chewing a fruit which they call areca, and which resembles a pear. They cut that fruit into four parts, and then wrap it in the leaves of their tree which they call betre…They mix it with a little lime, and when they have chewed it thoroughly, spit it out. It makes the mouth exceedingly red. All the people in those parts of the world use it, for it is very cooling to the heart, and if they ceased to use it they would die” – Antonio Pigafetta (1521)

Following my introductory post, this piece will explore specific uses of the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria). Within the Pacific, a great importance is placed on the bottle gourd for storing lime powder. This is visible in the collections of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge (MAA), which reflect the great geographical spread of such containers, having been collected from across Santa Cruz, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands, to name just a few places.

Historically, lime powder has been used by Pacific groups for its use in producing ‘betel’, as illustrated in the quote at the beginning of this post. Whilst its ability to prevent death is certainly questionable, this substance is one which can create powerful psychostimulating effects. The chewing of betel remains a popular practice within all aspects of Pacific life; courtship, death, peace-making, traditional medicine and ritual activity. It is frequently used across Melanesia, especially in New Guinea, New Britain and New Ireland. This is reflected in the material culture that was collected from these areas by colonial explorers during the late 19th-early 20th century, in particular a very high number of lime containers were collected. I will now introduce you to some specific examples of such containers, demonstrating the variety in form and decoration which can be seen within the MAA’s vast collection.

1927.1576

1927.1576

The first object (1927.1576) is a large, round gourd with no external decoration or patterning. It has a carved wooden spatula attached to its body by a string of sinnet material. This illustrates its use for combining lime powder with the areca palm fruit and betel pepper leaf. It was collected from the Massim District of Papua New Guinea, before being donated to the museum by Bernard Armitage (1890-1976), a physician and psychiatrist.

Z 11227

Z 11227

Z 11227

Z 11227

Z 11227

Z 11227

In contrast to the previous item, this lime box (Z 11227) is made of a gourd which has an elongated shape, manipulated to form its concave bottom. However, it displays a similarly plain exterior. It is from the Solomon Islands and was given to the museum by Baron Von Hügel in 1884; an explorer who was travelling in the Pacific between 1874 and 1877. What is especially intriguing about this object is the semi-human, semi-animal figure featured on the handle of its wooden stopper. This figure can be seen crouching on all fours, wearing a necklace of red and white glass beads around its neck. It is also wearing what appears to be a top hat, arguably depicting a Pacific representation of a European.

Z 1283

Z 1283

Z 1283

Z 1283

 

This gourd object (Z 1283) was collected by A.C. Haddon during his Torres Strait Expedition in 1898. It is from the Trobriand Islands. Unlike the previous items, its exterior features simple burnt designs. Where there is now a hole in the top of the item, a stopper would once have been placed in order to create a secure container for the lime powder it stored. It is worth drawing your attention to the damage which can be seen on the bottom of this vessel. This damage has created access to the interior material of the gourd, which can then be exploited for the sampling purposes I mentioned in my previous blog post. This minimises any risk of damaging a part of the object which is still intact.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading about these Pacific gourd containers. My next blog post will focus on MAA’s collection of Hawaiian gourds, a taster of which can be seen below!

Emily Wilkes

Z 6114

Z 6114