A Piece of PNG
Huli fighting picks
WHAT ARE THEY?
These traditional weapons were used mainly by the Huli-speaking people in Hela Province in the highlands region, where they are referred to as ayu nogoba. The Huli are well known for the application of bright yellow ochre face paint for sing-sings and ceremonies, where they also wear their iconic and spectacular wigs.
WHERE ARE FIGHTING PICKS MADE ?
Traditionally they were made in many villages in this highlands region and today they are made in villages close to the main provincial towns of Tari, Koroba and Komo – the Huli heartland.
WHO MAKES THEM?
As personal weapons, the picks were traditionally made by the men in the village.
HOW ARE THEY MADE ?
The relatively light wooden handle, perhaps incorporating an angle formed by a branch, is shaved to the correct dimensions. A groove is cut into the top ‘arm’ of the handle into which a black palm shaft is laid and held in place with a tight binding of split cane.
At the end of the black palm shaft, a sharpened cassowary bone or claw tip is attached, also held in place with tightly woven split cane.
HOW ARE THEY DECORATED?
The black palm shaft is often carved and coloured with local ochres, but otherwise the pick is a plain utilitarian weapon.
HOW WERE FIGHTING PICKS USED TRADITIONALLY?
Huli fighting men used them for close combat in interclan tribal fights that arose in disputes about land, women or compensation payments, alongside bows and arrows, which were used as longer distance weapons. The acute angle between the handle and the pointed end of the pick means they are used to attack enemies who are running away – striking them from behind and over the shoulder to inflict wounds in the chest or around the side into the belly. Alternatively, a pick could be swung in a backward motion while retreating, to injure a chaser. When not used, they were tucked into a man’s bark belt. Fighting picks are not used as weapons today.
WHERE CAN FIGHTING PICKS BE BOUGHT?
They can be found at local markets in Hela Province, including Tari, and at the annual Mount Hagen or Goroka shows, where they are sold in stalls.