The Papuan Official Collection Chapter Five
registrations P 1915 P1916, and P 1917 Figure 5.18). T h ey are small, light, and there are m an y o f them in the village (S ch affarczyk 2007).
There is also a large b asket called Akeke (P 2037, N M A 1985.0339.0331, see Figure
5.19). The basket is m ad e o f w o v e n sago leaf. T w o colours o f le a f are used: light brow n and dark brown. The g eo m etrical patterns on the basket are also called
‘akeke . A note in the T horpe Register, apparently originating from W illiam s reads: ‘used for various purposes; large ones for collecting sago lea f before beating. Dark colours obtained by soaking leaves in m u d for several d a y s ’. The T ho rp e register (1933) notes also that it was collected by FE W illiam s on 13.8.1922 from the Purari River Delta Division. Figure 5.20 b e low show s a copy o f a photo W illiam s took o f ‘O v e ’s wife (Evaia) m aking akeke, U k ira v i’; perhaps this is the basket that Evaia m ade? (Y o u n g and Clark 2000:76, Schaffarczyk 2007)
Figure 5.17 T he p h o to g rap h taken by W illiam s o f w o m en w ith th e ir fish in g traps and nets on the b each at N om u. F rom the C o lle c tio n o f the N atio n al A rch iv es o f A u stra lia (N A A A 6 0 0 3 , 4.3).
Figure 5.18 A “ P IR U A I” or ‘Pith Fish Line F lo a t’ c o llected from P urari, D elta D iv is io n ] , by W illiam s in A u g u st 1922 (T h o rp e 1933). T horpe reg istra tio n P I 917, N M A reg istratio n 1985.0339.1061. L ength: 20cm . A s W illia m s put it, not ev e ry th in g to be c o llected had to be b eautiful or u nusual; o b jects used every day w ere ju s t as im p o rtan t. Photo: S S ch affarczy k .
Figure 5.19 A n “ A K E K E ” ‘B ag o f Plaited Sago L e a f co llected by W illiam s fro m P u rari, D elta D iv is io n ] , on 13 A ugust 1922’ (T h o rp e 1933), p erh ap s it is one m ade by O v e ’s w ife? T h o rp e reg istratio n P 2037, N M A re g istra tio n 1985.0339.0331. L en g th : 40cm . Photo: D ragi M arkovic. U sed w ith the p erm issio n o f the N atio n al M u seu m o f A u stralia. w w w .n m a .g o v .a u .
The Papuan Official Collection Chapter Five
Figure 5.20 T he p h o to W illiam s to o k o f O v e ’s w ife [E vaia] m ak in g akeke. F rom the C o lle ctio n o f the N atio n al A rch iv es o f A u stra lia (N A A A 6 0 0 3 , 27.1).
On the sam e day W illiam s collected a nose piercer ( P I 946, N M A 1985.0339.0015,
see Figure 5.21) or haipamim ade o f casso w ary bone. Again, a photograph in Y oung
and Clark (2001:77) o f Evara, a dapu or doctor, o f Kaira Mari Ravi, m ay prove a
c o rresponding image for the object collected, dem onstrating what is done with a pierced nose. V iew ing the objects with their photographic counterparts gives a feeling that as m uch as the objects provide specim ens for science, they also play the role o f m em ento es o f fieldwork for Williams.
A bullroarer (P1955, N M A 1 9 8 5 .03 39.0087, see Figure 5.22) collected from lari before Septem b er 1927 (Thorpe register shipm ent date) is described in the Thorpe Register (1933): ‘bullroarer (or rather the lari counterpart) “ U P U R A - IM U N U ” . lari bullroarers are not perforated. Button on nose p resum ab ly a survival o f the hole. O bjects o f great sacredness kept in a bag in the “LAVARA ” ’. The collection o f this object, and its accom p a n y in g description is im portant in respect o f the view s that
W illiam s expressed regarding the ethical collection o f objects. In his 1923 Curios
paper, he argued strongly against the collection o f cerem onial material such as upura
prevent d am ag e to the cerem onial im portance o f these objects, the collector aim instead to collect the identical bullroarers stored in less sacred spaces (1923:12-15). Presum ably this bullroarer is not itself an upura imunu but one o f its identical-but- profane kin from elsew here in the village (W illiam s 1923).
Figure 5.21 “ B A IP A M I” or ‘B o n e N o se P ic rc c r’, c o llected by W illiam s from the P urari, D elta D iv is io n ] , 13 A u g u st 1922 (T h o rp e 1933). T h o rp e reg istra tio n P I 946, N M A reg istratio n 1 9 85.0339.0015. L ength: 17.6 cm . T his one is m ad e fro m c a sso w ary or flying fox b o n e (N M A 1985). Photo: S S ch affarczy k .
Young and Clark ( 2 0 0 1 :78) d oc um e n t two photos taken on 20 M ay 1922 o f three lari m en, and o f a Larava in O n op o Ravi, lari (F ig ure.5.23). This photo is a reversed
reproduction o f one in the Curios paper, where the caption m entions the photo as
‘show ing Larava and K w o i...[a n d ] a bag full o f upura in the b ac k g ro u n d (W illiam s 1923:2). In the same paper is another photo o f three upura show n against a backdrop o f the skirts o f som e cerem onial masks. Given the im portance that W illiam s has argued for these items, particularly the descriptions o f the lengths to which the uninitiated would go to avoid hearing or seeing them, it is unusual that he considered photographic images w ould not im pinge on their sacredness, even if he thought the villagers m ight never see the photo. He advises against the rem oval o f such objects even ‘w ra ppe d in r a g s ’ (W illiam s 1923:14).
The Papuan Official Collectic Chapter
Figure 5.22 " U P U R A -IM U N U ", a 'b u llro a re r (or ra th e r IA RI c o u n te rp a rt)’ (T h o rp e 1933), attrib u ted to W illiam s in the N M A c atalo g u e (1985). T h o rp e re g istra tio n P I 955, N M A re g istratio n 1985 .0 3 3 9 .0 0 8 7 , L en g th : 59cm . Photo: D ragi M arkovic. U sed w ith the p e rm issio n o f the N a tio n a l M useum o f A u stralia, w w w .n m a .g o v .a u .
Perhaps the religious ram ifications w ere lessened if the object itself was not rem oved, and the ‘uninitiated v ie w e rs ’ o f any subsequent photos were not Indigenous. Perhaps these objects w ere sim ilar to, but not the sacred objects he was speaking about.
O ther material collected by W illiam s is held at the South Australian M u seu m and M useum Victoria in Australia, there are also seven items at the A uckland M useum
Tamaki Paenga Hint (pers.com m ., H .B arton O ctober 2006), as well as other objects at Oxford and C am b rid g e ( C U M A A catalogue online 2005, PRM catalogue online 2005).
Im p a c t o f th e w o r k o f W i l li a m s on th e c o lle c tio n o f th e P O C
W illiam s died in a plane crash near K okoda, Papua in 1943 (Y oun g and Clark 2000:54). His greatest influence on the POC probably does not originate in his
personal acquisition o f objects. His 1923 publication Collection o f Curios provided
g uidance on w hat to collect, and surpassed any o f the ‘shopping lists’ provided in earlier C ircular Instructions (N A A A52 354/96 PAP 2). It was his personality,
training and experience that d rew the patrol officers and resident m agistrates to W illiam s for discussions and advice (M L FM4/4351 and 4348).
Figure 5.23 W illia m s' photo o f O n o p o R avi, lari (F ro m the C o lle c tio n o f the N ational A rc h iv es o f A u stralia, N A A 6003, 53). N o te the bag o f b u llro a re rs h a n g in g on the w all to the right.
As m u ch as W illiams m ay have sought m entorship from Seligm an, H addon and others in the establishm ent, W illiam s was a m entor within Papua on the scale o f H addon himself. As will be discussed in the next chapter in reference to patrol officers and resident m agistrates, W illiam s was brought objects unusual and m un dan e , descriptions o f daily activities or peculiar events by m issionaries, patrol officers, resident magistrates and m em b e rs o f the expatriate co m m u n ity to appreciate or explain. Patrol officers and resident m agistrates sought his opinions on articles for publication, and more than likely he provided letters o f introduction for som e o f them (M L FM 4/4351). They also sought his help in w hat they considered "anthropological situ a tion s’.
The Papuan Official Collection Chapter’ Five
In Summary
From the beginning Murray knew that his own knowledge o f anthropology was not broad enough to successfully incorporate the discipline into his administration. His appointment o f Strong as the first Government Anthropologist was the first step in providing a professional edge to the earlier move he had made in establishing the POC. The appointment o f Armstrong was closer to what he wanted, but it was not until the appointment o f a formally trained, permanent Government Anthropologist like Williams that Murray saw the fulfillment o f his long running campaign.
Despite arguments suggesting that Murray controlled his government anthropologists with a short leash, the evidence suggests otherwise. Each man appointed to the position was able to undertake research that appealed to him, rather than simply the work Murray specified. Especially in the case o f Williams, there were few restrictions to the way he conducted his fieldwork, or in the material he was able to publish. The appointments o f Armstrong and Williams, with their connections to the academy in Britain, helped to centre Papua and the POC in the history o f the development o f anthropology.
The discussion o f this chapter has set the background for the next: as much as Williams the Government Anthropologist was an outpost o f British anthropology, he was also an integral strand o f its network; some o f the most important strands he was bound to include the field officers.