Roromaraugi

A roromaraugi is a parrying shield from San Cristobal Island in the Solomon Islands.

Roromaraugi

Makira warrior handling a roromaraugi in his right hand

Uses

It was used to deflect the enemy’s arrows and spears. It has a broad sickle-shaped head^[1] that is separated by a well-marked central ridge with a spur on the back. The handle is often finished by an anthropomorphic sculpture and the whole is done in very hard wood.^[2] It was also used in war dances and measures more or less 150 cm (59 in).^[3] It should not be confused with the qauata which does not have a spur and looks more like a leaf.^[4]

References

1. The British Museum Yearbook, British Museum, 1979, p.218
2. Deborah Waite, Art of the Solomon Islands, 1983, p.135
3. Douglas Newton, Arts des mers du sud: Insulinde, Mélanésie, Polynésie, Musée Barbier-Mueller, 1998, p.270
4. Deborah Waite, Art of the Solomon Islands : The Conru Collection, 2008, p.113

Bibliography

• Purissima Benitez, Jean-Paul Barbier, Alain-Michel Boyer, Boucliers d’Afrique, d’Asie du Sud-Est et d’Océanie, Paris, Éditions Adam Biro, 1998.