Fly River

Bark belt

D: 25 cm

Ex collection Nelly van den Abbeele

Ex collection Edwin Bentley Savage,

Given to Pitt Rivers museum 20 October 1894

Label: Bark belt, New Guinea, Savage Coll. P: 1109

Description in catalogue of Pitt Rivers museum p 1109

Two Barkbelts (C,D) or Gata Gauna worn by bushman in the large district around Fly River. These are from a tribe called Quininium who have recently (about 1890) left the inland village and built a village on the coast near to Tureture. They are not worn on special occasions but are every day ornaments for the body.  Their chief use is to keep the men from getting corpulate as they argue this is too much like a women.

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