KANIETS WEATHER CHARM
127
rectly be related to weather charms: “These
magical objects are never forgotten when the
major trips that are often undertaken take place.
These include voyages to the coconut-rich Sae
Islands, to Agomes also called the Hermit Islands,
and to the befriended Ninigo Islands.”
Unfortunately, Thilenius gives no clear information
on how these magical objects were used
on these long outrigger canoe voyages. Since
there is no other mention of the use of magical
charms in the Western Islands in the literature,
Thilenius’ more than 100-year-old notes on the
FIG. 8 (right): Cover of Georg
Thilenius, Ethnographische
Ergebnisse aus Melanesien,
vol. 2, Die Westlichen Inseln
des Bismarck-Archipels, Halle:
Buchdruckerei von Ehrhardt
Karras, 1903.
Courtesy of Kevin Conru.
FIG. 9 (below): Matalalo, a
human lower jaw decorated
with leaves; worn around the
neck as a magical charm. Kaniet
Islands.
From Georg Thilenius, Ethnographische
Ergebnisse aus Melanesien, vol. 2, Die
Westlichen Inseln des Bismarck-Archipels,
Halle: Buchdruckerei von Ehrhardt Karras,
1903, fi g. 77.
Courtesy of Kevin Conru.
I wish to thank Dr. Michaela Appel, curator of the
Indonesian and Oceanic Department at the Museum
Fünf Kontinente in Munich, for the photographs of
the weather charm and the information about its
documentation that she kindly provided.
NOTES
1. Udo Horstmann and Klaus Maaz, “I Pierce the Sky’s
Eye (Weather Incantation in Micronesia),” Art Tribal,
autumn 2005, pp. 72–89.
2. Koch died in April of 2005 in the Atlantic Ocean off the
coast of Labrador.
3. Michaela Appel, Ozeanien - Weltbilder der Südsee,
Munich: Museum Fünf Kontinente, 2005, illustration of
the Kaniet weather charm is on page 145.
4. The Museum für Völkerkunde in Munich changed its
name to the Museum Fünf Kontinente in 2014.
5. Philippe Bourgoin, “The Hermit and Kaniet Islands,”
The World of Tribal Arts, Summer 1997, pp. 64–78.
6. Georg Thilenius, Ethnographische Ergebnisse aus
Melanesien, Teil II: Die Westlichen Inseln des Bismarck-
Archipels; Halle, 1903.
7. Treide, Barbara: In den Weiten des Pazifi k. Mikronesien:
Ausgewahlte Objekte aus den Sammlungen der Museen
fur Volkerkunde zu Leipzig und Dresden, Wiesbaden:
Dr. L. Reichert Verlag, 1997, see page 58.
8. Thilenius, op cit., pages 232–234.
FIG. 10 (left):
Madalom, magic charm,
Kaniet Islands.
From Georg Thilenius,
Ethnographische Ergebnisse aus
Melanesien, vol. 2, Die Westlichen
Inseln des Bismarck-Archipels, Halle:
Buchdruckerei von Ehrhardt Karras,
1903, fi g. 78.
Courtesy of Kevin Conru.
subject still constitute the most valuable documentation.
While he does not speak specifi cally
of such charms, the magical items he does discuss
appear to relate closely to the example in
Munich.
Objects from the tiny Kaniet Islands are only
rarely seen in private or public collections. I hope
that my bringing this Kaniet weather charm to
the attention of a broader audience may lead to
the discovery of additional documentation on
the subject or even of hitherto unknown examples
of its type.