ADDITIONS TO THE ETHNOLOGICAL COLLECTION — EXHERIDGE. 303 



NOTES ON SOME of the MORE RECENT ADDITIONS to 



THE ETHNOLOGICAL COLLECTION, AUSTRALIAN 



MUSEUM : No. 1. 



By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator. 



(Plates xlviii., xlix.) 



L — Knuckle Dusters. 

 The use of "Knuckle-dusters" (Plate xlviii., figs. 2, 3) on some of 

 the Pacific Islands is noteworthy. They are made of thick plaited 

 and knotted sinnet cord, roughly shaped to the outline of the backs 

 of the hands clenched, stiff and rigid, and answer more to the 

 Roman cestus than to the modern boxing-glove. The positions 

 corresponding to thumbs and index finger knuckles are raised 

 into hard and formidable protuberances Each "duster" is held 

 in position on the hand by a thumb loop, and loops for the first 

 and second fingers, placed along the front edge, through which 

 the fingers are passed before the hand is clenched, and a long 

 wrist cord, which wraps round the wrist several times. The 

 weight is five and a half ounces. These were purchased as coming 

 from Santa Cruz, but later information induces me to believe 

 that they are from the Ellice Group. Cook described^ boxing 

 matches as indulged in by both sexes on the island of Hapalee in 

 the Tongan or Friendly Group. It appears the boxers held a 

 piece of cord in one hand, which they wrapped firmly about it 

 when they proceeded to box. Mariner, in his "Account of the 

 Natives of the Tongan Islands,"'- beyond quoting Cook, makes no 

 remark on the subject. Ellis says^ that amongst the Tahitians, 

 moto-raa, or boxing, was conducted with the open fist. On the 

 Ellice and Tongan Groups, a much more formidable hand-cover 

 was used, but on the palm. Mariner describes it^ as a glove set 

 with shark's teeth, the latter "being fixed in three rows on the 

 palm and fingers of a species of glove made of the plaited bark of 

 the hedho; and both hands being armed in this manner, every 

 man endeavours to come to a close scuffle with his antagonist, and 

 to tear open his bowels, with these horrid weapons." 



1 Cook— Voy. to Pacific Ocean, 1776-80, 2nd edit., i., 1785, pp. 246 and 

 302, pi. XV. 



2 Mariner— Natives Tongan Isds., ii., 1817, pp. 306 and 32G. 



3 ElUs— Polynesian Kesearches, i., 1832, p. 208. 



4 Mariner — Loc. cit., i., p. 320. 



