The Significance of Birds in Oceania

Dhari are a crested headdress that were worn by men during warfare or ceremonial dances.

Made of a framework constructed from cane and coconut fibre string, dhari were decorated with feathers from various birds, including frigate birds, Torres Strait pigeons and cassowaries.

Today, other materials can be used to decorate the headdresses. This dhari has been painted in blue and red.

While the basic shape of dhari is the same across the Torres Strait islands, some regional variation in terms of design and decoration. This ubiquity of dhari in Torres Strait Islands culture and society has led to them becoming an emblem of national identity and they feature on the Torres Strait Islands flag.

This headdress, one of the few of its kind, would have been a valuable heirloom, one that indicated the status and wealth of its owner. Rooster feathers, as well as those from other birds, and whale ivory were important and valuable materials for Marquesan Islanders. Black, iridescent tail feathers and plumage from roosters, along with their red coloured neck feathers, were used to decorate various types of headdresses.

As such, roosters were highly prized and well cared for. Each rooster had two long tail feathers which, when plucked, would grow back. Some Marquesan headdresses have so many rooster tail feathers attached that it could take several years to acquire the feathers needed to decorate them. Prestigious ornaments like this were worn by male or female dancers at ceremonial events or various festivals.

Worn on the top of the head or across the temples, this crescent shaped headdress comprises finely trimmed cock feathers have been carefully tied into small bundles. The bundles have been bound onto a fibre base and arranged so that the feathers fall in the same direction, creating a lustrous surface to catch the light when the headdress was danced. Where the main body of the headdress meets the ties, through which the headdress is secured to the head, small red and green coloured feathers have been added along with decorative stitching of fine coconut fibre cord.

These ties are further embellished with eighteen small whales’ teeth, one of which has split. Whale ivory was a rare and highly prized material in Marquesan society. When European traders and whalers began to visit the islands more frequently in the early to mid-nineteenth century, whale teeth became a favoured trade item leading to an increase in the availability of ivory.

Status and position within many societies in Oceania was made visible through dress and personal ornamentation. Only chiefs or those from the ruling class were entitled to wear emblems of rank and prestige. This included feathers from certain birds. Feathers could also be paid as a form of tribute to chiefs.

Feathers (hulu manu) were one of the most prized belongings for Hawaiians. Featherwork objects such as cloaks, capes, helmets, standards and god images were among the most precious and high ranking of objects made and used by Hawaiians.
They were made for, used or worn only by the ali‘i (chiefs and nobility). Royal featherwork embodied the connection of the ali‘i to the gods, to the mountain forests where the native birds came from and materialised their ownership and control over this domain and its precious resources.

Feathers were considered sacred and only the ali’i (chiefs and nobility) had access to them. As such, they were a very precious resource. Their colour, red and yellow, was also considered sacred in Hawai’i. Specialist hunters caught the birds and plucked their feathers. Depending on the number of feathers taken from each bird, some were released while those from whom many feathers were taken were killed.

Several species of birds whose feathers were used are now extinct. This includes birds such as the ‘ō‘ō and mamo, from whom yellow and black feathers were obtained. Scarlet feathers came from the ‘i‘iwi bird, a species that is now endangered.

Wakahuia or treasure boxes served as containers for various family heirlooms (taonga). They were originally created to store the highly prized black and white tail feathers of the now extinct huia bird.

The figural handles at each end possibly represent manaia, a bird/lizard/human figure from Māori mythology often ascribed with protective qualities.

It was from these handles that the box was suspended from the rafters of a home or storehouse, from which the fully carved underside of the box would have been visible.