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Indonesia
Sulawesi
Torajaland
The most traditional area of the Indonesian island
of Sulawesi is called Torajaland or Tana Toraja, which means land or people of
the mountains. In this remote area, many people still follow the "way of
the ancestors". It is still possible to find the trappings for the Torajan
Warrior. Helmets "Topi" and neck ornaments "Tora-tora" were
worn by the Torajan warrior when going into battle, and are still used today for
funeral processions and other traditional rituals and events. For the swords of
the traditional Torajan warrior,
click here.
A rare and collectible "Topi" or
warriors helmet. The helmet part is hand carved of wood. The horns are carved
from real water buffalo horn decorated with feathers, beads, and fringe.
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| From tip of feathers to tip of feathers, this
helmet measures a full 3 feet wide. The wooden helmet itself is 9
1/2" in diameter and and 11 1/2" tall. Item Ta100-1332 - $242.00 |
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| Detail showing the hand carved wood helmet part of the
headdress. |
Detail showing the hand carved horns made of water buffalo
horn, feathers, and beads. |
Borneo
Dayak
The Dayak are to
Asia as the American Indian to the Americas. They are the native peoples of the
islands. The Dayak of Borneo are in 12 major tribes. Isolated in the vast
rainforests of Borneo, they were headhunters until the year 1965. At this time
the Indonesian government negotiated peace between the tribes, although rumors
of continued headhunting have occurred. The Dayak are a very culturally intact
and interesting people, living much as their ancestors have for hundreds of
years.
Beads are very
valuable to the Dayaks, from the time of the European traders beads have been
used as a precious currency and show the family's wealth. Sometimes a single
large bead was not only worth a whole village but the inhabitants of it.
The Kenyan Dayak tribe is know
for being a "long ear" tribe. Traditionally, the lobes of the ears
were slowly stretched over time by adding heavier metal rings. This tradition
can still be seen with the older members of the tribe, but is falling out of
favor with the younger people.
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| Kenyan "long ear" Dayak lady. Photo by Hands
Around the World.
|
This young Kenyan lady is the artist who made the hat and
dance belt shown here with her and sold below. She is the daughter of the
"long ear" lady pictured. Photo by Hands Around the World. |
This beautiful and
intricately beaded hat is traditional from the Kenyan Dayak tribe.
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7 1/2' in diameter and 7" tall. Item
BoJ1783 -
$176.50 |
South American Indians
Ecuador
Quichua Indians
The Quichua Indians of the Andean Highlands of
Ecuador make beautiful and intricate jewelry using tagua nuts, seeds and other natural
objects as well as beads.
Tagua Nut Jewelry
Tagua Nuts grow in the jungle regions of Latin
America. They grow in a huge globe that is made of of large spiney pods. Within
those pods form the individual nuts, much like a Brazil nut. Called "Latin
American Ivory" they dry very hard. They can be slice, etched, or carved
making them a much used art medium by the Indian tribes of Latin America.
| Shown above are the pods of the Tagua nuts along with some
jewelry made from the nuts. |
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| Marina Montalvo is a Quichua Indian from Ecuador. She
specializes in handmade tagua nut jewelry. She is shown here with a tray
of her work. |
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| Tagua nut long bead necklace - multicolor bright. Item JEN3
- $19.75 |
Tagua nut long bead necklace - multicolor soft. Item JEN4 -
$19.75 |
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| Tagua nut chunky bead necklace - solid color. Choose
purple, red, blue, turquoise, yellow, or brown. Item JEN8 - $23.99 |
Tagua nut long pendant necklace. Choose multicolor, dark
purple, light purple, red, blue, turquoise, or brown. Item JEN8 - $23.99 |
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| Tagua nut and coconut disk stretch bracelet - mulitcolor.
Item JEB1 - $10.75 |
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| Tagua nut disk earrings in solid colors. Select yellow,
blue, turquoise, dark purple, light purple, blue, lime green, brown, or
natural. Item JEE1 - $13.75 |
Tagua nut three dangle earrings in solid colors. Select
yellow, blue, turquoise, dark purple, light purple, blue, lime green,
brown, or natural. Item JEE2 - $13.75 |
Shuar Indians
The Shuar Indians live in the Amazon Basin of Ecuador. They are a sub tribe
of the notorious Jivaro. In addition to the Shuar, there are three other
sub-tribes of the Jivaro, they are the Ashuar, the Aguaruna, and the Huambisa
. Although many peoples through out the world have taken the heads of their
enemies, the Jivaro are the only ones to practice head shrinking. The shrunken
heads are called tsantsa. The Jivaro were fierce warriors. A Spanish governor
who was greedy for gold was killed by pouring molten gold down his throat. The
notoriety of this incident and their practice of taking and shrinking heads
kept outsiders at bay. Thus they were never conquered by the Spaniard and are
called "the unconquered ones".
The Shuar are a very artistic tribe. One art form that they are very adept
at is the making of jewelry from seeds, nuts, teeth, bone and other
natural objects. They are also musical and perform many traditional dances and
rituals. They make dance belts which are hand woven. From the woven part
of the belt they hang beads, from the beads they continue down with the shells
of nuts and/or sea shells which rattle when they dance.
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| Shuar women dancing with dance belts. Photo by Hands
Around the World. |
Shuar artist with the dance belts sold below. Photo by
Hands Around the World. |
This dance belt is beautifully made and bought directly from the Shuar -
rare and a real collectors item.
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| Belt length 36". Item E100-1077 - $92.00 |
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| Shuar mother and daughter modeling seed jewelry they have
made. |
Venezuela
Yekuana Indians [more about the
Yekuana
Indians]
| Yekuana Indians in traditional dress. Photos by Hands
Around the World. |
The Yekuana Indians of the Venezuelan
rainforests are well known for their artistic ability. The are excellent canoe
makers and basket weavers. They also do beautifully complex beadwork.
Penare Indians
| Penare Indians still dress traditionally. Photos by Hands
Around the World. |
Penare (Pah-nah-ree) Indians live in the Amazon Basin of Venezuela. The
Penare are a very traditional people. They still live in thatched huts, usually
on a river bank.
Guahibo Indians [more about the
Guahibo
Indians]
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| Guahibo shaman - photo courtesy of Mary Lou Walberg |
Piaroa Indians
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| Piaroa Shaman - photo Hands Around the World |
Piaroa children - photo courtesy of Mary Lou Walberrg |
The Piaroa (Pee-ah-row-ah) Tribe lives in the
Amazon rain forest of Venezuela. Their mode of transportation is by the bongo, a
form of dugout canoe with which they navigate the tributaries of the Amazon.
They are very artistic and make many traditional crafts including necklaces made
of seeds and beads, often with bones or teeth of rainforest animals as
well.
Mexican Indians
Huichol Indians [more about the
Huichol Indians]
The Huichol
Indians of the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico are a very traditional tribe.
They still speak their native language and adhere to native customs and beliefs.
They are known for their beautiful yarn paintings and bead work. They cover a
surface with bees wax and press tiny colorful beads into the wax to make
beautifully detailed designs. They typically take peyote before they do their
art work. The peyote sends them on travels where they see things that they then
incorporate into their work. They also create intricate beaded jewelry.
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| Huichol shaman blessing necklaces sold below. Photo by Hands
Around the World. |
Huichol jewelry artist. Photo by Hands Around the World. |
Small beaded ornaments by the
Huichol Indians hang approx. 3 to 4" long.
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| Item MxJ1372a - $11.50 |
Item MxJ1372b - $11.50 |
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| Item MxJ1372d - $11.50 |
Hand beaded ink
pens by the Huichol. The beaded covers remove so that you can put it on another
pen when the ink runs out. They fit a Bic-type pen and are approx. 7" long
with the pen.
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Item MxJ230a -$18.75 |
Item MxJ230b -$18.75 |

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