Pisuwe is a dagger from the island of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. Ndam pisuwe
or Ndam emak pisuwe are those that are made with human femur bone and Pi pisuwe are for those that are made with
Cassowary
Cassowaries (; Biak: ''man suar'' ; ; Papuan: ''kasu weri'' ) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'', in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones. Cassowaries a ...
bone.
Prior to the colonization of the
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
in the 1950s, these daggers are carried by the
Asmat people and they are used only in ritual killings.
These daggers are usually embellished with
Cassowary
Cassowaries (; Biak: ''man suar'' ; ; Papuan: ''kasu weri'' ) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'', in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones. Cassowaries a ...
feathers at the pommel and decorated with carved in artworks depicting humans and animals.
Asmat men would wear this dagger as part of their traditional attire during customary ceremonies by girding it on the side of their waist.
See also
*
Sewar
Sewar (Sejwa, Sivas, Siwah, Siwai, Siwar, or Siwaz) refers to a dagger of Indonesian origin, typically carried in a belt and used mainly in Sumatra, Indonesia. The blade is also referred to as Sewah by the Gayo people, Seiva by the Minangkabau p ...
*
Kujang
References
Weapons of Indonesia
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