Exhibition head-hunter pipes

16 November 2019

From our rich reserves, this time we have chosen a small group of pipes for a mini-exhibition, pipes of extreme rarity. They are made and smoked by the Naga, a mountain people living in the far east of India. They are quite an aggressive people, even head-hunters. The brave warriors receive a pipe with a row of puppets on the stem, in the number of the victims beheaded by them. Another characteristic is that the pipes of this people show a stylized portrait as a pipe bowl, all carved in wood. After 1900, the British authorities in India try to ban headhunting. Eventually, the habit turns to beheading local monkeys called gibbons. It is therefore not surprising that some dolls look more like monkeys than people. Until 18 January 2020, the pipes will decorate the exhibition showcase in the middle of our museum. At the same time, curator Don Duco wrote an article about these remarkable pipes, which can be read in the publication list on our website.

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