Carved “Bird Head,” Cassowary-Bone Dagger with Cord, early 20th century
Unknown maker, probably Abelam, Papua New Guinea
Cassowary bone (tibia) and plant-fiber cord, 6 5/8 × 2 3/4 × 1 5/8 in. (17 × 7 × 4 cm)
Courtesy the American Museum of Natural History, Division of Anthropology, New York City, 80.0/7054

This dagger was made from the tibiotarsus (leg bone) of the cassowary, a large flightless bird associated in Abelam and neighboring cultures with prestige, power, and cosmogenic mythology. Cassowary-bone daggers were once used as weapons in close combat and still play a role in initiation ceremonies for young boys. The ritual activity of such daggers was closely connected to their history of use and transmission; a dagger’s effectiveness in battle or temporal status as an heirloom strengthened its ritual efficacy as a repository and conduit for supernatural power associated with the creation of both worlds and men.