Bwai ni Buaka (full Kiribati armour) like the one shown were created up until the late 1800s, and became less popular when European arrivals attempted to pacify the pocket of Islands known as Kiribati. Spreading across 3.5 million square feet, and extending across all four hemispheres, the 32 low lying atolls and one raised atoll of Kiribati are under constant threat of rising sea levels, causing resources and land to be in scarce supply.
Schisms between clans/chiefs erupted in the 15th century( found in early sources by whalers, sealers, oral histories of the I-Kiritbati people- this is not to say this didn’t occur earlier) over land, over resources and retributions were sought for wrong-doings by opposing tribes/chieftains. Inter-tribal warfare was conducted through hand to hand combat with a dominant warrior at the centre, and surrounding lesser equipped fighters in the wings. Fighting was not for fatality, it was more ceremonial aimed to inflict shallow lacerations/embarrassment rather than to kill. If death occurred by accident the wronged party was expected to be given land in retribution.
Specially made armour was constructed from coconut husk fibre (benu) and lashed with coconut sennit (te kora). A full garb included overalls, attached sleeves, knuckle covers, a cuirass- all made from knotting benu together, sometimes decorated with human hair and/or stingray skin attached over the top for extra protection.
As the Bwai ni Buaka was stiff and thick, the knotting would be looser on the legs for ease of movement, and tighter on the cuirass for greater protection. The cuirass had a high backboard to protect from rogue stone throws or attacks from behind. A warrior wielded a shark tooth sword (taumangarua) and wore a pufferfish helmet for extra protection/intimidation (cont in next post...)
Porcupine/Puffer fish helmets known as Te Barantauti were made by catching puffer fish, agitating them to blow up sometimes up to 7x their normal size, removing their entrails and face, peeling its skin and burying it in the sand to dry out. Once the fish skin was dried it was re-mounted over a woven cap usually crafted of coconut fibre. The helmets were not intended for extreme protection but enhanced the appearance and fierceness of armour worn by the Kiribati warrior.
At the @MAA the helmet on display is a contemporary response to the creation of the Bwar ni Buaka, as methods of its making may/have been lost over the years. This helmet (pic 2) is made of porcupine fish and moulded over a woven pandanus cap. Kaetaeta Watson, Chris Charteris, and Lizzy Leckie based their Bwar Ni Buaka on armour and images held in the collection at MAA, and used materials available to them at the time, so pandanus replaced coconut fibre, and a porcupine fish replaced a pufferfish. They called their armour- Kautan Rabakau in Kiribati, meaning awakening the knowledge.