a footnote on this topic...which has a huge literature! - (and
apologies for the deviation away from the ACT to avian matters to
our north).
Perhaps the most thorough account of historical PNG hunting and
regional trading birds of paradise (and other birds) is :
Healey, Chris. (1990). Maring Hunters and Traders: Production
and Exchange in the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Berkeley,
UCLA.
Accessible online at URL:
http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft2k4004h3/
And the classic historical account of the depth and range in
international trade in bird of paradise plumes from NG is the
superb:
Swadling, Pam (1996). Plumes from Paradise: Trade Cycles in Outer
Southeast Asia and Their Impact on New Guinea and Nearby Islands
until 1920. Coorparoo,Qld, Robert Brown & Associates.
This summary of some fairly recent work by biologists in PNG gives a
window into recent plumage use for ornamental cultural
purposes.......(which is being continued by Miriam Supuma, the PNG
biologist who starred as a researcher/narrator in one of the recent
BBC documentaries).
Sinclair, J. R., G. Sokame and A. L. Mack (2004). "The Use Of
Wildlife For Cultural Purposes In Papua New Guinea". Paper presented
at18th Annual Meeting Society for Conservation Biology
July 30th to August 2nd, 2004 - New York, USA.
Abstract: Wildlife sold in Papua New Guinea is predominantly for
cultural purposes not bushmeat. We report results from the
first two years of an on-going study into the use of wildlife for
cultural purposes in PNG. To estimate the number of
animals used for ornamentation, we analysed digital pictures of 137
individuals from 27 cultural groups at the 2003
Goroka Show. One member from each group was also surveyed with an
oral questionnaire. We estimate adornments
contained 8187 (1280-52194 95% CI) birds and 1901 (297-12066 95% CI)
mammals. The most abundant birds were
birds of paradise (46%), with 60% of mammals being Spotted Cuscuses
(Spilocuscus maculatus). Several vulnerable
species were used, including 962 (150-3232 95% CI) Vulturine Parrots
(Psittrichas fulgidus) and 237 (53-421 95% CI)
Goodfellow’s Tree-kangaroos (Drendolagus goodfellowi). Most
performers hunted (78%) and/or purchased (56%)
wildlife; bird plumages costing a mean of US$8.48 (SD=$6.74, range
$0.77-$27.61, n=18). Wildlife ornamentation can
last up to 50 years, with 75% of those questioned stating adequate
storage is the main determinant of its longevity. We
reason better preservation of skins means less animals killed, and
make recommendations for the conservation of
animal skins. In 2003 we distributed these recommendations and a
fumigant to performers.
For those interested in profusely illustrated overviews, there are
these two recent books-
Frith, C. B. and D. W. Frith (2010). Birds of Paradise: Nature,
Art & History. Malanda, Qu., Frith&Frith.
Attenborough, S. D. and E. Fuller. (2012). Drawn from paradise:
the discovery, art and natural history of the birds of paradise.
London, Harper Collins Label: N.
Robin Hide
On 28/01/2013 7:00 PM, Philip Veerman
wrote:
Oh I am sure that they did not find them lying in the ground. The
quantity of feathers from the same bird combined,- shows
that. The hunting of these birds for obtaining these
feathers has been going on surely for many centuries. It is
also hinted at being a sort of status symbol or maybe used
in trade. A TV doco that has been on more than once has
looked at people surveying these head-dresses in recent
times and comparing them to film of decades ago to try get
some idea as to how the numbers of various species have
changed. One of the better things it showed that was at
least a small improvement was teaching these people how to
store these feathers to maybe reduce their desire to
constantly go out and kill more birds to get more feathers.
Philip
Hi all,
RE: Birds of Paradise
I just thought I would add that the Museum Victoria http://museumvictoria.com.au/ currently
has an exhibition of the Birds of Paradise.
They are (unfortunately) 'taxidermied' specimens in glass
cabinets but they are amazing and the interpretation is very
good.
There are some great video clips, very much like this one, on
display.
The only aspect I didn't enjoy was the use of all these
magnificent feathers in the indigenous people's headresses and
attire.
Perhaps they found them lying in the ground.......??
Thanks for this clip Ray!
Cheers,
Trish
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