"Main house" | Photographer: Axel Killian
Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 4.0 International"Main house" | Photographer: Axel Killian
Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 4.0 International
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"Main house"
The model shows a chief‘s house, as it was common on the Marshall Islands until German colonial rule. Chiefs‘ houses had a decoration of black and white braided stripes on the inside. The house rested on four wooden posts, which are not present here. The low floor under the roof served as a bedchamber. When the weather was favourable, the family stayed in the open space below. Mats were hung from the sides to protect against the sun and wind. The floor of the lower room was laid with crushed pieces of coral limestone. This is where manual work took place, such as women weaving mats or men making tools or coconut fiber ropes. People used the opening in the middle to climb up and down. Objects were passed up or thrown down through the small openings on the sides. The collector describes in her notes that this type of house went out of fashion around 1900. Her photographs from the Marshall Islands show that chiefs had taken to building European-style homes instead.
Data Provider
Städtische Museen Freiburg
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Cataloguing data
Object type
Architekturmodell
Material/Technique
Wood
Current location
Museum Natur und Mensch
Inventory number
II/0648
Provenance and sources
when
before 1900
when
24.04.1900
where
Oceania (location/origin)
Micronesia (location/origin)
Marshall Islands (location/origin)
Provenance
Donated by Eugen Brandeis (Imperial Governor of the Marshall Islands) April 1900, collected by Antonie Brandeis (Jaluit) /Donated by Eugen Brandeis (Imperial Governor of the Marshall Islands) April 1900, collected by Antonie Brandeis (Jaluit)
Object no. 3 (Object list Antonie Brandeis, 1st consignment 1900, SAF D.Sm 35/1): "Chief's house. im an iroj. Roof of pandanus leaves. Black raffia decoration".
Additional comment by Antonie Brandeis: "Model No. 3 shows a chief's house as it was built in the past. The houses of the chiefs had a black and white woven stripe on the inside as the model shows. The house resembles a barn on four poles. The low floor under the roof served as a bedchamber, while the family spent time in the lower open room when the weather was favourable. Mats were hung from the sides to protect against the sun and wind. The entire lower room was covered with small white Madrepor debris. Here the women sat and wove the mats, and the men carved tools or wove ropes from coconut fibre. Every morning, young girls and women had to carefully pick out the small pieces of white coral; no fibre was allowed to lie around. They climbed up and down through the opening in the centre. Objects were passed up or thrown down through the small openings at the sides. These airy houses are now completely out of use, as the Marshall Islanders are no longer so resistant due to changes in clothing and would freeze in strong winds." (in: "Bemerkungen zu den dem Museum zu Freiburg /B. übersandten ethnologischen Gegenständen aus den Marshallinseln. South Seas". Freiburg City Archives, D.Sm 35/1)
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The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
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