Oceanian Shark Caller’s Equipment

In memory of Judit Antoni

These propeller-like wooden objects (ka’saman) are traditional Oceanian shark-catching floats belonging to the toolkit used by a traditional shark caller.  The central hole is threaded with a rope of plaited vegetable material sporting a noose at its lower end and an upper end that is either looped, or tied to a length of bamboo. One of the pair is carved with stylised eyes and a nose.  An important accessory is the coconut shell rattle (larung), which, threaded onto a piece of rattan, is used to lure sharks to the vicinity.

Formerly widespread throughout the Pacific region, the centuries-old ritual technique of shark calling remains a decisive element of cultural identity for the community of Kontu, a village on New Ireland in Papua New Guinea’s Bismarck Archipelago.  Performed exclusively by men, this ritual serves simultaneously as a rite of passage and a means of procuring food.  The tradition, which the locals pass down from generation to generation, is attributed to the mythical creator, Moroa, who first brought the shark into being before creating man himself.  In this belief system, the souls of men initiated via the ritual live on in the sharks after death.  When a man calls a shark, the shark is obligated to swim over and allow itself to be captured.  The deep cultural, spiritual, and economic relationship between man and shark in the region stands in sharp contrast to the aura of terror that surrounds the creature in Western films.

Shark hunting may be conducted either by individuals undergoing a rite of passage, or by groups.  The men selected for the ritual observe a strict regimen over a period of weeks, isolating themselves from the community, avoiding any contact with women, and foregoing certain foods, such as wild boar and shellfish.  It is also the men who craft the shark calling apparatus itself, which only they may touch.  Before departing, they rub both their bodies, and the sides of their outrigger canoes with plant juices, then perform certain magic rites.  Thus prepared, they paddle out toward the horizon, out of sight of shore.

In performing the shark calling ritual, participants sing, imitate thrashing prey by shaking their rattles at the ocean’s surface, and throw bits of fish into the water.  As a shark approaches, it is lured closer using a baited stick.  When it bites, a noose is thrust over its head, where it catches on the animal’s fins.  The knotting technique used ensures that the noose tightens when pulled, while the wooden float keeps the struggling animal up near water’s surface.  Once the shark tires, it is lifted into the canoe and dispatched.  Though the manoeuvre can be a perilous one, the belief is that precise adherence to the ritual not only influences the size of the kill, but also provides protection.  In general, two or three sharks are caught at a time, with younger specimens returned to the sea.  Community members remaining on shore receive news of the hunt’s success via blasts blown on a conch shell, at which point everyone takes part in preparing a feast.  The shark meat is distributed according to strict rules, with the heart and liver going to the hunter and his family.

In recent years, this longstanding rite has come under threat on multiple fronts.  During the 2010s, for example, seabed mining operations were introduced in the region, and though by the end of the decade, the activity was successfully brought to a halt under international pressure, cargo shipping remains an ongoing concern.  Climate change, too, has had a substantial impact on regional ecology, though of late, shark calling has enjoyed a degree of reinvigoration with the organisation of festivals and demonstrations, activities that have helped locals preserve identity, while also promoting tourism.  The year 2021 even witnessed the publication of a thought-provoking, English-language adventure novel, The Shark Caller, by Zillah Bethell, named ‘Children’s Book of the Week’ by the Sunday Times.

The objects shown here were collected by Rudolf Festetics between 1893 and 1898 in the course of a lengthy Oceanian honeymoon tour.  Festetics collected more than 1600 ethnographic artefacts in total, all of which he later donated to the Museum of Ethnography.  The material has been studied extensively by archaeologist, ethnographer, and Oceanianist Judit Antoni, who passed away in January of this year.  It is in her memory that the floats and rattle were chosen as this month’s feature.

Author: Anna Biró

Shark Calling in Kontu / Papua New Guinea (Excerpt) 

Boys Catching Sharks to Become a Man | SLICE 

The Shark Caller | Usborne Quicklinks | Be Curious