Headdress Item Number: 3541/2 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Ghost net dari (or dhari) headdress. Headpiece is shaped like an inverted-U, with a horizontal line through the middle. Five lines extend from the top of the centre line. Middle one is straight and connects with the top edge; other four form inverted-U shapes and reconnect with the centre line. Two additional curved lines protrude from the middle line, connecting with the main body of the headpiece. Curved and inverted-U shaped lines are all dark blue; straight lines and headpiece are done in olive green, dark blue and green. Headpiece has an outer green border and it is connected to the headpiece with black zigzags. White feather-like protrusions extend from outer edges of green border; protrusions in bottom corners are longer than rest and undecorated. Rest of protrusions have had their ends cut; long diagonal lines extend from tips. All protrusions are secured with wire, wrapped in green. Orange circle is tied to top centre of headpiece with three feather-like shapes extending from it. Long black "feather" in the middle, framed by smaller white and black ones, is topped with tufts of white plastic.

History Of Use

Ceremonial dance headdress made out of plastic drift net (ghost net) and plastic twine materials, rather than the traditional feathers. This type of headdress (dari) is usually worn during the performance of kab kar (a sacred dance). The dari type of headdress is used across the Torres Strait islands, but each group has its own distinctive style and significance.