Staff made of thick, stiff strands of dried grass, wrapped with raffia in an open weave to make up the handle. From the bottom protrudes a tuft of raffia, wrapped with a band of woven white fabric and grey plastic twine. Two circular patches of raffia are attached close to the base, topped with cowrie shells arranged in a flower motif. The top of the staff is covered in unbleached cotton, edged with two kinds of braided synthetic banding. Attached to the cotton are three small gourd rattles, also wrapped in open raffia weaving, each with a single cowrie shell and plastic bead decoration. Three lines of cowrie shells are glued to the cotton between the gourds.

Costume skirt made of long, plain strips of raffia hanging from a thin cotton waistband.

Filá headdress. Gourd headpiece, with hanging raffia cover. The half gourd is decorated with lace around its rim and across to the top centre where it wraps around a protruding lip. On the body between the strips of lace are woven circles of raffia beneath flower shaped arrangements of cowrie shells and plastic beads. Out the top protrusion emerges a stiff tuft of raffia held together by a wrap of grey plastic twine. From the lower rim of the gourd hang thick, metre long strands of raffia, entirely encircling the headdress so that the fringe hangs down evenly over the wearer’s front and back.

The Elizabeth Cole Butler Collection.

Wooden mask with very long raffia hair. Mask has a narrow pointed chin with an open mouth, small nose, and closed eyes with narrow slits for viewing holes. The brows are pronounced, a double line, rounded, meeting above the nose. Brows and eyelids are emphasized with small, evenly placed pieces of a bronze coloured metal. At the temples are carved small rectangular protrusions and the forehead is covered with rounded lines of protruding dots, holding small metal nails as decoration. Above the forehead are three prow shaped protrusions, decorated at their top ridges with metal, and carved lines down the sides. The crown of the head from the temples is decorated with embedded cowrie shells. Holes pierce the wood below the cheeks, and a wide ring of wood surrounds the mask on sides and bottom. Attached to this are mounds of raffia palm strips that serve as hair.

Multiple pages of Buddhist scripture written in Tham script. Scripture is etched into long rectangular palm leaves which are tied between two wooden covers with carved diamond and X designs. Book is joined together by a long string of twine that threads through two holes in the wood and through the palm leaves.

Oblong basket with two thin handles. The basket is primarily the natural cane or bamboo and raffia colours, but there are two bands of three lines each of dyed dark blue raffia, around the perimeter of the object. The structure of the basket has vertical and horizontal supports made from cane or bamboo, wrapped with raffia. On either of the longest sides of the basket, there is a braided handle. The handles are tied together over the middle of the basket with a piece of raffia. There is a number written in pen on the bottom of the basket.

Small oblong basket with a rounded bottom and rim and a braided handle attached to the centre of the coiled rim. The ribs of the basket appear to be made of split bamboo wrapped with raffia. The raffia is primarily in its natural colour, but there are two dark blue dyed raffia rows woven around the central area. There is a maker/sale tag attached to the handle.

Natural rafia fibres twined and woven into a band with long two-ply twined fringe at one end is looped together end to end.

Almost square, textured cloth. Cropped woven raffia in a pattern of yellow and brown diamond shapes, with a fringe all around edges.