Te kaneati

Te kaneati. Fish hook of mother of pearl. This is a composite trolling hook made from te bwaeo (mother of pearl shell), te rii (bone) and te nimwaerere (cordage of human hair and coconut sennit fibres). A large shank has been cut from the hinge part of te bwaeo. It is long and bulbous in form. The depth of the shell's hinge can be seen across two thirds of te rabatan te matau (shank). It is off-white in colour with some transparency and shimmer. One side of te rabatan te matau portrays a flat surface that curves inwards. The base end has been hafted into a flat spatulate end. Opposite, the other end has been tapered and shows where a small perforation has been drilled into the side. The spatulate end has been lashed with te nimwaerere. A lock of te ira n atu has been included in the lashing. Te ira atu shows some white strands and a few dark brown strands. In addition to this, tabon te matau (point) of te rii has been lashed to te rabatan te matau. Tabon te matau shows a cylindrical base and is flat is depth. It is upright in form, off-white in colour and shows some porous remains across the surface area.

Other Name

Fish hook of mother of pearl (English)

Place

Beru/Gilbert Islands/Kiribati Onotoa/Gilbert Islands/Kiribati

Accession Number

1936.295

Accession Date

1936

Other Id

23913.2 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific