Te matau

Te matau. Fish hook. This is a composite te matau. It consists of te rabatan te matau (shank) and te tabon te matau (point) that is held together with te nimwaerere (cordage of human hair and coconut sennit fibres). Te rabatan te matau has been filed from shell material that could be te aubunga (clam shell) or cassus shell. It is off-white in colour, hard in material and has been filed into a cylindrical form where both ends taper into soft points. One end features where a circular perforation has been drilled through its depth. This would be for the purpose of inserting and attaching te ao (line). The opposite end shows where a rim has been filed out and a furrow has been created over the cross-section of its end. The rim assists in the direction and positioning of te nimwaerere when lashing te tabon te matau to form a complete te matau. This can be seen in the two binds between the rim. Te tabon te matau has been filed from te bwaeo (mother of peal shell). It is has been filed into a slim con-like point and runs adjacent to the length of te rabatan te matau. It is grey in colour with some shimmer and transparency. Its base has been lashed to the filed end of te rabatan te matau.

Other Name

Fish hook (English)

Place

Tabiteuea/Gilbert Islands/Kiribati

Accession Number

1936.295

Accession Date

1936

Other Id

23935 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific