Te mwae

Te mwae. Neck ornament. This is made of wiin te kua kewe (porpoise teeth), te nana (coconut shell), te nouo (cone shell; conus), te kora (coconut sennit fibre cordage) and wi n aomata (human teeth) . Short pendants vary across the mwae and represent wiin te kua kewe and wi n aomata. Four wiin te kua kewe have been threaded between each wi n aomata along the Neck ornament. Around two discs of te nana and in some sections discs of te nouo have been placed between each tooth pendant. The teeth are off-white in colour, partly polished and differ in size and shape. The wi n aomata in this te mwae are significant as they can either represent the victory of a fight where teeth were taken from the defeated and worn by the conquer or in contrast to this, were worn around the neck to preserve and honour the memories of one's ancestors who had passed.

Other Name

Neck ornament (English)

Place

Nonouti/Gilbert Islands/Kiribati

Accession Number

1940.3

Accession Date

1940

Other Id

25196.1 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific