Te ririko

human history

Te ririko. Neck ornament of porpoise teeth. It is made of two material components: wiin te kua kewe (porpoise teeth) and te kora (coconut sennit fibre cordage). A braided cord makes up the neck band. The ends have been knotted to prevent the fibres from unravelling. The ends of the neck band begin with a single row of wiin te kua kewe, which then splits, intertwining a single tooth to perceive a double layered look along the central segment of the Neck ornament. A small spherical and transparent glass bead in blue has been threaded onto one end of the Neck ornament. The roots of the teeth are matte and a dark off-yellow colour, the exposed ends of the teeth are polished and off-white in colour. Small perforations have been made with a shark toothed pump drill into the roots of the teeth for te kora to be threaded through. This type of neck ornament can be worn by either men or women at any time.

Accession number: 1940.3 Last Update: 30 Nov 2018
Other Name

Neck ornament of porpoise teeth (English)

Accession Number

1940.3

Accession Date

1940

Other Id

25208.1 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific

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