Taona n riri

Taona n riri. Waist ornament. This is a waist ornament made from te burerewa (money cowrie; monetaria moneta) and other te buuro (shells). A belt of te ira (pandanus) has been woven to create the base. A band of red dyed ira/pandanus has been set horizontally along the belt, then a series of te buuro have been tied down with black wool thread to the red dyed band. Either end of the belt shows two clusters of another kind of te buuro in white and brown. A black basting stitch can be seen from the reverse of the taona n riri. Each end has been finished with a large te kabaua (cowry shell; Cypraea) that are brown in colour with white dappled centres and similar in form to te burerewa. These would be worn only by women or young girls. They would be positioned across the waist above te riri (skirt) and below a waist ornament of te nana (coconut shell) discs.