Tuluma

Tuluma. Fishing tackle box. Tuluma are used by fishermen to store their hooks and fishing tools. Larger tuluma can also be used in the home as storage boxes. This example of a tuluma is small in size. It is typical in construction, being carved from a single block of taiuli (dark wood of the kānava tree), and is oval in shape. The separate lid is carved of the same material and is designed to tightly fit the tuluma. Lugs are carved on either side of the tuluma as well as the top of the lid replete with a drilled hole through their centre through which kafa (coconut sennit cordage) is threaded. The kafa (coconut sennit) is threaded in such as way as to tighten or loosen according to the need to secure the lid to the base. The tight fitting lid, rope of kafa, as well as the natural buoyancy of the tuluma ensures its contents stay safe and dry should it fall into the water.