breastplate

These civavonovono, said to have been made by Tongan and Samoan craftsmen for Fijian chiefs, have evolved from the large whalebone breastplates seen in Tonga by James Cook and his company. Worn suspended from the neck, a cord also ran across the back of the breastplate so they could be held rigid against the body during dancing and in combat. As a lone ornament, civa, or polished pearl shell, symbolised chiefly status. And in the 1800s its symbolism was enhanced when whales’ teeth plates were attached to encase the pearl shell.