Te matau

Te matau. Fish hook. This is a composite te matau. It consists of te rabatan te matau (shank) and te tabon te matau (point), a short hackle and two kinds of cordage. Te rabatan te matau has been filed from shell material that could be te aubunga (clam shell) or cassus shell. It is off-white in colour, hard in material and has been filed into a cylindrical form where both ends taper into soft points. One end features where a circular perforation has been drilled through its depth. This would be for the purpose of inserting and attaching te ao (line). A length of te irauea (cordage of human hair) has been attached to this segment. The opposite end shows where a rim has been filed out. The rim assists in the direction and positioning of cordage when lashing te tabon te matau to form a complete te matau. This can be seen in the binding of te ira (human hair) and its attachments of the hackle which is also made of human hair and te tabon te matau. Te tabon te matau has been filed from te ri (bone). It is has been filed into a thin cone-like point and runs adjacent to the length of te rabatan te matau. It is pale yellow in colour and hard in material. Its base has been lashed to the filed end of te rabatan te matau. A length of te nimwaerere (cordage of human hair and coconut sennit fibres) has been coiled around the centre of te rabatan te matau.