Te mwae te ntabo

Te mwae te ntabo. Spondylus shell Neck ornament. This te mwae (Neck ornament) is made of nine pieces of ntabo (spondylus shell) strung onto a fine cord of te nimwaerere. The nimwaerere is a cord that twines together strands of te ira n atu (human hair) and te kora (coconut sennit). The ntabo are seperately threaded, the nimwaerere knotted at either side of each ntabo pieces to secure them along the nimaerere. Eight of the ntabo are naturally faded red in colour, however the center ntabo piece is of a natural light coral colour. The central ntabo is the largest of the nine.