Te Katau

Te katau. Coconut shell belt. Used as adornment for dance costumes, te katau can be one of several decorative belt ornaments tied around the waist of a female dance performer, atop the riri, or dance skirt. All such decorative waist ornaments are collectively termed taona n riri. This katau consists of a long length of te nana (coconut shell) discs strung together on cords of te kora (coconut sennit) through a central perforation in the disc creating a long flexible cylindrical form. The te nana discs are approximately 16mm in diameter. At each end of the katau the kora cords are knotted and left bare of disks, so as to be able to tie securely around the waist. The te nana discs are a dark brown colour and the cord of te kora is golden brown in colour.