Te bunna wi ni baneawa

Te bunna wi ni baneawa. Neck ornament of milk fish bones. This is made from two material components: te kora (coconut sennit fibre cordage) and the bones from the head of the baneawa (milk fish; chanos chanos). A braided kora makes up the neck band. The bones vary in size but are similar in shape. One end of the bone is wide in shape and the opposite features a sharp tapered end upon closer inspection. There are a few among the series that show a forked end. The wide end has a drilled circular perforation where a strand of the braided kora has been threaded through. This Neck ornament shows a double layer of the baneawa bones where the longest have been threaded in the middle and then sized off to the smaller ones towards the loose ends of the Neck ornament. The bones are off-white in colour and the kora is a mid brown in tone. This Neck ornament is unfastened. The name of this neck ornament suggests elements of significance, protection or a reflection of the wearers social status in society.