Te ririko

human history

Te ririko. Neck ornament of porpoise teeth. It is made of two material components: wiin te kua kewe (porpoise teeth) and te kora (coconut sennit fibre cordage). A pale brown braided cord makes up the neck band. The ends of this te ririko has been fastened into a knot, closing off the Neck ornament. Each strand of the plaited braid has been utilized to thread a single wiin te kua kewe and then intertwined to perceive a double layered look. The wiin te kua kewe are off-white in colour across their entire surface. The root ends of the teeth show an internal cavity that is visible from the root. They are partly polished. One end features a single human tooth among the series of wiin te kua kewe. Small perforations have been made with a shark toothed pump drill into the roots of the teeth for te kora to be threaded through. This type of neck ornament can be worn by either men or women at any time.

Accession number: 1940.3 Last Update: 30 Nov 2018
Other Name

Neck ornament of porpoise teeth (English)

Accession Number

1940.3

Accession Date

1940

Other Id

25208.4 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific

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