Te katau te tumara

human history

Te katau te tumara. Waist ornament of poliuices shells. This katau (waist ornament) is made from te ira (pandanus leaf), te kora (coconut sennit fibre cordage) and te tumara (poliuices shells). Te ira has been plaited to form a braid that has been used as the base of the katau. Te tumara have been positioned individually across the braid. Te tumara are off-white in colour, feature short spires, a large belly followed by an aperture of similar size. Their surfaces are polished and tones of brown can be seen across some of them. Holes have been bored through each tumara. Both have been made across the belly. Te kora has been threaded through one perforation, then woven into the braid of ira then threaded out through the second hole and onto the next tumara. Some of the tumara feature extra drilled perforations that can be seen near the edge of the aperture. The spires of each tumara face in one direction: outwards on an angle, to which their aperture is covered by the braid of te ira. This katau has been left unfastened. One end of the katau features a loop of kora and the opposite end shows two extensions of kora. These would be used to fasten the katau across one's waist. Te katau te tumara would be worn across the waist for ruoia dance by women and young girls.

Accession number: 1940.3 Last Update: 5 Dec 2018
Other Name

Waist ornament of poliuices shells (English)

Accession Number

1940.3

Accession Date

1940

Other Id

25211 (ethnology)

Department

Pacific

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Te katau te tumara, 1940.3, 25211, Photographed by Daan Hoffmann, digital, 12 Nov 2018, Cultural Permissions Apply Cultural Permissions Apply
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