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Te butu

human history
  • Other Name

    Dagger set with shark's teeth (English)

  • Description

    Te butu. Small dagger set with shark's teeth. Butu are designed to exact facial injuries to opponents targeting the forehead and the eyes so as to obscure vision or leave visible disfigurement. These small handheld weapons are easily concealed on a person and were often held and used by women. This butu consists of a main shaft carved from te rii (bone) upon which a wii n bakoa (shark tooth) is lashed with plant fibre to a drilled perforation made along one long side.

    The shaft is long and ovoid in cross section. Its side edge is deeply grooved to fit the wii n bakoa securely. The wii n bakoa is off-white in colour while the shaft is natural in colour with additional areas of dark discolouration at each end and in the interior cavity.

  • Place
    Gilbert Islands/Kiribati
  • Accession Number
    1951.207.2
  • Accession Date
    19 Dec 1951
  • Other Id

    32532 (ethnology)

  • Department

    Pacific

Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply

Images and documents

Images

  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Te butu; 1951.207.2; 32532; Cultural Permissions Apply
  • knife
  • knife
  • knife
  • knife
  • knife

Artefact

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