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Tabua

On display
human history
  • Other Name

    Whale tooth (English)

  • Description

    Tabua. Consisting of a tovuto (sperm whale)'s tooth with wa ni tabua (cord of the tabua) attached to the ends of the tooth. The tabua is crescentic in shape, and consisting of a pointed end that widens at the root end. Light beige/yellow in colour and is of high-polish. There are two holes drilled, one at each end of the tabua. The wa ni tabua magimagi (cord of the tabua made of coconut sennit), is woven out in a 'chain-like' weave.

    The wa ni tabua is tied to golden-brown coloured cotton thread, threaded through a hole at one end, and with metal wire threaded through the hole at the opposite end, with the magimagi woven and tied around the metal wire. "A I V O W E [?]" is incised across the tabua.

  • Place
    Fiji
  • Accession Number
    1939.147
  • Accession Date
    13 Jul 1939
  • Other Id

    24613.2 (ethnology)

  • Department

    Pacific

  • Display Room

    Pacific Lifeways

Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol,… … Read more

Images and documents

Images

  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • Tabua, 1939.147, 24613.2, Photographed by Jennifer Carol, digital, 01 Aug 2017, Cultural Permissions Apply
  • ornament

Artefact

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