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'Ula

human history
  • Other Name

    ula (Samoan)

    Neck ornament (English)

  • Description

    'Ula. Neck ornament. 'Ula is a type of Samoan adornment, worn around the neck. It is worn on special occasions, as part of a dance attire and offered as gifts to family, friends and visitors. This 'ula is made up of sanasana (job's tears plant), pule (gastropod shell) and string. The sanasana are of various shades of off-white whereas the pule are sandy brown in colour.

    Using a sharp implement, the sanasana are perforated near the lip of each pule, whereas the sanasana naturally formed perforations at either end of the seed. These allow for the pule and sanasana to be strung on an off-white string. For every stringed pule, three sanasana seeds are strung on. This 'ula is not joined together and a pule shell has parted from the 'ula.

  • Place
  • Accession Number
    1986.241
  • Accession Date
    20 Oct 1986
  • Other Id

    52305.8 (ethnology)

  • Department
necklace

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