Lei niho palaoa

Lei niho palaoa. Whale tooth and hair necklace. This is a neck adornment. It features a hook-shaped pendant made from palaoa (sperm-whale tooth). This piece is suspended from two coils of intricately braided human hair. 'Olonā (flaxen fibre) cord has been attached to the upper ends of the coils that can be tied at the back of the wearers neck. When worn, the free end of the hook would face forward. These particular adornments were worn by Ali'i (High chiefs). They are of cosmological and visual significance as they portrayed the wearers divine right and genealogical connections to Hawaiian deity and their ancestors. The braided hair linked the wearer to their ancestors and the ivory tongue shaped hook visually materializes cosmological connection.