Te katau

Te katau. Coconut shell belt. Used as adornment for dance costumes, te katau can be one of several decorative belt ornaments tied around the waist of a female dance performer, atop the riri, or dance skirt. All such decorative waist ornaments are collectively termed taona n riri. This katau is made of doubled lengths of te nana (coconut shell) discs strung together on cords of te kora (coconut sennit) through a central perforation in the disc creating a long flexible cylindrical form. The te nana discs are approximately 15mm in diameter. In addition to the te nana disks, there are 7 ceramic te moromoro (trade beads) of a light purple colour at one end strung on to the te kora. At the other end there are eight te moromoro, with the kora finishing in a secure knot with a short length left free of discs so as to be able to tie securely around the waist. The te nana discs are a dark brown colour and the cord of te kora is golden brown in colour.