Te mwae

Te mwae. Neck ornament. This is made from te kora (coconut sennit fibre cordage) and wiin te kao (cows teeth). A braided te kora makes up the neck band of the neck ornament. Wiin te kao remain as a whole, the tooth ends are off-white, some have been fractured showing an internal hollow or its full depth. The root ends of the wiin te kao are long, cylindrical and pale brown in colour. A small circular perforation has been drilled into the root ends where strands of the braided te kora have been threaded through and then woven back into the braid. The ends of the mwae have been left unthreaded and then fastened into a loose knot.