Te mwae te ira n atu ae rarangaki

Te mwae te ira n atu ae rarangaki. Neck ornament of te ira n atu (human hair) and pandanus leaf. Pieces of hair are looped or doubled back on themselves to form short sections that are closely bound together with pandanus leaf. The pandanus leaf is interwoven with the hair, moving in and out of the looped eyelets and tightly fastening each piece together. The pandanus leaf is also woven to form a backing for the hair that keeps it in place and ensures that it fans out uniformly. This backing tapers at either end of the Neck ornament to single plaited cords of pandanus and human hair, that are used for tying the Neck ornament. There is obvious gap in the section of hair where it looks as though two looped pieces were cut.