Tabua

Item number 1650/5 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Twined rope with a whale tooth attached where the ends meet. Tooth is held to rope with some grass through a hole in the tooth and a metal loop around one end of the rope.

History Of Use

A tabua is a polished tooth of a sperm whale that is an important cultural item in Fijian society. They were traditionally given as gifts for atonement or esteem (called sevusevu), and were important in negotiations between rival chiefs. The dead men would be buried with their tabua, along with war clubs to help them in the afterlife. Originally they were very rare items, available only from beached whales and from trade from neighbouring Tonga (where the practice may have originated), but when the market became known in the early 1800s many fakes, made from ivory and walrus tusks, entered the market. Today the tabua remains an important item in Fijian life. They are not sold, but presented (gifted) or traded at ceremonial events.