Whale tooth necklace (lei niho palaoa)

Across the eastern Pacific, the head was considered the most tapu part of the body, because a person's power, or mana, was largely concentrated in the head and hair.


As an act of mourning, particularly required at the death of a chief, people would cut off their hair to be braided into memorial ornaments. This necklace is an example of such an ornament. It is made up of a pendant suspended from numerous thin braids of human hair with olona (Touchardia latifolia) fibre cord attached as ties. The hooked pendant itself is made from the tooth of a sperm whale, which Hawaiians considered sacred.

During times of mourning people also removed some of their teeth and both hair and teeth were incorporated into objects. These objects were then filled with power and had to be treated with tapu restrictions.

High ranking men or women wore whale tooth necklaces as an emblem of status. The pendant may be a stylized representation of the head of a deity, and as such befitted persons of high rank.