item details
Overview
This is a taumi, an item worn in battle by tribal chiefs and their principal lieutenants in Tahiti in the Society Islands. In the eighteenth century, much of the warfare in the region took the form of engagements between large double canoes, and the chiefs were seen to advantage, standing on the platforms of the canoes. William Hodges, artist on English explorer James Cook's second voyage (1772-1775) depicted some of these impressive scenes when they visited Tahiti.
Significance
Taumi were very valuable items, with high exchange value in Tahitian society. Their elaborate construction consists of a base of woven coconut fibre with sharks' teeth, feathers, and a fringe of white dog hair attached. Although they were mostly worn on the breast, a man might occasionally wear two: one on the back and one on the breast, joined at each shoulder.
Acquisition history
This taumi was collected on one of three Pacific voyages made by eighteenth-century English explorer James Cook. It was listed in the first catalogue of William Bullock's Museum, England, in 1801. Charles Winn bought it for one pound, two shillings at the sale of Bullock's Museum in 1819. It is part of the collection given to the Dominion of New Zealand by Winn's grandson, Lord St Oswald, in 1912.