Ta`a tui i te puaina (ear piercer)

Adornments from the Marquesas

Marquesan adornments were all worn on the head, the most tapu (sacred) part of the body and the site of a person’s mana (prestige). 

Headdresses such as the uhikana and the pae‘kaha were chiefly adornments worn by men. Peue‘ei, crowns of porpoise or dolphin teeth and European glass beads, were made exclusively on the island of Ua Pou and were worn by women. 

Ear adornments signalled adulthood. The ear-piecing ceremony took place when a child was aged between 6 and 10. A tukua (specialist) used a ta‘a tui i te puaina (ear piercer), which was passed down through families. The ta‘a tui i te puaina on display in Adorned features a carved tiki (pendant in human form).