Tuluma (fishing tackle box)

Tuluma come in many sizes from the small examples that can sit in an outstretched hand, to the very large tuluma requiring two hands to carry. A distinctive feature of tuluma is a tightly fitting lid connected with a cord made from coconut fibre. The looped cord allows keeps the lid attached to the box should it be dropped or toppled while at sea. Most tuluma in Tokelau are made from the wood of the kanava tree.

One scholar suggests that the manufacture of tuluma in Tokelau may have originated with Hawaiian castaways wrecked off one of the atolls around 1830. Beautifully crafted boxes with fitting lids were seen in Hawaii from at least the late 1790s, so it is possible that Hawaiian sailors may have passed their skills on to their new hosts (1).

This tuluma was collected by Jock McEwen during the period when he was actively involved in Pacific Administration during the 1950s and 1960s. It was acquired by the museum in 1999.

1. LANGDON, R. (1998). Fakaofo's Hawaiian Castaways of 1830 and the Origin of Its Lidded Boxes Called Tuluma. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 107(3), 287-300.