Weapon; Club

A taiaha (long club/fighting staff) with one end (the head) carved in the shape of a tongue with a human face on either side of the shaft below it, the other end is a smooth blade. Tufts of dog hair, red wool tassels and the remains of feathers are fastened to the cloth binding at the neck. The main design on the tongue is double spirals formed by haehae (parallel grooves) and ridges with pakati (dog's-tooth notches). The eyes are shell-inlaid. There are two holes through the blade end caused by faults in the wood.