Weapon; Club
43.8.10
Information
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. Several tufts of dog hair and the remains of feathers are fastened to the shaft with cloth binding and fibres at the neck. The main design on the tongue is double spirals with closed elliptical centres, formed by haehae (parallel grooves) and ridges with pakati (dog's-tooth notches). One eye is shell-inlaid, two others have traces of sealing wax.