Weapon; Club
56.25.89
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. The surface decoration on the tongue is double spirals formed by haehae (parallel grooves) and ridges with pakati (dog's-tooth notches). The tongue is a separate piece of wood. There are two square holes through the neck and a twisted fibre cord wound loosely around it. Three eyes are shell-inlaid.