Head-Dress

Date1775-1825

MediumHuman hair

DimensionsObject/Work: 1740 x 1740 mm

ClassificationsPersonal Ornament

Terms

Object numberC08953

DescriptionHeaddress made of approximately 230 metres of finely plaited human hair. Worn by women dancing the hura, it was wrapped around the head like a turban or "tamou".

These were made by high-ranking women from their own and their relatives’ hair, and were considered very precious. They were sometimes given as gifts to important visitors; for example, a number of them were collected on the Cook voyages. They were sometimes incorporated into Tahitian mourning costumes, as part of the headdress, and high-ranking young women wore them as headdresses when they danced the hura.

Human hair, taken from the head, is an embodiment of personal Mana. Therefore the wearing of human hair affirms and increases one's Mana.
Polynesia.

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