Lei Niho Palaoa (Whale-Tooth Pendant)
Pendant of the Hawaiian chiefs made from a carved sperm whale tooth suspended on a braid of human hair, worn by men and women of high rank. The hair cord was itself a gift of honour, braided from hair offered by relatives and friends of the wearer, and the whole ornament was kapu — forbidden to anyone beneath the chiefly class. The lei niho palaoa signalled genealogical status and royal favour, and after the arrival of whalers and traders whale teeth and later ivory from walrus tusks were carved in its place, so that the oldest examples, in the richest carving and finest hair-work, are the mos