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Samoan Material Culture

Armlets and Anklets

Armlets and Anklets

Leaf armlets and anklets (taulima and tauvae) are made of banana leaf or ti leaf when festivities are on. In serving any special foods such as poi and taufolo, the server usually marks the occasion by wearing a wreath necklace, or a piece of the above leaves tied round the arms or ankles. In the siva and poula dances it was usual to wear armlets and anklets of ti leaf or lau maile.

Seed anklets are made of the large seeds of the ifi lele (Afzelia bijuga). The large, flat, elliptical seeds are cut in half and holes drilled through the ends. Pieces of the thin lau u'a cloth are threaded through and knotted at the end which is left in the hollow interior of the seed. The strips are then plaited together in a three-ply braid, the ends of which are tied round the ankle. The seeds rattle against each other as the wearer dances. Single seeds to each cloth strip is a style said to be for males; two seeds to each strip, for girls. Though said to have been in vogue for some time, many maintain that they were introduced from Uvea Island.

Boar's tusk armlet. A boar's tusk drilled to carry a cord was worn round the upper arm. (See Plate LIV, D, 1.) White cowrie-shells were also worn on the upper arm in the same position as the boar's tusk.