1890.5.6

Collection type

Object

Description

Barbed pearl shell fish hook for albacore, a kind of tuna. Tied to a length of plant fibre line.

Geographical reference

French Polynesia (Overseas Collectivity of France)

Oceania > Polynesia > French Polynesia (Overseas Collectivity of France)

Cook Islands

Oceania > Polynesia > Cook Islands

Person

Field collector William Wyatt Gill

PRM source William Wyatt Gill

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1890

Date collected

By 1890

Acquisition information

Donated: 01/1890

Materials and processes

Material Shell, Material Plant Fibre, Material String, Process Carved

Dimensions

Length x Width x Depth: max 110 x 70 x 25 mm hook and line

Object numbers

Accession number: 1890.5.6

Research and responses

Labelled "Danger Is." but this probably refers to Pukapuka in the Cook Islands (formerly called Danger Island). Information provided by Barry Rolett, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa, following a research visit in June 2024.

I can find no current reference to 'Danger Islands'. Current names of inhabited atolls forming part of the Tuamotu Archipelago include: Makatea, Rangiroa, Fakarava, Hoa, Pokapuka & Amanu. [SD 13/6/2000]

Associated publications

Illustrated with 1887.1.496 and 1887.1.497 in black and white as Plate XLIXa (PRM000081280) opposite page 34 in Fish Hooks (Pacific Island Records), by Harry G. Beasley (London: Seeley, Service & Co., Ltd, 1928). Beasley writes (page 34) under the heading 'Part I. Polynesia' and sub-headings 'Pukapuka' and 'Danger Island': 'Pl.XLIX.a.—The specimens in this plate were collected by the well-known missionary, Wyatt Gill, whose letter, dated 1877, has fortunately been preserved, and it is from this source that the following particulars are drawn. They are used for catching albacore, and the fibre from which the lines are made bears the name "Urtica argentea," being a plant indigenous to the Island. No. 1 [1886.1.497] is merely a variation of the well-known spinner, and in type it more closely resembles the Samoan–Tongan model than the Tahitian. The shank is of well-finished pearl shell, and the barb of turtle shell is attached by lashings passing through two holes. The snood is continued down the inner side of the shank, and passes through the upper barb hole. The hackle is peculiar, consisting as it does of nine or more short lengths of twisted fibre, each ending in a knot. Another distinction is that between the shank and the barb lashings small pieces of midrib of the palm are inserted as tighteners, as is customary in the Ellice Group. The length of this hook is 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm.). Nos. 2 [1890.5.6] and 3 [1887.1.496] show examples widely divergent in form, and it is a matter of surprise that two such different types should occur in such a confined area, particularly as the total population only numbers 375. [Footnote 1 refers to Brigham, Index to the Islands of the Pacific, p. 133.] Both are cut from the solid pearl shell. The workmanship and finish are excellent, and the skill required to fashion the elaborate inner barbs would be considerable. The method of whipping the snood to the shank is very similar to that employed in the Hawaiian and Tahitian Groups; the snoods, however, are not looped. No. 2 [1890.5.6] measures 2 3/8 in. (6.1 cm.); No. 3, 1 1/2 in (3.8 cm.) in length.' [JC 24 6 2016]

Search terms: Fishing, Hook, Fishing Accessory