Tuna Bone Kava Kava Hair Ornament | Rapa Nui Ceremonial Adornment tiwi By: Terri Janke

By: Terri Janke

With more than 700 species documented in over 2500 colour photographs

detailed images of slides and specimens

210x165x55mm

was invited to join a patrol into the Gibson Desert to a point about 960km west of Alice Springs and 320 kms across the Western Australia border

Tuna Bone Kava Kava Hair Ornament | Rapa Nui Ceremonial Adornment tiwi By: Terri JankeThis hand carved tuna bone hair ornament features a finely detailed kava kava ancestral spirit figure, created by Uncle Johnny Tuki Huke, a respected Rapa Nui elder, master carver and cultural educator. Kava kava figures are among the most recognisable forms in Rapa Nui carving traditions, representing ancestral spirits and embodying connections to heritage, storytelling, and spiritual presence. In this piece, the elongated, stylised figure is