Old Shark Tooth Sword – Gilbert Islands (Republic of Kiribati, Micronesia)

Weapon of coconut wood, edged with sharks’ teeth, bird feathers. Cm. 89,5 in length (35.24″).

In Gilbert Islands (Republic of Kiribati, Micronesia) the razor sharp, serrated teeth of sharks were attached to swords using a complex binding technique. The result was weapons which were lined with shark teeth, impressive, but fragile.

The true importance of the Gilbert Islands weaponry, in fact, was psychological and magical.. Sharks played an important cultural role; using part of the great creatures in a weapon would imbue it with some of the shark’s strength.

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