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Head ornament (lei paukū)
Not on view
This delicate lei would have been worn by a high-ranking female member of the aristocracy. It combines the two most ritually significant colors in alternating bands (paukū) of red ’i’iwi feathers and dramatic tufts of yellow ’ō’ō feathers, all bound into a foundation of ’olonā fiber. Such small, intricate feather lei were designed to rest on the head, which was the most sacred (tapu) part of the body and the seat of a chiefly individual’s power.
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