110 FIG. 11 (above): Necklace, waseisei/ wasekaseka, with 34 “teeth.” Fiji. Early–mid 19th century. Sperm whale ivory, coir. W: 35 cm. Collected by Alfred Maudslay, 1875–1880. Cambridge, MAA, inv. Z 2737. into fi gurines and pendants, and others were worked into a crescent form of great local signifi cance, called tabua buli in Fiji and tapua in Tonga (Clunie 2013; Hooper 2013: fi g. 2). Into this situation, American and European sandalwood traders arrived in 1804, attracted by reports of an abundant supply of the valuable timber in Bua in western Vanua Levu in Fiji, a place at that time called Sandalwood Bay. Shrewd in their dealings, they quickly realized that what Fijians most valued, and what therefore could facilitate profi table trade, were whale teeth. American whaling vessels were at this time beginning to “fi sh” in the South Seas, but they rarely entered Fijian waters because of the treacherous reef systems, preferring instead to revictual at Rotuma, the Bay of Islands in New Zealand, and elsewhere. From a European perspective, sperm whale teeth were a relatively worthless byproduct of the whaling industry, so they were acquired cheaply by sandalwood FIG. 12 (left): Double-fi gure hook made from a whale tooth, which served as the shrine for a god. Carved in Tongan style in Tonga or Fiji. Late 18th/early 19th century. Sperm whale ivory. H: 14.5 cm. Collected by Sir William MacGregor in Fiji, 1875–1880. Aberdeen, Marischal Museum, inv. ABDUA 4651.
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