Shell money (tabu) formed of small shells (nassa) bored and threaded on strips of lawyer-vine cane, bound in a coil, wrapped in pandanus leaf and tied with cane.

Shell money of this kind continues to be used among the Tolai of Papua New Guinea, particularly on ceremonial occasions. It is exchanged to mark births, marriages and deaths. The standard unit of currency is the 'pokono' or fathom (a grown man's arm span).  When several fathoms are bound up in a coil, as here, they are a great sign of wealth and prestige.  Receiving tabu of this kind as a gift is a high honour.