Documentation from the collector indicates that this ivory hook was considered a powerful image, representing the “double wife of the chief god of Nadi district (western Viti Levu).” With the introduction of Christianity, such images were given up to missionaries and colonial officers.

In the nineteenth century, high-status married women wore elaborate fiber skirts, or liku, such as the two examples shown here. Young girls reaching puberty wore small liku after the genital area, and sometimes hips and upper thighs, was tattooed. Tattoos (qia) were applied by female specialists using small adzes with blades of thorns, turtle shell, or bone dipped into a black pigment.

This is the most complex type of wig preserved from the nineteenth century. In addition to the near-spherical helmet of human hair, twisted tobe locks are tied across the back to form a cascade over the neck.

Clowning and masquerade were of ritual and political importance in Fiji, and clowns still entertain audiences during traditional dance (meke) performances.

Hibiscus fiber garlands (salusalu) are made in a wide variety of designs and materials, and are traditionally bestowed by women on ceremonial occasions such as weddings, graduations, and official visits. Hibiscus fiber is skillfully knotted, tied, dyed, and folded into decorative loops or rosettes to form these complex garlands.

This garment was designed for women and men to wear for important occasions. It is composed of three rectangular lengths of handmade white masi decorated with painted stenciled designs. The pieces of cloth, each of different widths and lengths, are wrapped and tied around the wearer. Most often, the lower two pieces of masi are finely decorated with stenciled designs, while the uppermost piece has a more open design composition. Women wear the upper piece as a bodice wrapped around the torso, while men usually fashion it as a sash.

For this piece, Ho took the traditional form of the salusalu (garland) and incorporated materials from different regions of Fiji—masi from Vatulele and Kadavu (his home island), pandanus from Lomaiviti, and shells from the Yasawa Islands.

Mats continue to be an important valuable (iyau) in Fiji. They are characterized by carefully plaited pandanus leaf strips, and are either plain with a decorative border, incorporating black somo designs, or rimmed with bright kula yarns.