Knife (Tebutu)

ClassificationsArms and Armor-knives

Culture I-Kiribati

Date19th Century

Made AtRepublic of Kiribati

MediumPalm wood, tiger shark teeth (galeocerdo cuvier) and sennit

Dimensions6 1/2 × 1 × 1 1/4 in. (16.5 × 2.5 × 3.2 cm)

Credit LineBowers Museum Purchase

Object number2019.3.1

DescriptionThis small knife, or tebutu, is one of the many shark teeth weapons that have been identified as having originated in the Gilbert Islands, and it was likely wielded by a woman. Most of these weapons are large in stature and would have been reserved for usage in combat. The function of this smaller bladed tool has been described in varying manners with the main consistency being that it would have exclusively been used by women. Ethnographic studies of Gilbert Islands combat mention that the first wave of a battle was generally a non-fatal bout between women of the warring groups. Though no lives were lost, the fighting was described as brutal with the potential to leave a combatant disfigured for the remainder of her life. Other sources describe the usage of the knives in less formal altercations: disagreements over partners and other such matters, but reiterate the damage exacted by these knives. Shark teeth are very sharp, albeit fragile, the teeth may have needed regular replacement but would have been effective at cutting what they were set against. Sharks have an important cultural significance in the Gilbert Islands—featuring heavily in the islands’ mythological oral history. This and the ferocity of the beasts would have made these weapons intimidating despite their small size.

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