Coconut Shell Disks (Set of 8)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 1858
label: Collection Date
content: 1838 to 1842
name: label: Donor Name
content: United States Exploring Expedition
notes: label: Notes
content: Eight coconut shell disks, some with inlaid designs and others, with coconut fiber cord lacing, which increases its value. The disks are used in a indoors game called "lafoga tupe" or "'au lafo" which is played on a mat. The disks are slid over the mat between teams of players. One coconut shell cup (see #3467) and four disks make a set. Apparently the two coconut shell cups and eight coconut shell disks associated with original Peale #1087 were divided & catalogued separately upon entering the S.I. collections. Therefore, two cups have the S.I. catalogue #3467, and the eight disks have S.I. catalogue number 3468. Publication: See Martin Orans and Daniel Pouesi, "Lafoga Tupe, An Ethno-Historical Account of a Polynesian Game," Anthropos 82.1987: 35-45; and P.H. Buck,"Samoan Material Culture," 1930, Bishop Museum, Bulletin 75.
label: Notes
content: From Card: "Undecorated; one with 4 sets of holes, sennit cord knotted thru each set."
label: Record Last Modified
content: 23 Aug 2023
label: Specimen Count
content: 8
place: label: Place
content: American Samoa (not certain), Samoa (not certain) / United States (not certain), Polynesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Samoan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 66A00050
label: USNM Number
content: E3468-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Game Piece
physicalDescription: label: Minimum Diameter - Object
content: 4.5 cm
label: Maximum Diameter - Object
content: 10 cm