Huia Double Feather Bone Earrings 

To the Maori the Huia bird is tapu (a sacred treasure)

Like jewels plucked from a royal crown, huia feathers were given as tokens of friendship and respect.

In a culture without money, tribes occupying the huia country of the North Island sent the feathers as gifts or traded them with other tribes for greenstone, sharks’ teeth, and other valuables.