Dog teeth used as hula ankle rattle, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii

Dog teeth: Hula ankle rattle, Bishop Museum, Honolulu

by Mark Czerniec | March 23, 2003 — 3:57 pm

Honolulu, Hawaii — Dog teeth — perhaps 250 dog canines — made into a hula ankle rattle in the early 1800s. Displayed in the Bishop Museum, the description reads as follows:

 

Hula Ankle Rattle (kūpe’e niho īlio)
Dog canines, cordage, early 19th century
Purchase from A. M. McBryde, 1911


Worn in pairs by male dancers, dog tooth anklets produced sharp, rattling sounds. An average pair might contain the canines of up to 500 dogs.

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