Arthopoda

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Catalog # Name Description
1 1970.78.2.6B Earring These are earrings made from iridescent beetle wings and toucan feathers. Previously among the Awajún both men and women wore earrings. The men wore earrings made of beetle wings and toucan feathers, like these ones, and women wore earrings made entirely of toucan feathers. Both sexes have a small loop in their earlobes permanently on which they can hang different earrings. The toucan feathers are glued together by a native resin and this is an everyday ornamentation. For special occasions the earrings are made from two types of beetles and called "akite-tóika" after the beetles the wings are from. On these special occasions, the earrings are fastened with perforated bone and strung with glass pearls instead of simply attached to the small loop in the earlobe. They have three bundles of toucan feathers at the top and each strand of wings are taken from the Shining leaf chafer beetle and have a bundle of toucan feathers at the bottom.