AI-generated illustration: A plain oval wooden box with a snug closed oval lid, small side lugs and a top lug, secured by a simple plaited coconut-fibre cord.
Contextual interpretation, not an exact museum replica.
Overview
Tuluma are wooden containers associated with Tokelau, used for fishing equipment and household storage. Te Papa curator Sean Mallon describes closely fitting lids secured by plaited coconut-fibre cord, and a range of sizes and modern uses. His account names Elia Tinielu, connected with an Atafu community group in Porirua, in relation to a 1995 box made from kanava timber with a coconut-fibre sling. The materials were brought from Tokelau to New Zealand, documenting community links and material movement rather than an isolated, unchanging island practice.
Auckland Museum’s 2015 display provides a separately attributed community account: Iutana Pue selected the objects and wrote Tokelau and English labels. Those labels distinguish a large household chest from a medium fishing box and explain the intended protection of gear when a canoe capsizes. They describe a single-log wooden body and a cord-held lid. The inspected display photograph shows a plain wooden container with an oval lid, side lugs, a top lug and cord. Its visible exterior supports an object study without reconstructing hidden joinery or a complete fishing expedition.
History & identity
Specific institutional and community-attributed accounts; no single-origin claim.
Sources & representation
Complete selected accounts and actual linked object-detail photographs inspected.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
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Language & cultural connections
Source-supported language and cultural connections have not yet been compiled for this profile.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary curator/community-selected accountTuluma – fishing boxes of TokelauResearch access: 2026-10-23
- Primary curator/community-selected accountTuluma & Matau: Tokelau fishing box, chest and fishhooksResearch access: 2026-10-23
Image credits
AI-generated contextual material culture illustrationAI-generated illustration: A plain oval wooden box with a snug closed oval lid, small side lugs and a top lug, secured by a simple plaited coconut-fibre cord.
Contextual interpretation, not an exact museum replica.
