The taiaha is a weapon that is used as both a striking and stabbing weapon. In addition, this weapon, often decorated with feathers, still serves today as a status badge for high-ranking men. Characteristic of the taiaha is the stylized face worked at one end, whose outstretched tongue also serves as the tip of the weapon. The eyes of this face are usually inlaid with inlays from the shell of the pāua snail (Haliotis spec.), which here have been replaced by red sealing wax. [UM]