Naoero / Nauru

Coat of Arts of the Deiboe Clan

This mat is a family emblem or coat of arms of the Deiboe Clan (Deiboe means a variety of large black fishj), one of the twelve clans of Nauru. It is a fine woven  mat made from the leaves of the epo or pandanus tree and hibiscus fibre. The mat is adorned with spondylus discs, shells and feathers of the itsi or frigate bird.
Credit: Collection of the Freiburg Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (1), Donation of Antonie Brandeis, 1901.

Illustration by Cecelia Faumuina