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Sharktooth knives on a wooden or whale-bone core were historically found in many parts of Oceania, from Kiribati to Hawai‘i and south to Aotearoa New Zealand. Everywhere except Kiribati, they were generally reserved for ceremonial purposes. This mira tuatini demonstrates the exceptional quality of New Zealand Māori wood sculpture: Fretwork, stretched and entangled human figures, abalone shell inlay, sinuously curved and branching lines. The carving represents two profile manaia figures, one forming the blade and the other the handle. Mira tuatini were used for cutting flesh in supernaturally dangerous (tapu) situations: When fishing, they were used for decapitating sharks and turtles. In battle, they were used to butcher slain enemies for cannibalism, and to decapitate fallen comrades so that their mummified heads (toi moko) might be returned to their family.