{
 "schema": 1,
 "id": "inheriting",
 "type": "practice",
 "names": {
  "name": "Inheriting",
  "aliases": [
   "handing on",
   "pusaka",
   "heirloom charm",
   "taonga tuku iho"
  ],
  "said": "the charm outlives its owner"
 },
 "region": [
  "island-sea",
  "aotearoa",
  "pacific",
  "himalaya-tibet",
  "rome-italy",
  "australia"
 ],
 "countries": [
  "ID",
  "MY",
  "NZ",
  "FJ",
  "TO",
  "CN",
  "NP",
  "IT",
  "AU"
 ],
 "facets": {
  "stage": "inherit",
  "era": "early-modern",
  "status": "living",
  "restricted": "limited"
 },
 "text": {
  "what": "A charm that passes from one person to the next and gathers weight as it goes. The object is the same object; what changes is that it now carries a line of people. Traditions that inherit charms tend to have rules about who may receive one, which is what separates an heirloom from a second-hand purchase.",
  "story": "Java files the inherited blade under a word of its own. A kris is revered as tosan aji, sacred heirloom weapon, and counted a pusaka. Heirloom blades were handed down through successive generations and worn at weddings and other ceremonies; a fighter might carry three — his own, one from his father-in-law and one that was the family's. A pusaka kris given by a Javanese king to a noble or a subject stood for the king's confidence in the receiver and counted as a great honour. When Prince Diponegoro was defeated and detained at the end of the Java War and had to hand his kris to the Dutch in 1830, the event marked the disarming of the kris among the Javanese populace; its ceremonial life as heirloom and personal amulet continued.\n\nFiji keeps its whale teeth out of the market on purpose. Tabua are not sold, but traded as gifts at weddings, birthdays and funerals, and were traditionally given for atonement or esteem in sevusevu and in negotiations between rival chiefs. Age shows on them: contact with the oils in human hands darkens the tooth. The law now constrains the handing on — removal from Fiji is capped at 225 exports a year, requires permits from the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs and CITES papers, and in 2007 New Zealand returned 146 tabua seized for lacking valid export permits.\n\nMāori hei-tiki pass through the ground. Hei-tiki are taonga, treasures, usually of pounamu, and Horatio Gordon Robley recorded two main readings of them: memorials to ancestors, or representations of Hineteiwaiwa, goddess of childbirth. Under the first, they were often buried when their kaitiaki — their guardian — died, and retrieved later to be kept somewhere special and brought out at tangihanga. Under the second, a hei-tiki was often given to a woman by her husband's family when she was having trouble conceiving.\n\nRome is the counter-case. A freeborn Roman boy wore his bulla until he came of age, and before putting on the toga virilis he placed it in the care of the household gods, the Lares. It went sideways into the house's keeping, not down to a son.\n\n*Inference —* inheritance and the market pull against each other in every one of these cases, and the pull is visible in prices. Ancient dzi beads reach hundreds of thousands of US dollars, with beads carrying more eyes and the iron-inclusion marks called bloodspots worth more; new dzi run from about ten to two thousand US dollars depending on quality and lustre. An object that can be inherited can be sold, and the rules that make inheriting possible — who may receive, from whom — are exactly the rules a sale breaks.",
  "how": "By the tradition's own rule: down a male line, from a father-in-law at a marriage, from a king to a subject, out of the ground after a guardian's death, or as a gift at a funeral. Several traditions attach maintenance to receipt — a kris inherited is a kris that has to be cleaned yearly.",
  "today": "Live, and regulated. Tabua move within Fiji as gifts and across borders only with permits. Kris are worn as part of Javanese ceremonial dress and kept as family pusaka. Dzi beads are traded at high prices alongside machine-made copies sold by the strand for less than two US dollars, which the trade distinguishes by whether the decoration penetrates the bead's core."
 },
 "dating": {
  "period": "nineteenth century to the present in the dated cases; older in each tradition's own account",
  "from_year": 1830,
  "to_year": null,
  "living": true,
  "label": "1830 to now",
  "method": "textual",
  "circa": false,
  "tier": "cited",
  "source": "s:wp-kris",
  "note": "Dated from the 1830 surrender of Diponegoro's kris, the earliest dated event in these sources that turns on an inherited charm. Every tradition here describes the practice as much older, and none of the accounts read gives an earlier year."
 },
 "object": {
  "form": "pendant",
  "materials": [
   "iron",
   "jade",
   "tooth",
   "agate",
   "gold"
  ],
  "worn": [
   "waist",
   "neck",
   "grave"
  ],
  "made_by": "a smith, a carver, or in the Fijian case the sea — tabua were originally available only from beached whales and from trade with Tonga",
  "single_use": false,
  "source": "s:wp-kris"
 },
 "restricted": {
  "note": "Among Arrernte groups, ownership of sacred tjurunga was determined by a person's conception site within a patrilineal totemic clan, and access was limited to a small number of people. Australian institutions restrict access to material of this kind to people with the permission of the relevant community. This atlas prints that rule and holds nothing further about those objects or their transmission.",
  "who_says": "Arrernte practice as described in the cited account, and AIATSIS, whose founding Act and collection policy restrict access to items deposited under conditions of restricted access",
  "source": "s:wp-australian-institute-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-studies"
 },
 "against": [
  {
   "harm": "bad-luck",
   "who": "Javanese owners, for whom a kris carries piyandel, the property of adding self-confidence to its holder",
   "source": "s:wp-kris",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "infertility",
   "who": "Māori practice as recorded by Robley, in which a hei-tiki was often given to a woman by her husband's family when she had trouble conceiving",
   "source": "s:wp-hei-tiki",
   "tier": "cited"
  },
  {
   "harm": "evil-eye",
   "who": "the account of dzi beads, whose etched eyes are described as meeting the harm with its own image",
   "source": "s:wp-dzi-bead",
   "tier": "cited"
  }
 ],
 "kin": [
  {
   "to": "keris-pusaka",
   "as": "the inherited object with its own legal word — tosan aji, pusaka, and a blade that comes with a yearly duty",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "hei-tiki",
   "as": "the taonga that goes into the ground with its guardian and comes out again for mourning",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "dzi-bead",
   "as": "the heirloom with the widest gap between what it means and what it fetches",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "bulla",
   "as": "the counter-case: handed to the household gods at manhood rather than to an heir",
   "rel": "contrast"
  },
  {
   "to": "maori-taonga",
   "as": "the tradition whose word for treasure already contains the idea of handing on",
   "rel": "tradition"
  },
  {
   "to": "te-papa-taonga",
   "as": "where inherited taonga sit when a museum holds them instead of a family",
   "rel": "held-at"
  },
  {
   "to": "renewing-yearly",
   "as": "the upkeep an inherited blade carries — jamasan, the yearly cleaning",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "buying-in-a-market",
   "as": "the practice inheritance is defined against, and the one that keeps testing its rules",
   "rel": "contrast"
  },
  {
   "to": "who-owns-a-charm",
   "as": "the long read that starts where an heirloom leaves the family",
   "rel": "story"
  }
 ],
 "links": [
  {
   "label": "Kris — Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris"
  },
  {
   "label": "Tabua — Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabua"
  }
 ],
 "sources": [
  "s:wp-kris",
  "s:wp-tabua",
  "s:wp-hei-tiki",
  "s:wp-dzi-bead",
  "s:wp-bulla-amulet",
  "s:wp-pounamu",
  "s:wp-tjurunga",
  "s:wp-australian-institute-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-studies"
 ],
 "provenance": {
  "default": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-kris"
  },
  "fields": {
   "text.story": {
    "tier": "cited",
    "source": "s:wp-tabua",
    "note": "the closing paragraph about inheritance against the market is this project's reading and is marked where it appears"
   },
   "object": {
    "tier": "inference",
    "note": "no single object; the fields describe the cases this record cites"
   }
  }
 },
 "images": [],
 "x_commons_files": [
  "File:Keris Java.jpg",
  "File:Tabua Fiji.jpg"
 ],
 "confidence": "medium",
 "updated": "2026-09-16",
 "blurb": "A charm that passes from one person to the next and gathers weight as it goes. The object is the same object; what changes is that it now carries a line of people.",
 "region_terms": [
  {
   "key": "island-sea",
   "name": "Island Southeast Asia",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "S",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "aotearoa",
   "name": "Aotearoa New Zealand",
   "hemi": [
    "S",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "pacific",
   "name": "The Pacific",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "S",
    "E",
    "W"
   ],
   "note": "Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia"
  },
  {
   "key": "himalaya-tibet",
   "name": "The Himalaya and Tibet",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "rome-italy",
   "name": "Rome and Italy",
   "hemi": [
    "N",
    "E"
   ]
  },
  {
   "key": "australia",
   "name": "Australia",
   "hemi": [
    "S",
    "E"
   ]
  }
 ],
 "hemispheres": [
  "E",
  "N",
  "S",
  "W"
 ],
 "kin_out": [
  {
   "to": "keris-pusaka",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Keris pusaka",
   "as": "the inherited object with its own legal word — tosan aji, pusaka, and a blade that comes with a yearly duty",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "hei-tiki",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Hei-tiki",
   "as": "the taonga that goes into the ground with its guardian and comes out again for mourning",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "dzi-bead",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Dzi bead",
   "as": "the heirloom with the widest gap between what it means and what it fetches",
   "rel": "carried-by"
  },
  {
   "to": "bulla",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Bulla",
   "as": "the counter-case: handed to the household gods at manhood rather than to an heir",
   "rel": "contrast"
  },
  {
   "to": "maori-taonga",
   "type": "tradition",
   "name": "Taonga Māori",
   "as": "the tradition whose word for treasure already contains the idea of handing on",
   "rel": "tradition"
  },
  {
   "to": "te-papa-taonga",
   "type": "place",
   "name": "Mana Whenua, Te Papa",
   "as": "where inherited taonga sit when a museum holds them instead of a family",
   "rel": "held-at"
  },
  {
   "to": "renewing-yearly",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Renewing yearly",
   "as": "the upkeep an inherited blade carries — jamasan, the yearly cleaning",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "to": "buying-in-a-market",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Buying one in a market",
   "as": "the practice inheritance is defined against, and the one that keeps testing its rules",
   "rel": "contrast"
  },
  {
   "to": "who-owns-a-charm",
   "type": "story",
   "name": "Who owns a charm",
   "as": "the long read that starts where an heirloom leaves the family",
   "rel": "story"
  }
 ],
 "source_list": [
  {
   "id": "s:wp-kris",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Kris",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kris",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-tabua",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Tabua",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabua",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-hei-tiki",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Hei-tiki",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hei-tiki",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-dzi-bead",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Dzi bead",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzi_bead",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-bulla-amulet",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Bulla (amulet)",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulla_(amulet)",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-pounamu",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Pounamu",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pounamu",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-tjurunga",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Tjurunga",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tjurunga",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  },
  {
   "id": "s:wp-australian-institute-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-studies",
   "kind": "encyclopedia",
   "title": "Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies",
   "publisher": "Wikipedia",
   "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Institute_of_Aboriginal_and_Torres_Strait_Islander_Studies",
   "accessed": "2026-09-16",
   "license": "CC BY-SA 4.0"
  }
 ],
 "tiers": {
  "text.what": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-kris"
  },
  "text.story": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-tabua",
   "note": "the closing paragraph about inheritance against the market is this project's reading and is marked where it appears"
  },
  "text.how": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-kris"
  },
  "text.today": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-kris"
  },
  "dating": {
   "tier": "cited",
   "source": "s:wp-kris"
  },
  "object": {
   "tier": "inference",
   "note": "no single object; the fields describe the cases this record cites"
  }
 },
 "primary_image": null,
 "tag_facts": [],
 "recognition_facts": [],
 "acclaim": 0,
 "against_facts": [
  {
   "key": "bad-luck",
   "label": "Bad luck, unspecified",
   "who": "Javanese owners, for whom a kris carries piyandel, the property of adding self-confidence to its holder",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-kris",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "infertility",
   "label": "Infertility",
   "who": "Māori practice as recorded by Robley, in which a hei-tiki was often given to a woman by her husband's family when she had trouble conceiving",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-hei-tiki",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "evil-eye",
   "label": "The evil eye",
   "gloss": "harm carried by a look, often an admiring one",
   "who": "the account of dzi beads, whose etched eyes are described as meeting the harm with its own image",
   "quote": "",
   "source": "s:wp-dzi-bead",
   "tier": "cited",
   "note": ""
  }
 ],
 "material_facts": [
  {
   "key": "iron",
   "label": "Iron",
   "kind": "metal",
   "note": "iron itself is the charm in a great many places"
  },
  {
   "key": "jade",
   "label": "Jade",
   "kind": "stone",
   "note": "nephrite and jadeite; China, Mesoamerica, Aotearoa"
  },
  {
   "key": "tooth",
   "label": "Tooth, tusk and claw",
   "kind": "organic"
  },
  {
   "key": "agate",
   "label": "Agate and onyx",
   "kind": "stone"
  },
  {
   "key": "gold",
   "label": "Gold",
   "kind": "metal"
  }
 ],
 "worn_facts": [
  {
   "key": "waist",
   "label": "At the waist",
   "group": "body"
  },
  {
   "key": "neck",
   "label": "At the neck",
   "group": "body",
   "note": "the world's default position"
  },
  {
   "key": "grave",
   "label": "In the grave",
   "group": "placed",
   "note": "most surviving ancient amulets are here because somebody was buried in them"
  }
 ],
 "form_fact": {
  "key": "pendant",
  "label": "Pendant"
 },
 "holding_facts": [],
 "span": "1830 CE to now",
 "country_names": [
  {
   "iso": "ID",
   "name": "Indonesia"
  },
  {
   "iso": "MY",
   "name": "Malaysia"
  },
  {
   "iso": "NZ",
   "name": "New Zealand"
  },
  {
   "iso": "FJ",
   "name": "Fiji"
  },
  {
   "iso": "TO",
   "name": "Tonga"
  },
  {
   "iso": "CN",
   "name": "China"
  },
  {
   "iso": "NP",
   "name": "Nepal"
  },
  {
   "iso": "IT",
   "name": "Italy"
  },
  {
   "iso": "AU",
   "name": "Australia"
  }
 ],
 "kin_in": [
  {
   "from": "caul",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Caul",
   "as": "the practice that kept these — a caul is handed down, or sold, never made",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "challenge-coin",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Challenge coin",
   "as": "what happens to a coin issued for a death, a fallen officer or a grave",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "hei-tiki",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Hei-tiki",
   "as": "the practice that makes one: mana accumulates by passing between generations, not by carving",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "keris-pusaka",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Keris pusaka",
   "as": "what makes it a pusaka: handed down through generations, worn at weddings, given by a king to mark his confidence",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "ongon",
   "type": "amulet",
   "name": "Ongon",
   "as": "how a yazguur ongon moves — down a lineage, with the house",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "maori-taonga",
   "type": "tradition",
   "name": "Taonga Māori",
   "as": "the practice the word itself contains — a taonga gains mana as it passes from one generation to the next",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "jade",
   "type": "material",
   "name": "Jade",
   "as": "the practice that makes a jade object worth more than the stone in it",
   "rel": "practice"
  },
  {
   "from": "buying-in-a-market",
   "type": "practice",
   "name": "Buying one in a market",
   "as": "the practice this one is defined against, and the one whose rules a purchase keeps testing",
   "rel": "contrast"
  },
  {
   "from": "te-papa-taonga",
   "type": "place",
   "name": "Mana Whenua, Te Papa",
   "as": "the practice the word taonga tuku iho names: a treasure handed down, not a thing acquired",
   "rel": "practice"
  }
 ]
}