Necklaces serve a purely decorative function. And yet the native Indians lavish a good deal
of time and materials on them. Why? Well, today these are made mostly for sale to tourists, like
the majority of handicrafts featured in this section. Better necklaces command higher prices. Yet
these are derived from an ancient tradition which would probably die out without the incentive
provided by the tourist market. To make the necklaces, a variety of objects are strung on palm
fiber string. Among the materials used are seeds, porcupine quills, shells, fishbones, animal teeth
and pirarucu scales.
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