leiomano
Illustration — Leiomano made with tiger shark teeth • Illustration — Early 19th-century Hawai'ian leiomano • Illustration — Leiomano at the British Museum • Illustration — Leiomano knuckle duster at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The leiomano is a shark-toothed club used by various Polynesian cultures, primarily by the Native Hawaiians. The word "leiomano" is derived from the Hawaiian language and may originate from lei o manō, meaning "a shark's lei." The weapon resembles a thick ping-pong paddle inset with shark teeth, typically from the tiger shark.
leiomano
Unknown artist. Photo by Jen. · I took this photo at the Peabody Essex Museum. · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Field
- club
- Region
- Polynesia
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wikidata · Q6520059
In this article
North America
North America
These teeth are placed into grooves in the club and sewn into place. The tip of the handle may also utilize a marlin bill as a dagger. The weapon functions as a bladed club, similar to the obsidian-studded macuahuitl of the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures.
A weapon of similar form was discovered in pieces at Cahokia, Illinois, in 1948 by Gregory Perino. Greatly damaged by a plow, the weapon was composed of eight chert imitation shark teeth, and tipped with five actual shark teeth. In both cases, the teeth were related to the great white.
In Popular Culture
In Popular Culture
The character Roadhog from the 2016 video game Overwatch has two skins, named "Islander" and "Toa", that are inspired by traditional Polynesian culture. In these skins, his hook is changed to be made of bone with shark teeth threaded to its edges, resembling a leiomano.
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Polynesia
Country
leiomano is associated with Polynesia.
Country
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Licensing
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Leiomano, revision 1356505831 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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authority record
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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