Students and staff in the Archives Department of the Joseph F. Smith Library recently put together an exhibit of more than 300 shells now on display near the Pacific Islands room in the library.
According to Associate Archivist Gailyn Bopp, “All of these shells were donated to the archives by a family. The family wishes to remain anonymous. The husband travelled all over Hawaii collecting all of these shells. He was a scientist, so he has named each shell with their scientific name and where he found them. [This collection] spans all the islands of Hawaii.”
The shells are divided into four cases. Each case highlights different aspects of the shells.
The first case focuses on the wide variety of shells found in Hawaii. According to a sign posted above the case, “Despite Hawai’i’s isolation, it is home to a remarkable number of unique tropical marine shell species found nowhere else in the world.”
Bopp described how “what’s really interesting about this particular collection is some of these shells are extinct. You can’t find them anymore. All of these [shells] are Hawaiian shells. Sometimes because of the isolation of Hawaii, some of our shells grow to be particularly larger than the same shell somewhere else.”
The second case focuses on the use of shells as traditional tools. The sign above this case says, “In addition to the popular large triton or helmet shell pū used as a calling horn or trumpet, shells were also used in traditional practices such as fishing, food-preparation, and textile making.”
The third case focuses on the study and science involved with the shells. In this case, there is a Tahitian fan made out of a mother of pearl shell. Bopp explained how, “Part of the reason there’s a Tahitian fan in there, is when you’re reading about the study of shells, how shells are used similarly in different cultures can be indicative of certain things about those cultures.”
The fourth case focuses on shell leis the donor acquired on the privately owned island of Ni’ihau. Bopp explained, “Ni’ihau is the northernmost island [of Hawai’i], and it’s a privately-owned island, so people can’t visit [except by invitation]. An individual who wanted to preserve the Hawaiian culture purchased it.
“Because it was purchased by an individual, there hasn’t been as much development as what has happened on the other islands. The other islands have plantation history, so the runoff from the development into the shore affected shells that were close to the shore. On Ni’ihau, they don’t have that. So they have all these shells that are still abundant on their shores, but aren’t on other shores. They are hard to find, and they’re super rare.
“This particular island is known for their craftsmanship of these leis. They take these shells and sew them together to look like flower leis like the other islands have. They don’t have those, but they have shells. You can imagine how much of a gift it is to ever be given one of these leis. The person who collected these shells went there, and he was given these leis as he was collecting shells.”
Bopp described how a collection like this, along with other collections found in the archives, could be helpful to students. “Something like this collection could be of great use to people studying sciences, anthropology, or environmental effects to see how different shells get affected by climate change and pollution in the water.”
Bopp reminded, “The main thing we want students to know is we have really interesting things up in the Archives, not just your typical manuscripts and infographics. We actually have a really big artifact collection that not a lot of people know… Come visit us, and see what we have that might help with student studies because we have a ton of stuff up there.”
Writer: Haeley van der Werf