The elite among the North and South Nguni peoples often wore necklaces strung with leopard or lion claws, symbolic of the ferocious power of these animals. As big cats in the region were gradually hunted out and such claws were no longer readily available, a parallel tradition evolved of creating necklaces made with facsimile claws carved from pieces of bone. These necklaces were known to Zulu-speakers as amazipho. Among the Xhosa-speaking peoples, a bride’s outfit often included an animal-tooth necklace or a carved imitation. This necklace presents scores of teeth assembled in a powerful sunburst composition, interspersed with multicolored beads. Oftentimes wild animal teeth were used only for the center band of an amazipho, with dog teeth being used to fill out the rest of the necklace.