Some
Mother of Pearl can be from Abalone but not all Abalone is Mother of Pearl.
An
abalone is a mollusk whose shell is irridescent on the inside. The shells are
used whole as smudge bowls, seen at right.
Portions
of the shells are used as buttons and decorations on medicine bags. Here is an
abalone shell disc used on Apache Medicine Bag.
The
ABALONE represents solace, the greatness of the oceans, a life of beauty, gentleness,
caring, comfort, peacefulness, and delight. Abalone shell discs are an age old
object that has been traded tribally for centuries. It is a symbol of power and
protection and symbolizes ancient travels.
Mother
of Pearl (MOP), also called nacre, is the inner layer of some shells. It is made
by when the mollusk (the organism inhabiting the shell) makes crystals - this
is an oversimplification, but think of it like an oyster making pearls - very
similar.
MOP is a blend of minerals that
are secreted by oysters, abalone, and other mollusks and deposited inside their
shells, coating and protecting their bodies from parasites and foreign objects.
Mother-of-Pearl is said to stimulate
intuition, sensitivity, imagination, and adaptability and help with clarity in
decision making. Mother of Pearl stirs and awakens the primordial memory of your
origin in the infinite ocean of divine love and stirs this memory in every cell
of your physical body thereby producing an overall calming effect as it gently
stirs the life energy of your cells. Like waves lapping the shore, this stirring
is steady, relaxing, and rhythmical.
At
left: Mother of Pearl Turtle Fetish by Zuni Cheryl Beyuka.
Mother
of Pearl has a beautiful glow and can range from a pearly white, clear or with
some striation, to iridescent multicolored blues, greens, golds, pinks, whites,
and purples.
At
right: Vintage Native American Pawn Mother of Pearl Ring.
So...some
Mother of Pearl can come from Abalone but it can also be from a variety of other
fresh-water and salt-water mollusks including the pearl oyster.
Mother
of Pearl Zuni Inlay Sunface by Abel Soseeah
