Hawaiian society under the ‘Aikapu system was stratified according to rank. An individual’s rank was not determined by wealth or gender, but by genealogy. Those of the highest rank could trace their genealogy all the way back to the beginning of time, to the very first organism to inhabit the Earth, even to the primordial darkness preceding all life. These genealogies were recorded in chants called ko‘ihonua that glorified Ali‘i bloodlines, ancestors, and their descendants. One important symbol of rank for the highest Ali‘i was the Lei Niho Palaoa, a whale tooth pendant. The carved hook pendant is strung on thousands of finely braided strands of human hair.