This Genuine Ngai Tahu NZ Greenstone Shepherds Whistle is used in New Zealand by farmers, sheep herders and dog trialists. And the Shepherds Whistle makes an excellent Greenstone Necklace as well.
The pounamu dog whistle actually works, so you too will be able to enjoy using it. This particular dog whistle gives the best sound of all the ones available to us.
Size: approximately 45mm (1 3/4') wide, 35mm (1 3/8') high, 7mm (1/4') thick.
The Ngai Tahu Greenstone Dog Whistle hangs from a long black adjustable cord.
It is made from pounamu, New Zealand's nephrite jade, sourced from Hokitika, and crafted in the same area.
The whistle comes to you with a special card containing an ID code and website address. Enter the code into the website to see the block of greenstone the whistle was carved from, plus details on the carver.
The whistle in the main photo is made from Kahurangi pounamu, renowned for its beautiful translucency.
The lighter greenstone shown is called Inanga. Inanga is quite distinctive because of its pearly-white or grey-green tones. with varying translucency. It is named for the ghostly white transparency of the native Inanga fish, the adult form of the juvenile whitebait, a popular New Zealand delicacy. There are many varieties of pounamu available, so the taonga you receive may vary in natural colour from almost white, through many variations of green, to almost black. It is all still pounamu, yet totally unique.
How to blow the shepherd's whistle:
Hold the tab and place the whistle in your mouth. The curved open edge will be facing out. The curved solid edge will be inside your mouth, against your tongue. Hold the whistle in your mouth so there is a gap underneath the whistle. (If you place your tongue against the lower hole, you will lose any sound). Blow. No need to blow hard, just blow across the top of the whistle, like you are blowing across the top of a bottle. Once you have mastered that, you can also move your tongue up and down underneath the whistle, to create more sounds.
Proudly made in New Zealand, and shipped worldwide.
