Kuka-"burra"

Kuka, cooka or kokka usually refers to the type of high quality very hard tree wood or nut in which ornaments such as prayer beads (below) are made from. It was said that Noah used the Kuka wood to build his arc, and Moses's walking cane was made of Kuka, albeit its demand in the market. Very good quality is hard to find, as the wood is particularly found in Turkey and Egypt and scarces. Probably there are other countries nearby, but not as well known or as good a quality. The trees are protected, and therefore the nuts are used nowadays to make ornaments.

(Pictured) is a Turkish Kuka 99 beaded prayer beads which I attained a while back in 1986. Apparently, I've been told by Kukka experts and collectors that this is hand made from the rare Kukka tree and pretty old. That is probably why the beads are not uniformed, big in size and the sizes of each hole in the bead where the string is passed through is bigger on one side than the other side. The tassel was modified slightly and restrung, whilst retaining the original strings. I added two additional reminder markers also made of kukka, as you can see in lighter smaller beads most likely to have been from the Kukka nut. Many have offered a tempting price for this, but no its not for sale.

(pictured) This is also a Turkish Kukka 99 beaded prayer beads which I had bought from a salesman from Turkey who came to meet me one day at my office in 2005. The sizes of each beads is of the same size, and although it looks like an old traditional Ottoman carving, but it isnt. Its diamond shaped machine cut made from of course the Kukka nut. I took to liking this particular piece due to its uniformed colours of the beads. I also got 2 more for my family but in a small 33 beaded count and it was Cheeep! Cheeep!