What does the Maori tiki symbolize?
The Hei Tiki represents the human form and one’s ancestors. Traditionally passed from parent to child or used for protection and good luck. It links the past, present and future.
What does a tiki stand for?
In Polynesian mythology, tiki often represents the first human being on Earth. Tiki statues were carved to represent the image of a certain god and as an embodiment of that specific god’s mana, or power.
What is a tiki nz?
The heitiki is a small, carved ornament, usually of greenstone, worn suspended from the neck. It is often incorrectly referred to as tiki. Tikis are, properly, the much larger human figures carved in wood guarding the entrance to a Maori pa and, also, the smaller wooden carvings used to mark a tapu place.
Who wears hei tiki?
A further suggestion is that they represent the unborn embryo, particularly children that are stillborn. Hei tiki have become iconic emblems of both the Māori people and New Zealand.
What do Māori symbols mean?
The symbols represent the future and past. Some reference stories of desire and memory, of strength, history and commitment, of loyalty, relationships, and they carry values from the past to those in the future.
Why can’t you buy greenstone yourself?
Certain pieces of greenstone were actually recognized as having their own spirits, which chose their wearer, so carving or taking one for yourself was extremely bad luck as it would anger the spirit or guardian of the jade.”
Can Pakeha get Maori tattoos?
Moko is born of Māori culture. If a completed tattoo design is not born of, attached to and expressing that Māori culture, then it can not be correctly termed moko. It can safely be called kirituhi or a Māori style tattoo.
What kind of stone is a Maori Tiki made of?
Tiki or heitiki are most commonly made from nephrite, a stone related to jade and found in several places in New Zealand’s South Island. It is called pounamu in Maori, greenstone in New Zealand English.
Why do Maori wear greenstone around their neck?
Greenstone, like jade, is a beautiful stone – classed as semi-precious – and quite variable in appearance. The varieties have Maori names. Its lustre improves with age, reputedly as a result of being worn next to the skin. Tiki were worn around the neck – the hei part of the name carries this implication.
Where does the term Tiki come from in New Zealand?
On the other hand tiki or tikitiki is also a general term for carving in many parts of polynesia, as, for instance, in Niue, where the Tiki myth is unknown and human figures were not carved. In New Zealand, however, tiki is usually applied to the human figure carved in greenstone as a neck ornament.
Why was Te Wai Pounamu important to the Maori?
The Maori name for the South Island, Te Wai Pounamu, refers to this stone. There are traditional accounts for the creation of the stone which relate it to the children of Tangaroa. It is a very hard stone and is laborious to work, especially so with the primitive grinding tools available to the neolithic Maori.