Maori Wood Carvings and their Meanings

"In New Zealand, the protrusion of the tongue was a sign of defiance and in war dances and posture dances, the performers vied with each other in protruding the tongue as far as possible."

Highly detailed wood carvings have traditionally decorated Maori meeting houses and canoes (waka). Also ceremonial clubs, weapons, storage boxes and musical instruments were adorned with beautiful, intricate carvings.

The Maori culture being oral (they had no written language), the carvings represented several traditions and folk tales. Legends about the creation of New Zealand (Aotearoa), origins and meanings of the gods and tales about renowned ancestors were common wood carving concepts.

Some museums still have ancient Maori wood carvings in their collections but these are very rare. Some historic valuable carvings have survived periods of unrest because they were hidden in swamps. Swamps are known to provide an ideal preservative environment. This is also the reason ancient kauri wood is still used today in woodworking.

This is the story of Ruatepupuke, who first made wood-carving known. The cause of his discovery was the going of his child, Te Manuhauturuki, to sail a boat. The child was captured by Tangaroa, taken to his home, and set up on the gable of his house as an image. When the child was missed, his father set forth to look for him he went there, and so found the body of his child set up on the roof-gable of the house.

When Rua entered the house the carved posts were talking amongst themselves; he heard the posts talking, but those outside remained silent. He closed up all the interstices of the house and when the sun had set, Tangaroa and his family arrived and sought repose within their house. There they amused themselves with posture-dancing, hand-clapping contests, cats' cradle and other games, as is usual when many folk meet together When day came the interior of the house was still in darkness

By this time Ruatepupuke had come and taken a position in the porch of the house with his weapon at the ready ...He set the house on fire, and the folk inside ran out; the first was Kanae (mullet) then came Maroro (flying fish) .. then came Kokiri (trigger fish) ... But most of Tangaroa's children were destroyed...The carved posts of the outside of the house were taken away; some of those did not talk, and so it is that carved images of the present time do not have the power of speech.

The human figure is, together with the spiral, the most prominent pattern in Maori woodcarvings. The face, often with protruded tongue, is rendered in several positions. There are four types of heads the Wheku, Ruru, Koruru, and the human head.

Maori wood carvings were commonly painted red with ocher. This color symbolizes the blood that flooded the earth during the separation of the gods Rangi (father of heaven or sky father) and Papa (the earth mother).

According the legend the forest god Tane, son of Rangi and Papa, decided his parents should be separated. This blood of Rangi is still present in the form of red clay and red evening skies. This is why the Maori perceive red as a sacred color. They call it kokowai. It is also one of the basic three colors of the kowhaiwhai pattern used on meeting houses and canoes.

Photo by Sids1 | Wikimedia Commons

"Maori male warrior featuring a fully tattooed face. The tattoos or Ta moko traditionally are skin carvings as opposed to ink punctured skin, the skin ends up with grooves rather than having a smooth surface. The moko were important to the Maori in that they showed everyone the rank, family and history of any particular person. When a person earned an addition to their moko, it is considered a very important milestone in their lives and was usually given along side a large ceremony."

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Taiaha Maori Spear

Price:NZD$64.95

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Patu / Mere Maori Weapon

Price:NZD$84.95

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Maori Patu / Mere Weapon

Our Price:NZD$84.95

Maori warriors were fierce, undaunted warriors. Their territories have never been conquered by other nations. There were many battles and wars about prestige, honor, land, and possessions among Maori tribes.

It was an ultimate goal to defeat the strongest enemy of the opposing tribe because this would result in the most mana (spiritual power) for the warrior and his tribe. The war dance (haka), preceding the battle, is characterized by defiant movements, sounds, the rolling eyes, and a protruding tongue. This was to fear the enemy. The tongue also functions as an insult. It means, I will eat you after I have defeated you. By eating an opponent Maori warriors thought to consume their mana. Victories on the battlefield were also a means to uphold the reputation of ancestors. These ancestors lived on through the Maori weapons which carvings represented ancestors.

Mana is spiritual, or living power, the vital essence of all things. Maori warriors with a considerable amount of mana possessed power and authority. When they triumphed in battle they gained extra mana which would be passed on via the weapons on next generations. In this way these carved weapons were imbued with the sacred power of their predecessors and gained authority over time.