Maori Pātaka or Storehouse Panels

These panels originated from the front of a carved Maori Pātaka or storehouse. Pātaka storehouses were used to keep preserved food such as fish, birds, Kao, or seed safe from kiore or Pacific rats in winter. Pātaka were entered through a trapdoor in the floor, the small opening at the front was a window.

The carvings represent both human figures and manaia. The Manaia is a mythological creature in Māori culture and is a common motif in Māori carving. The Manaia is usually depicted as having the head of a bird, the tail of a fish, and the body of a man. It is also sometimes depicted as a bird, a serpent, or a human figure in profile.

Note the lashing holes and the pegs which were fitted into slots in the base of the structure. These panels originated with the Te Arawa tribe, Rotoiti, North Island. Below is a picture of a full Pātaka.

Pataka or storehouse on four legs surrounded by a garden. Te Parapra Maori Garden. Hamilton Gardens in Hamilton, New Zealand

Maori Pātaka or Storehouse Panels

Exhibit: Maori Pātaka or Storehouse Panels
Materials: Wood
Date: 1800s
Culture: Māori, Te Arawa tribe
Origin: Rotoiti, North Island, New Zealand
Museum: Canterbury Museum, Christchurch

A Tour of the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch

Moa Skeleton
South Island Adzebill
Haast’s Eagle
Canoe Bailer – Tiheru
Antarctic Sledges
Maori Pare – Lintel from a Maori Meeting House
Maori Pātaka or Storehouse Panels

A Tour of New Zealand’s Museums

Museums in Auckland
- Auckland War Memorial Museum
- New Zealand Maritime Museum
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki

Museums in Wellington
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Museums in Christchurch
- - Canterbury Museum, Christchurch

~~~

“As man disappears from sight, the land remains.”
– Maori Proverb

~~~

Photo Credit: GM 2) By Michal Klajban (Hikingisgood.com) (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Popular this Week Museums, Art Galleries & Historical Sites - Virtual Tours