This Tiki gateway (kuwaha) carving celebrates a famous Maori ancestor who lived more than ten generations ago on the shores of Lake Rotorua. The renowned carver Te Umanui created this masterpiece in the early 1800s while still a young man.
This Tiki guarded one of three entrances in a Māori stockade that surrounded a fortified hill (Pa) in Rotorua. In the 1830s, the people of Ohinemutu fortified in preparation for an attack by Te Waharoa and his Ngati Haua warriors.
Tiki is a term that refers to significant human figures carved in wood. Also, the small wooden carvings used to mark sacred places and should not be confused with hei-tiki, commonly called tiki. The hei-tiki is an ornamental pendant of the Māori of New Zealand that is worn around the neck.
Tiki Gateway Carving
- Exhibit: Tiki Gateway Carving
- Carver: Te Umanui
- Materials: Wood
- Date: Early 1800s
- Culture: Māori
- Origin: North Island, New Zealand
- Museum: Auckland War Memorial Museum
A Tour of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Tāmaki Paenga Hira
- Te Puawai o Te Arawa, Pātaka
- Tiki Gateway Carving
- Hinana
- World War I, Military Aircraft Propellers
- Kave, Goddess Figure
- Nazi Germany Badges
- Kumete Koha
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
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“As man disappears from sight, the land remains.”
– Maori Proverb
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Photo Credit: JOM
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