The poupou (carving) in the centre is of the Te Arawa ancestor Tamatekapua. He is on stilts, reflecting an incident in Hawaiki where he used stilts to steal fruit – one of the actions which led to him leaving for Aotearoa on the Te Arawa canoe. Arriving in Aotearoa, he and other chiefs on board claimed land by naming it after parts of their bodies – a process called taunaha whenua.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library, Burton Brothers Collection
Reference:
PA7-05-36
Photograph by Burton Brothers
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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