Hei tiki

Hei tiki

This hei tiki is from Kaiapoi pā. Poutini Ngāi Tahu (Māori iwi on the South Island’s west coast) supplied their relations in Kaiapoi with pounamu, and Kaiapoi became the greatest pounamu trading centre in the land. From Kaiapoi, pounamu was traded throughout New Zealand. Extensive evidence of this trade was available by the time Europeans arrived in New Zealand.