God Figure Tiki-wananga/Whakapakoko atua

Museum number: UEM180

Material: Nacre, shell, wood  

Region and culture: New Zealand - Maori  

Description: Wooden God-stick or Tiki wananga from Hokianga, Aotearoa New Zealand. Eyes made from mother of pearl. Dated to the Classic Māori period (Te Puawaitanga 1500-1800). The Tiki wananga is usually identied as a representation of different gods such as either Tangaroa, Tane, Rongo, Haumia. The treatment of the shaft would represent certain attributes of the gods. The shaft probably had a braided ropes entwined around it, and red feathers right under the head. The Tiki wananga is considered to be a rare object. Most of them were destroyed by missionaries during the 19th century.  

The object was collected by Fredrik Ring when he was a tradesman in Valparaiso, Chile during the 1820s. Konsul Ring donated the object to the Ethnographic Museum in 1833.