Full Description
An expert guide to the history and the role of hei tiki, a beloved and much prized Maori artform.
Of all Maori personal adornments, the human figure pendants known as hei tiki are the most famous, highly prized and culturally iconic. This book examines and celebrates the long history of hei tiki and the enduring cultural potency of these taonga or cultural treasures.
This first book on hei tiki for 60 years is written by the Acting Senior Curator Matauranga Maori at Te Papa, who is a hei tiki expert, and includes a large selection of hei tiki, most from the taonga Maori collections of Te Papa, which is the largest in New Zealand and very likely the world. Many are published here for the first time, including some with exalted histories of ownership. It also covers the work of leading contemporary hei tiki makers.
Contents
He kupu whakataki
Introduction 9
01/ Nga whakamaramatanga
Use and meaning 15
02/ Nga momo me nga ahua
Types and shapes 27
03/ Te putakenga mai
Physical origins 49
04/ Nga korero kairangi
Exalted histories 93
05/ Nga tohu a-iwi
Tribal styles 117
06/ Nga tai whakaawe
External versus local influence 139
07/ Ka whiti ka pumau, 1750-1900
Change and continuity, 1750-1900 153
08/ Te whanako toi taketake, nga tau 1890-inaianei
Cultural appropriation, 1890s-present 185
09/ Te hei tiki me te Maori, 1900-inaianei
Maori and hei tiki, 1900-present 199
He kupu whakakapi
Epilogue 258
Appendices, Notes, Glossary, Select bibliography,
Image credits, Acknowledgements, Index 263
