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Hei Tiki; 1900.126

Hei Tiki, 1900.126
FromWhanganui Regional Museum
Name/Title
Hei Tiki
About this object
This hei tiki was obtained by Te Kauwau, from a Taupo chief who died during a battle against Ngati Ruanui at Patoka pa in the 1830s. It was passed down to Kereopa, Te Kauwau's grandson, who passed it to the Whanganui Regional Museum in 1900.
The hei tiki is the most well-known piece of Māori adornment. The word hei means to suspend around the neck, and tiki is the ancestor of all humans, the first man created by the Mäori god Tane. This form is also a fertility symbol.
Hei tiki are passed down through generations as family heirlooms and they often have their own personal names, stories and legends which relate to the owners and places associated with them. It is of dark green mottled kawakawa pounamu or greenstone and has a stone drilled suspension hole.
Place Made
New Zealand
Medium and Materials
Nephrite / Pounamu
Measurements
14.5 x 8.9cm
Credit Line
Collection of the Whanganui Regional Museum
Object Type
Pendant
Object number
1900.126

Tags

greenstone
hei tiki
Kereopa
Maori
nephrite
Nga Rauru Kiitahi
Ngati Ruanui
Patoka pa
pounamu
putorino
Taupo
Te Kauwau
Whanganui pounamu


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Results from DigitalNZ

This female hei tiki is made from a kahurangi (pale) variety of pounamu (New Zealand greenstone). Her head is inclined toward her right shoulder, and her right hand extends across her chest. Her elbows and chin are particularly prominent. Tiki with such features are sometimes referred to as 'bearded' tiki. This particular type of tiki is thought to represent a Bay of Plenty style. Theories of origin Various forms of tiki are common throughout western and eastern Polynesia, and the form can be found in the wood carving of different Pacific island groups. However, the meaning of the Maori hei tiki pendant is obscure. One theory is that hei tiki represent Hine-te-iwaiwa, a celebrated ancestress associated with fertility and the virtuous qualities of Maori womanhood. Another theory is that hei tiki represent Tiki, the mythical first human. A further suggestion is that they represent the unborn embryo, particularly children that are stillborn. An iconic symbol Hei tiki have become iconic emblems of both the Maori people and New Zealand. In the 1960s and 1970s, green plastic hei tiki were routinely distributed to passengers flying on New Zealand's national airline, and one of the enduring photographic moments recording the Beatles 1964 visit to New Zealand depicts the 'fab-four' wearing giant tiki around their necks.
Hei tiki (pendant in human form)
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The singularly grotesque figure of the Maori hei-tiki has been the subject of much speculation. Its origin seems to be lost in antiquity. The shape of the hei tiki has been attributed to the necessity of imposing the shape of the adze blade on the human figure. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the hei tiki may represent a collection of as many as nine different congenital deformities. If this is indeed correct the hei tiki must have had a very different significance than the recent Maori attribute to it. Robley states, “The Maori themselves have lost any traditional knowledge that they once may have possessed of the origin of these remarkable objects.” 1 There seems to be no possibility at present of ever recovering the traditions of the Maori related to the hei-tiki. Mead states, “The accepted concept of the singular shape of the hei-tiki is as follows. . . . As adze blades of greenstone were frequently perforated and worn about the neck as ornaments when not in use, students of Maori art feel that the peculiar grotesque form of the hei-tiki is the result of the artists' attempt to impose the shape of the adze blade upon the human figure”. 2. The extensive use of carving by the Maori is well-known. Donne states, “The old Maori carved everything that he could lay his hands on”. 3 Regarding the origin of Maori carving, he has the following to say, “Rua . . . is the father of the art of carving”. “Tradition says that Rua had but 3 fingers on each hand, and as a tribute to his memory, the Maori carvers of note all portrayed their human figures with 3 fingers only on each hand.” 4 The hei-tiki conforms to this tradition, and, in addition, has but 3 toes on each foot. A review of the literature on Maori art and visits to several museums reveal that the design of the hei-tiki is indeed unique. The particular combination of features does not appear in any other Maori carving seen. There are, of course, occasional similarities in one or two...
Hei-tiki (Journal of the Polynesian Society)
The University of Auckland Library
'Heart Felt' Hei Tiki
Flickr
'Heart Felt' hei-tiki felt patch
Flickr
New Zealand Post's $2.30 stamp from their 2009 Matariki issue. This stamp features Rangi Hetet's paraoa carving. The contemporary carving links this year's series to the inaugural series in 2008 when it featured on the $2.00 stamp. See the other stamps in this issue here .
Hei Tiki Matariki stamp
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
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