: http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-31343973-O3.jpgGallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/215725, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27332262 and By Daderot – I took this photograph., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15690114)
Maori, Whakapakoko rakau, n.d. (photo http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/APICollection/media/248096/640)
Koru designs, or curved lines turning in on themselves becoming circles, were key elements in Maori art, from tattooing to painting and sculpture. These designs may be based on a growing fern frond, and the element pf growth and life seem to be important to the koru. The whakapakoko rākau or god stick had a pointed end so it could be stuck into the ground. It was used as a temporary shrine for an auta (deity) by tohunga ahurewa (priestly experts). Tohunga were often responsible for healing people, and sometimes used god sticks to concentrate the power of a particular deity. Even functional objects were decorated with images of deities and ancestors.
Maori, Waka hula, 19th century and Hei tiki, n.d. (photo By Daderot – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37182037 and By Szilas (Self-photographed) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)
Maori, Pataka (photo By daryl_mitchell from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada – Maori Buildings, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49439293)
Important objects, foods, and other valuables had to be stored in specific ways. Treasure boxes, called papahou or Waka huia, were used for storing valuables. They were hung from the rafters of the house, and were elaborately carved on their undersides. One of the objects stored in them were the Hei tiki, greenstone ornaments that represent ancestors. They were heirlooms that reflected the transmission of authority and sanctity to descendants. Storehouses, called pataka, were used to protect precious foods, seed tubers and treasured objects. Pataka were elaborately carved with figures that represented plenty and fertility, and enhanced the prestige of the village.
Maori, Waiwhetū Marae in Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt, New Zealand and Interior of the Whare Runanga Marae (photo By Stuartyeates – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44379722 and By Sids1 from New Zealand – The Maori Whare Runanga (Meeting Place), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37286245)
The Marae, or the meeting house, because larger and more important after colonization, as the Maori attempted to hold on to their culture in the face of pressure. The building represents a sacred ancestor. Every part of the marae, from the carved panels to the lintels, is carved with symbolic imagery relating to the ancestors and clan history. The interior has pou tokomanawa in the center that support the roof, and pou pou and tukutuku on the sides. The ceiling has rafter paintings with images of koru. Many of the pou pou represent specific ancestors, identified by their facial tattooing. Tukutuku panels are typically women by women with designs that related to ancestor images or their names or plant imagery. The rafters were carved with kowhaiwhai designs. Tekoteko figures were attached to the gable of the marae. They are meant to ward off intruders. Gable masks represent the face of the ancestor the structure represents.
Maori man with a tattooed face, 1860-89 and Gottfried Landauer, A portrait of Te Rangi Pikinga, 1880s (photo By Non identifié/Unknown – Photothèque du Musée de l’Homme via French National Library URL  Reference No. Cote :1998-3171-139. Acq. : Museum national d’Histoire naturelle . – Collection Musée d’Ethnographie du Trocadero, Notice n° : FRBNF38438431, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4323578 and By Gottfried Lindauer (1839-1926) – http://www.lindaueronline.co.nz/maori-portraits/kuinioroa-daughter-of-rangi-kopinga-te-rangi-pikinga, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17537787)
Tattooing among the Ma