rved 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 Maori was linked to status, and they were considered tapu during the operation, meaning they were spiritually dangerous, and had to be fed by funnels. Maori facial tattooing was called moko, and the faces were individualized. These designs were used as signatures in the nineteenth century. Women’s facial tattooing was simpler. Other parts of the body were also covered in traditional Maori tattooing, with similar swirling forms.
Hawai’i, ‘ahu ‘uha, late18th-early 19th century and Lerouge and Forget after S. Leroy, after Jacques Arago, artist with French captain and navigator de Frecycinet,. An officer of King Liholiho (Kamehameha II) in full dress, 1819 (photo By Hiart – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28960430 and By Jacques Arago – National Library of Australia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17260495)
The native people of Hawai’i are a Polynesian people, who settled the islands between c. 1200. The feather cloak, the ‘ahu ‘ula, was held in high esteem in Hawai’i. The designs on the cloaks were composed of abstract shapes of solid colors. The crescent shape that was the typical design was formed by the woven coconut fiber lining to which the feathers were attached, and was further repeated by the colors of the feathers. Usually red, black, and yellow feathers were used. The red was a symbol of royalty, and the rainbow, which was another royal symbol. The cloaks were conceived of as rainbows, which symbolized the presence of a chief. The name ‘ahu ‘ula means red cloak. The use of these cloaks were restricted to men of the royal class, the ali’i, and one could only be admitted to this class through birth, but never lost the prerogatives of this class. The material value of the ‘ahu ‘ula lay in the vast expenditure of labor required for collection. The amount of labor involved in collection gave value to the feathers, which yellow being the most valuable. One’s position at court gave greater access to feathers, and the cloaks were worn on ceremonial occas