An incredible Manaia guardian handcrafted from a gorgeous piece of Kahurangi Flower Pounamu. This Manaia carving is special with the incorporation of the Whale bone eye and tail, this will be an amazing taonga for a very special person.
Manaia
is a mythological creature in Māori culture and is a common motif in Māori carving and jewellery. The Manaia is usually depicted as having the head of a bird and the tail of a fish and the body of a man, though it is sometimes depicted as a bird, a serpent, or a human figure in profile. The Manaia is traditionally believed to be the messenger between the earthly world of mortals and the domain of the spirits, and its symbol is used as a guardian against evil.
Whale Tail- Muri Paraoa - meaning speed and strength. The Whale Tail represents the support often shown by dolphins and whales to humans in distress, therefore a symbol of protection. It expresses the respect for the sea and nature thus a symbol of good luck, providing safe passage over water. The Whale was the most important animal in the life of the Maori. Besides speed and strength, it also represents success, confidence, sensitivity, and the bond between animal and human.
Kahurangi- Genuine West Coast Greenstone from the Marsden, West Coast area. Kahurangi is the rarest variety of pounamu. It is highly translucent and often comes in vivid shades of green. Small, feather-like markings in the stone can give a cloud effect – although to be classed as Kahurangi, this effect must not reduce the stone’s clarity. The word Kahurangi also indicates nobility and refers to precious jewels and held in high esteem by Māori.
Flower Jade- is New Zealand’s most prized Greenstone, with pale green or ochre clouds of colour. This distinctive patterning and colouring come from the outside rim or 'rind' of the greenstone boulders or stones where the surface has oxidised.
Whale Bone
has always been a special medium for Māori artists, Whales are considered a taonga species, and represent abundance, richness and were regarded as chiefly animals. Some tribes see whales as the descendants of Tangaroa, the god of the ocean and strandings are seen as gifts from Tangaroa and carving them is a way of honouring that gift. Whales possess a tapu (sacred) significance to Māori as both supernatural beings and as harbingers of personal change and spiritual growth.
Hand Carved by Marshall Johnson
Size 65mm long x 46mm wide x 9mm thick
This will be the exact piece you will receive in the photos, there may be a slight degree of colour variation based on different computer or device screen resolutions that you are viewing from.
