The Carved Figures In Auaukiterangi
There are forty eight named figures depicted on the carved timbers of Auaukiterangi House. They demonstrate a very wide coverage of tribal links, with lines from other canoes which have become united with the Tainui ancestral lines.
The Ancient Art of Carving:
According to mythology the origin of carving in wood is assigned to one Rua.
The story goes that when Rua paid a visit to Tangaroa, the Sea-god, he found him rejoicing over the completion of his house, which was a whare whakairo; that is a house adorned with decorated designs.
These designs, however, were merely of painted patterns; there were no carved work. Hence Rua asked Tangaroa to pay him a visit and he would see some real carving.
When Tangaroa did so, and approached Rua's house, he saw two men standing in front of the house apparently waiting to receive him.
He walked up to one of these men and proceeded to salute him in the manner of the Maori by pressing noses.
Then he heard Rua laugh at him, saying: "Now you see what wood carving is. The figures are so life-like that you have been deceived by them!"
In Maori carving, the human figure was the most general art motif. The human figures were more often than not, carved to represent symbols of their gods, mythological culture heroes, and renowed ancestors.
Generally speaking the carving experts made no attempt to copy the normal human anatomical proportions.
Ancestral figures of Auaukiterangi House:
What follows is an explanation of the named carved ancestral figures of Auaukiterangi House. We shall start from the front of the building, and attention is drawn to the front pillar, te pou mua.
- On top of the gable and above the front pillar, the highest feature on the building is a carved head which is called a tiki. A tiki of a tribal meeting-house is the most important item of the named carved images, and in this instance because of its importance it has been called after HOTUROA. He was, as mentioned earlier, the commander of the Tainui Canoe, and the second eldest son of Auaukiterangi.
- On Te Pou mua, or front pillar, the carved figures in descending order are of Hoturoa's main line of descent in chronological order. On that account this is the most important genealogical line of descent of the Tainui tribes.
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