Hei Matau del artista neozelandés Visesio Siasau - Hola Matau - Maori - Nueva Zelanda

Hei Matau by New Zealand artist Visesio Siasau

Visesio Siasau is a famous NZ artist. The Maori hook comes in a Kete (flax) bag.

Hei Matau is a Maori carving design that is in the shape of a fish hook. The Maori make beautiful necklaces, pendants, and other types of jewelry with this design. Whale bone has traditionally been the main material the Maori used to carve fish hooks. The Maori also used bone from other animals such as cattle, birds, and dogs. Modern day laws put in place to prevent whale hunting have made whale bones scarce and therefore cattle bone is usually used instead. Pieces made of whale bone are highly valued. Maori carvers can still obtain whale bone from beached whales. In New Zealand the Maori have legal rights to the bones of beached whales. This one however is made from deer antler.

The fish hook shape of the Hei Matau finds its meaning and origins in Māori legend, which holds that the North Island of New Zealand was once a huge fish that was caught by the great mariner, Maui, using only a woven line and a hook made from the jawbone of his grandmother.

The Fish Hook denotes the importance of fishing to the Māori people of New Zealand and their strong relationship with the ocean and Tangaroa, the God of the sea.

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