Tiki Gateway Carving

This Tiki gateway (kuwaha) carving celebrates a famous Maori ancestor who lived more than ten generations ago on the shores of Lake Rotorua. The renowned carver Te Umanui created this masterpiece in the early 1800s while still a young man.

This Tiki guarded one of three entrances in a Māori stockade that surrounded a fortified hill (Pa) in Rotorua. In the 1830s, the people of Ohinemutu fortified in preparation for an attack by Te Waharoa and his Ngati Haua warriors.

Tiki is a term that refers to significant human figures carved in wood. Also, the small wooden carvings used to mark sacred places and should not be confused with hei-tiki, commonly called tiki. The hei-tiki is an ornamental pendant of the Māori of New Zealand that is worn around the neck.