Maori Pātaka or Storehouse Panels

These panels originated from the front of a carved Maori Pātaka or storehouse. Pātaka storehouses were used to keep preserved food such as fish, birds, kao or seed safe from kiore or Pacific rats in winter. Pātaka were entered through a trapdoor in the floor, the small opening at the front was a window.

The carvings represent both human figures and manaia. The Manaia is a mythological creature in Māori culture, and is a common motif in Māori carving. 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.

Note the lashing holes and the pegs which were fitted into slots in the base of the structure. These panels originated with Te Arawa tribe, Rotoiti, North Island. Below is a picture of a full Pātaka.

Pataka or storehouse on four legs surrounded by a garden. Te Parapra Maori Garden. Hamilton Gardens in Hamilton, New Zealand