tekoteko (Gable Figure)

Tekoteko’s, or gable figures, are ancestral guardians. They are positioned at the top of the gable on Maori ancestral-chiefly houses. This one would have carried an important ancestral name, and people would have acknowledged his presence at meetings (hui) on the house’s forecourt (marae). Even after removal from their ancestral homes, teketeko’s retain a powerful agency (ihi- presence, wehi- awe and wana- authority).

Stylized full length wooden human figure with the hands resting on the chest. The head is long and oval with closed eyes slanted diagonally downward toward the flat rectangular nose which tapers to a point and an upward curved open mouth. There is a neck, squared shoulders, arms bent at the elbows, a long rounded belly, rounded hindquarters, short stubby legs, and feet.