Te Manaia
.
Upon our arrival in Whangarei we were welcomed by the local Māori community who shared with us their culture and beliefs, specially the importance of honoring our ancestors and keeping the connection with our roots strong in order to build a bright future for the ones to come.
Our culture is what keep us connected not only with the ones around us but also with our ancestors and ours descendants to come. And with this in mind it made sense to me to respectfully create my version of a strong Māori symbol directly related to ancestry and heritage. The Manaia.
Te Manaia is regarded as a kind deity that protects people and helps them communicate with their ancestors. It's regarded as a mythical being with a bird's head (sky), a body of a man or snake (earth) and the tail of a fish (sea), symbolizing the balance between the realms.
I depicted the Manaia in side profile as it's usually depicted in traditional carving and jewelry symbolizing its role as messenger between the earthly world of mortals and the domains of the spirits, and between ancestors and descendants.
Photos: Yoshi Yanagita©