Maori Art
The Maori are a group of people who inhabit New Zealand and have heritage in the Pacific and Polynesian regions. The culture was an extremely rich one which has survived appropriation and colonization from Great Britain and other cultures. One of the ways that the Maori people were able to sustain its ancient culture was through the creation of works of arts. Of particular importance to the continuation of the culture was the unbelievable ability of the Maori culture to create artistic carvings. So important was the ability to carve in the culture that generations would literally carry the artistic talent with them on their faces, carving images and icons into their skin as representations of their heritage.
There are two concepts which were important topics to the Maori people. These are called the tapu and the noa. Tapu was a religious idea which encompassed everything that would be considered holy to the Maori people. In Maori culture, anything that is tapu is held to a standard beyond normal human interaction (Maori). This also related to the class system of the Maori. Items which belonged to a high class of the society would not be touched by members of the lower class and vice versa. Anything or anyone who would breach the laws of tapu would be facing the wrath of the Gods. Noa is the direct opposite of tapu. These are laws which related to the common man and common place things. Art was strictly under the parameters of the tapu laws.
It is said that the original carvings of the Maori were sacred. Being a skilled carver was akin to a religious position for the trees and plant-life was sacred as well. If a person was an adept carver, then it was supposed that the gods themselves gave them the ability to transform the sacred material into something equally holy (Gathercole 171). The gods were supposed to be communicating through the...
This work of art depicts a struggle between two ancestors, the Bungalung man and a Tingari man, the latter of whom was trespassing on sacred land (No author). The copious quantity of dots, particularly the white ones, evinces the full force of the elements invoked by the Bungalung Man to beat his opponent into submission. The power of the Bungalung man is evinced by the fact that he leaves
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