hei-tiki

hei-tiki, neck pendant hand-carved in the form of a stylized human and worn by the Māori people of New Zealand (Aotearoa). Hei means something suspended from the neck, and tiki is a broad term used throughout Polynesia to refer to carved human figures. The pendants are regarded as taonga tuku iho, or revered heirlooms that are passed down from one generation to another. They connect wearers to their tupuna, or venerated ancestors.

Hei-tiki are usually carved of green nephrite or a jadelike stone called pounamu that is found along the western coast of the South Island. Although each hei-tiki is unique, they have some similar characteristics. Their heads tend to be large and tilted to the right or left. They often have oversized eyes that are sometimes inlaid with paua shell or, after European contact, filled with typically red sealing wax. Their hands traditionally have three fingers each and are usually placed on the thighs. Their knees bend so that their feet, ordinarily having three toes each, touch. Other types of hei-tiki have a raised head with a defined neck and one hand placed on the mouth or chest with the other on the thigh.

Although hei-tiki are perhaps one of the most recognizable forms of Māori body adornment, their meaning is not entirely known. Scholars have offered a number of theories, including that hei-tiki depict Hineteiwaiwa, an ancestress associated with fertility, or they represent Tiki, the first human. Another suggestion is that they portray unborn embryos or stillborn infants.

European and American collectors have prized hei-tiki for their beauty and elegance, and by the 20th century, hei-tiki had become commercialized and separated from their original meanings. They were often mass-produced from jade or plastic and sold as tourist souvenirs. The Beatles were memorably given comically large plastic hei-tiki upon their arrival at the Wellington airport during their tour of New Zealand in 1964.