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'ahu'ula
These feathered capes were worn by Hawaiian males for nobility and worn during ceremonies and battles. The colors were representational of gods. They were made with clusters of feathers being layered together. These feathered capes were given to sea captains and crew when they visited. This is intriguing because by sharing these ceremonial capes they are sharing an important part of their culture. -
Female Deity
All of these sculptures have similar proportions. Local deities resided in animals or were represented in stones. These are interesting because each deities took the name of a certain female or male which were associated with families. They were placed in temples and were decorated accordingly. -
Staff-god
These are also called god sticks and were representational of the deities the Cook islanders worshipped. They are made with ironwood wrapped in barkcloth. The upper part consists of a heads which is above smaller carvings. No one knows the real purpose or function of the carvings which I find interesting because it is rare when historians cannot find the meaning of something and the staff gods carvings are undoubtedly unique. Some aspects of these can be obscene and explicit as well. -
Hiapo
Little is known about the barkcloth. Barkcloth was introduced by missionaries to Captain Cook which spread the creation of the Hiapo. In the late 1880's a distinctive style of Hiapo was made with fine lines and new meanings. The patterns are very cool to look out because it is so detailed with patterns including spirals, circles, triangles and many more shapes. With all the detail on these the viewers eye is constantly moving throughout the Hiapo. -
Malagan display and mask
Malagan expresses many detailed religious and philosophical ideals. They were most dominantly used to honor and dismiss the dead. These masks were interestingly only used once and destroyed. They were symbolic in many different categories ranging from identity to the spirit world.
