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The hei-tiki is an ornamental pendant of the Māori which is worn around the neck. Hei-tiki are usually made of pounamu which is greenstone, and are considered a taonga (treasure). They are commonly referred to as tiki, a term that actually refers to large human figures carved in wood, and, also, the small wooden carvings used to mark sacred places. Tourist versions are commonly found throughout New Zealand - these can be made from jade, other types of stone, plastic, or other materials. ==Origins and materials == One theory of the origin of the hei-tiki suggests a connection with Tiki, the first man in Māori legend. According to Horatio Gordon Robley, there are two main ideas behind the symbolism of hei-tiki: they are either memorials to ancestors, or represent the goddess of childbirth, Hineteiwaiwa. The rationale behind the first idea is that they were often buried when their kaitiaki (guardian) died and would be later retrieved and placed somewhere special to be brought out in times of tangihanga (mourning and associated activities). Because of the connection with Hineteiwaiwa, hei-tiki were often given to a woman by her husband's family if she was having trouble conceiving. Robley, author of ''A History of the Maori Tiki'', suggested a similarity of some tiki to images of Buddha, which were often fashioned in green jade. He believed they may have been a forgotten memory, in debased form, of these. The most valuable hei-tiki are carved from pounamu which is either nephrite or bowenite (Māori: tangiwai). Pounamu is esteemed highly by Māori for its beauty, toughness and great hardness; it is used not only for ornaments such as hei-tiki and ear pendants, but also for carving tools, adzes, and weapons. Named varieties include translucent green ''kahurangi'', whitish ''inanga'', semi-transparent ''kawakawa'', and ''tangiwai'' or bowenite. A 2014 thesis by Dougal Austin supevised by Peter Adds, based on a survey of the collection of hei-tiki at Te Papa Tongarewa and early-contact examples in foreign collections, found that the mana of hei tiki is derived from the "''agency of prolonged ancestral use''" and stylistically was "''highly developed () from the outset to conform to adze-shaped pieces of pounamu.''"〔http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/3567〕 Examples of hei-tikis are found in museum collections around the world. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (over 200) and the British Museum (about 50) have two of the largest collections, many of which were exchanged or gifted to European travellers and sailors at the earliest point of contact between the two cultures.〔(MNZ-TPT Collection )〕〔(British Museum Collection )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hei-tiki」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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