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History

Waka is a box, container, or canoe.
Huia is an extinct bird whose white tipped tail feathers were highly prized and worn in the hair of only the highest ranking Maori Chiefs.

The wakahuia is a very ornately carved wodden box used to hold the treasured possessions of a chief.

Each wakahuia was unique. The design was not repeated when so many variations were possible for the skilled carver.

A quotation from the book, "Te Maori":
"A Chief's head was especially tapu (sacred), so anything that was worn on his neck was also sacred and could harm other people who were not of equivalent rank who touched the article. Feathers, combs, pendants and hei-tiki were therefore placed in a wakahuia which was then hung from the rafters of the chief's house out of reach of children. The wakahuia's were carved on the underside since this side was easily seen."

Earlier wakahuia's were carved from seasoned wood with stone tools of greenstone, and hard black stone (onewa) and obsidian. This work took many months to complete.

The overall decorative carving pattern is called Rauponga and Wakarare

Size

Four sizes are available - small, medium, large & extra large

Pricing

Ranging from $1,000 - $10,000

Click image to enlarge