Tekoteko

A pātaka with a tekoteko on top
A tekoteko dating from around 1800 held at LACMA

A tekoteko is a Māori carved human figure that is mounted as a finial, usually above the gable of a Māori building, most commonly a wharenui (meeting house) or a pātaka (food storehouse).[1][2] It usually stands above the koruru, a carved head mounted where the bargeboards meet at the apex of the gable.[3]

The word tekoteko has also been used of freestanding carvings of human figures.[4]

  1. ^ "Tekoteko". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Gable figure (Tekoteko)". www.metmuseum.org. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Koruru (gable mask)". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  4. ^ "The story behind the tekoteko of Whakarewarewa Village". Whakarewarewa, The Living Māori Village. Whakarewarewa Thermal Village Tours. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2021.