hei-tiki

n.

Maori name for a neck ornamentmade of greenstone (q.v.).

1835. W. Yate, `Account of New Zealand,' p. 151:

«The latter idea [that they are representatives of gods] wasconceived from the hei-tiki being taken off the neck, laid down. . . and then wept and sung over.»

1889. Dr. Hocken, `Catalogue of New Zealand Exhibition,'p. 81:

«Hei means ornament for the neck. Tiki was the creator of man,and these are the representations of him. By a sort oflicense, they are occasionally taken to represent some renownedancestor of the possessor; but wooden Tikis, some of immensesize, usually represented the ancestors, and were supposed tobe visited by their spirits. These might be erected in variousparts of a pa, or to mark boundaries, etc. The Maories cling tothem as sacred heirlooms of past generations, and with somesuperstitious reverence.»