Bird-shaped pendant

This elegant example of the bird-shaped pendant is made from koko-tangiwai, a medium green bowenite of high translucency, displaying chatoyant bands and buff patches. It was probably worn from the ear. The suspension hole doubles as an eye for the bird, demonstrating the successful combination of aesthetic and functional elements.

History
This example was found during the later part of the nineteenth century in South Canterbury in the Hakataramea river gorge, a tributary of the Waitaki River, inside a rock shelter that had been used for the burial of a Māori woman. It is likely to have been one of her treasured possessions.

Deep south
Animal forms are a particular feature of South Island Māori art. Bird-shaped pendants such as these, made from koko-tangiwai, are found mainly in the southern South Island and are thought to be several hundred years old. They are probably associated with the Waitaha and Kati Mamoe tribes that pre-date Ngai Tahu arrival in the South Island.

Koko-tangiwai
Koko-tangiwai is a relatively soft type of pounamu found mainly in the Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) area and remains a stone highly prized for making pendants. Koko-tangiwai represents the petrified tears of the ancestor Tamaahua, who wept upon finding one of his missing wives petrified in pounamu at Piopiotahi. The term 'koko' refers to an incision into one's inner being made by a deep and never-healing sorrow.