Atua rakau (staff god)

Rarotongan staff gods consisted of a long wooden staff with an elaborately carved top and a lesser amount of carving at the base. The central shaft was left uncarved and was swathed in a large bundle of tapa. In the 19th century, Europeanmissionaries reported seeing 'idols' of this kind up to 6 metres long, although the largest surviving intact examples are only about one-third that length. One exceptionally small staff god, complete with tapa wrapping , is only 74 centimetres long. This incomplete staff god is a fine example of the carved upper section, which has been cut from its shaft. It features a typically smooth head with stylised eyes, mouth, and ears; a curved neck with notches on the back sides; and alternating single and double miniature figures, repetition that is characteristic of Cook Islands carving.

Significance

Many staff gods were destroyed when the people of Rarotonga embraced Christianity in the nineteenth century. Missionaries collected some, along with other religious sculptures, as examples of what missionary William Ellis described as the 'imbecility, absurdity, and degradation' of 'idolatry'. The intact examples and parts that have survived are all very similar in style, although they vary in the detail and the number of the small figures. Little is known about their symbolism.

Acquisition History

This atua rakau was purchased by the New Zealand Government in 1948 from London dealer and collector W.O.Oldman.

Text adapted from Icons Nga Taonga: From the Collections of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (2004)