Description
The Meaning of the Manaia
The manaia is a spiritual guardian, depicted with the head of a bird, the body of a man, and the tail of a fish. In Māori tradition it protects and balances, guiding the wearer through life. Carved in pounamu, the manaia carries its strength as both art and symbol.
Believed to be a messenger that moves freely between the spirit realm and the human world, the manaia is a mythological creature, greatly respected in Māori culture and a predominant motif in wood and greenstone carving.
Originally Māori had no written language, and symbolic meanings such as the manaia were embodied in carving, knots, and weaving to communicate and record stories, while traditional songs and dances shared the myths and folklore of ancestors.
