Poupou

A poupou is a wall panel located underneath the veranda of a Māori wharenui (meeting house). It is generally built to represent the spiritual connection between the tribe and their ancestors and thus each poupou is carved with emblems of the tohunga whakairo’s (carver's) particular lineage. The poupou may also be decorated with representations of the tribe's ancestral history, legends and migration stories to New Zealand. As such each wharenui, and by extension the poupou, are thus treated with the utmost respect, as if it were an ancestor.

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