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Story: Moriori

Tree carving

Image
Tree carving

Moriori ancestors made carved images on the trunks of kopi (karaka) trees. Many of these carvings, or dendroglyphs, survive today. They have powerful spiritual associations, although their meanings are debated.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Kathleen Joan Silcock Collection (PAColl-1964)

Reference: PAColl-1964-27

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Denise Davis and Māui Solomon, Moriori – Origins of the Moriori people, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1680/tree-carving (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Denise Davis and Māui Solomon, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.