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Kōrero: Catholic Church

Catholicism and Māori: carved Madonna and child, 1840s

Catholicism and Māori: carved Madonna and child, 1840s

This version of the Madonna and child was carved by Pataromu Tamatea of Te Arawa for a new Catholic chapel in Bay of Plenty. The carver indicated the Madonna's spiritual status in Māori terms by giving her a full moko (facial tattoo). However the non-Māori priest refused to accept the carving and said that he found it offensive to his church. Catholic and other missionaries sometimes failed to understand traditional Māori responses to Christianity.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Rory Sweetman, Catholic Church – First Catholic missionaries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/object/29273/catholicism-and-maori-carved-madonna-and-child-1840s (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Rory Sweetman, i tāngia i te 26 April 2011.

Comments

bruce
04 February 2016
i found this image strikingly poignant when I first saw it--something about the way the carver has carved the mouth, that blends so well with the eyes of this Madonna. I have looked at the original in the Auckland museum several times, but have not had the same experience as when i look at this photograph. Perhaps enhancing the positioning and lighting of the original might produce a better viewing for a visitor to the Museum. In fairness to the Museum staff, i add that it is several years since i last viewed the Maori Madonna, and the staff may already have done what I suggest.