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Story: Traditional Māori religion – ngā karakia a te Māori

Child feeding a tohunga, around 1863

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Child feeding a tohunga, around 1863

A child feeds a tohunga food on a stick. The spiritual role of tohunga meant items that were noa (common) such as food could not be touched in case they affected tapu.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: A-080-003

by Horatio Gordon Robley

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

Basil Keane, Traditional Māori religion – ngā karakia a te Māori – Tohunga, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/30783/child-feeding-a-tohunga-around-1863 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Basil Keane, published 28 April 2011.