Skip to main content

Story: Economic history

Waka huia

Image
Waka huia

A waka huia is a treasure box, which was used by Māori to hold precious adornments such as hei tiki (pendants) and huia feathers for dressing the hair. Although Māori had a subsistence economy, they had enough time and resources to produce purely ornamental objects such as this.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: WE000946

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Brian Easton, Economic history – Early Māori economies, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/object/24314/waka-huia (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Brian Easton, published 12 April 2010.