- Joined
- Jun 23, 2008
- Posts
- 559
- Media
- 0
- Likes
- 1,898
- Points
- 398
- Location
- Wellington (New Zealand)
- Sexuality
- 80% Straight, 20% Gay
- Gender
- Male
This is a cropped image taken from a picture the Wellington daily paper last week printed to illustrate the opening of a new events centre at Porirua (N.Z.). Of the three carved representations, two are ancestral male figures. Carvings of ancestral males in the Classical Maori style included an erect penis. The European missionaries were horrified at this assuming it had a sexual meaning. The two effects were traditional carving for many years excluded the penis. Existing carvings in the meeting houses had the penis removed. In recent times there has been a strong resurgence of Maori culture and belief. In the traditional carving style the penis was always erect. This meant that the ancestral figure was inspired by the gods and that the tribe was therefore favoured. With traditional carvings the various parts of the body seem to be out of proportion. This is deliberate so as to place emphasis. The penis is an example. It is however worth noting that the various male ancestral figures were known to have a large penises anyway. Howard.