Poupou

A poupou is a wall panel located underneath the verandah of a Māori wharenui. It is generally built to represent the spiritual connection between the iwi and their ancestors, and thus each poupou is carved with emblems of the tohunga whakairo's (carver's) particular lineage. Poupou may also be decorated with representations of the tribe's ancestral history, legends, and migration stories to New Zealand. As such, each wharenui, and by extension the poupou, is thus treated with the utmost respect, as if it were an ancestor.

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