1 of 5 limited edition watercolour prints [210 x 210mm] from the Tīwakawaka (Fantail) series, 2022.
 
Ki te romia te manu i te tinana e kore e mate, ki te romia i te upoko, ka mate.
"If a bird is squeezed on the body it will not die, but if on the head it will".
 
In Māori mythology the incantations uttered against the head of a man are more powerful and will kill a man much sooner than those incantations uttered and repeated against other parts of the human body. This ideology comes from the stories of Maui and the Tīwakawaka (1). 
 
 
(1) J, White, n.d., Arawa And Aotea Matters, MS Papers 75, Folder B29. Also J. White, n.d., Polynesian Society MS1187/298 and J. White, n.d., Ancient History Of The Māori, MS Papers 75, Folder B24K, Alexander Turnbull Library, NLNZ.