tekoteko
/ˈtɛkəʊtɛkəʊ/noun (plural tekotekos or same) NZ
A carved human figure that adorns the gable end of a Maori meeting house: these structures may be enriched with carved tekotekos he points up to the tekoteko and says it is because of it that we are related...
- Another photographer's favourite will be the giant tekoteko (carved figures) around Eden Park.
- Giving Maori people the crumbs at the second level is a nonsense, and we've made it quite clear we are not interested in being a tekoteko (i.e. symbolic figurehead).
- Your eye would be drawn to the carved tekoteko, or ancestral figure that stands guard over the entrance of every carved house in this country.
Origin
Mid 19th century: Maori.
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