The Maori carved ancestor figures of persons who were to be remembered and who were to become protectors.

After the death of an important chief, a tribe's canoe might be broken as a sign of mourning and part of it set up as a monument.

As I lay, down in the underworld
Our souls were crowding about me,
Coming near, coming close to my side.
Suddenly, I woke and sprang up.
Thrust back into the world, I stared about in vain -
Ah, like spirits they had faded away!
O my heart at rest, rise up, beating!

#484 H. 52" W. 56"

Orbell, Margaret. The Natural World of the Maori. New Zealand: David Bateman, Ltd., 1985. p. 78.