The Manaia are coming!
Recently, I've become fascinated with Manaia, a mythical creature comes from the Maori people of New Zealand and Eastern Polynesia.
This protective mythological creature has the head of a bird, tail of a fish and a man's body. Manaia are always shown in profile and there is some debate on to why that is. The minute I saw the shape, I was curious as to the origin and am in awe at the simplicity and elegance of the carvings that I have seen. I could not resist doing my own take on Manaia and I have tried to be true to the cultural roots while adding my own style.
The Manaia is believed to be a messenger to the spirits, similar to the Native American's Thunderbird and it is also believed to be a guardian against evil.
These hand-carved, original bone pendants will be coming soon to my product page --- www.beachcut.net