Feather god

In the eastern Pacific birds were seen as being intimately connected with the gods and feathers were one of the most powerful forms of wrapping used to protect, manage and contain the presence of the gods.


This basketry sculpture, clothed in feathers, represents, and could be inhabited by Ku, the god of war. On occasion Lono, the god of rain and agriculture, may also have inhabited this image.

Vast numbers of feathers were required to make images like this. They were gathered by commoners and offered as tribute to chiefs who oversaw the making of great ritual objects. The image also incorporates other sacred materials - human hair and over 115 dogs' canine teeth.

The Hawaiian expert Adrienne Kaeppler has identified this image as one collected on Captain Cook's third voyage (1776-80). It is the only one of the five Hawaiian feather gods in the British Museum's collection to bear human hair, which is plaited centrally producing the effect of a parting. The image has distinctive black feather eyebrows, a mouth edged with dog teeth, and pearl shell eyes.