Genealogy staff, Whakapapa Stick

In New Zealand, people trace their lines of descent back to the arrival of the first canoes from eastern Polynesia and even further back to the gods. Genealogy, or whakapapa as it is known in the Maori language, has always been a crucial element of everyday and ceremonial life.


Genealogy is particularly important to the institution of chieftainship.

The highest chiefs were considered to be living descendants of the gods. They embodied the presence of the power of the gods and were therefore subject to tapu restrictions. In order to establish this power and their right to leadership, chiefs needed to be able to trace their genealogy. Staffs like this one were used as memory aids for the ritual of reciting lines of descent.

This one is made out of wood and nephrite and counts eighteen successive generations preceding the person for whom it was made.

When Maori chiefs died, their bodies were wrapped, decorated and placed on display, marking the beginning of their transition from living individual to chiefly ancestor.