Ritual image (to'o) representing the deity Oro

Maohi people

Not on view

God images (to’o) were bound with a fiber “skin” to encourage deities to temporarily inhabit them. The act of binding was accompanied by the recitation of chants during which the fiber literally caught the chanted words, making them lasting and tangible. Loops of coconut cord on this to’o reference the body: eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The navel, a portal to the sacred interior of the god image, is indicated by a small depression two-thirds of the way down the trunk.

Ritual image (to'o) representing the deity Oro, Wood, coconut fiber, Maohi people

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Ritual image (to'o) representing the deity Oro, Wood, coconut fiber, Maohi people
Ritual image (to'o) representing the deity Oro, Wood, coconut fiber, Maohi people

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