Winged guardians

We visited the Museum again today to take a tour of the newly-opened Tamaki Herenga Waka: Stories of Auckland galleries, which are superb. Tamaki Herenga Waka Means “the gathering place of many waka”, and this new permanent gallery chronicles Auckland’s past, captures its present, and looks to the future.  The attention to detail is incredible. The photo shows the three winged guardians of the three iwi (tribes) that work with the Museum.  
Connections between birds and people are well established in Maori knowledge.  For Ngati Whatua, the kahu pokere (swamp harrier) warns of approaching danger and symbolically carries the dead to the afterlife.  The kuaka (bar-tailed godwit) is significant for Ngati Paoa - iwi ancestors have observed its migration for generations.  The kereru (New Zealand pigeon), important to Waikato-Tainui, is known as a peacemaker and is crucial for forest regeneration.
The three birds were sculptured by Mike Crawford, an artist working primarily in cast glass.  They are beautiful.