The Mystery of the Korotangi
The most mysterious, sacred and remarkable of all Maori relics, 'The Korotangi' is the name given to a stone bird brought from Hawaiki to Aotearoa by the Maori in the Tainui hūhunu (ocean-going canoe). Carved from a green mineral called serpentine found in China and Indonesia, the bird measures 10.25 inches (26.5 cms) from point of beak to tip of tail and weighs a total of 4 lb (1.81kg). The Korotangi is not of Maori or even Polynesian origin as it was made with metal tools of which the people of the Pacific had no knowledge. The Maori’s know they didn’t make it, and they don’t know who did. It is the opinion of most ethnologists is that the Korotangi is of...