A poupou is a wall panel located underneath the veranda of a Māori wharenui (meeting house).[1] It is generally built to represent the spiritual connection between the tribe and their ancestors and thus each poupou is carved with emblems of the tohunga whakairo’s (carver's) particular lineage.[1] The poupou may also be decorated with representations of the tribe's ancestral history, legends and migration stories to New Zealand.[2] As such each wharenui, and by extension the poupou, are thus treated with the utmost respect, as if it were an ancestor.
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