Tiki

In NZ Maori mythology Tiki is the first man who created the first woman and bore children with her. He appears all throughout Central Eastern Polynesion culture in carvings but for us in New Zealand he is found in pendants known as Hei-Tiki. These pendants were traditionally carved in greenstone or bone although in recent times all manner of materials have been used.

A hei-tiki is a powerful good luck symbol, representing ancestors in human form. The tilted head indicates thinking, hands are for strength, mouth indicates powerful communication, heart is for love and the loins are for fertility.

Over the years, the hei-tiki symbol has become representative of the uniqueness of NZ culture and is often found in souvenirs and many travellers will take a tiki with them on their journey.

Now, you too can enjoy the tiki as your hands are kept toasty warm.

Mitten instructions are fully charted for both left and right mitten to provide mirror image patterns.

NOTE:: Pattern states 4-ply yarn, this is a measurement used for fingering/sock weight yarn, not the number of plies in the yarn.

(EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND: I’ll be donating 100% of sales from this pattern to the Red Cross Canterbury earthquake fund,
it’s a small gesture for my fellow kiwis.)

UPDATE; Thanks to you lovely people, we raised over $540 in total. If you wish to donate to earthquake relief, please feel free to donate directly to organisations.