Left: Staff god (atua rakau) Right: Slab god (unu)
Staff gods (or atua rakau) are sacred objects within the cultural and spiritual practices of the Cook Islands Māori, particularly prominent on the island of Rarotonga. These objects were crafted from wood and adorned with intricate carvings and symbolic designs, combining images of gods with their human descendants. The staffs range in length between 28 inches (71 cm) and 18 feet (5.5 m) and were carried and displayed horizontally.[1]
At one end there, staff gods might have a schematized blade-shaped head and arms of the progenitive god with a succession of little figures rising from his body, alternatively full-face and in profile with penis erect. The staff itself terminated in a phallus. But this elaborately carved sexual imagery had less importance for the Rarotongans than the feathers and pieces of shell representing the soul of the god and enclosed in yards of bark cloth (tapa) wound around the center of the staff.
^Honour, Hugh; Fleming, John (2005). A World History of Art. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85669-451-3.
In "Southern Andean Iconographic Series" the StaffGod pose is a religious icon and a standardized pose reminiscent in its way of the standardized poses...
Cook Islands saw the burning of staff gods to make way for Christianity. Some missionaries reported seeing a staffgod as large as 6 metres long. British...
The Staff of Moses, also known as the Rod of Moses or Staff of God, is mentioned in the Bible and Quran as a walking stick used by Moses. According to...
soul of the god and enclosed in yards of bark cloth wound around the center of the staff. A number of images called the fisherman's god are found in...
consumption. The Wari worshipped the Staffgod, a chief deity in many Andean cultures. Some of the oldest depictions of the Staffgod appear on Wari textiles and...
needed] The Staff of Moses is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus (chapter 4, verse 2), when God appears to Moses in the burning bush. God asks what Moses...
the caduceus is rooted in Mesopotamia with the Sumerian god Ningishzida; his symbol, a staff with two snakes intertwined around it, dates back to 4000 BC...
Asklepios), also known as the Staff of Aesculapius and as the asklepian, is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated...
and civilization itself. Viracocha was worshipped as god of the sun and of storms. So-called Staff Gods do not all necessarily fit well with the Viracocha...
design featuring these key artistic choices shown in the depiction of the StaffGod. After not being found in situ (in its original intended position), the...
Retrieved January 22, 2016. Capcom staff (2006). God Hand instruction manual. Capcom Co. Ltd. p. 11. Capcom staff (2006). God Hand instruction manual. Capcom...
Ed Cooley's staff and has been credited with playing a role in the development of Bryce Cotton and Kris Dunn. Shammgod's birth name is God Shammgod. Often...
heads. All run towards the central motif: a human or human-like figure in StaffGod pose (a religious Andean icon) whose head is surrounded by 24 linear "rays"...
used by many emergency medical services. Staff of Aesculapius, a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing...
"Rap God" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song premiered via YouTube on October 14, 2013, and was released in the United States on October 15...
House of God haunt Basch. Basch is convinced that he could not have gotten through the year without Berry, and he asks her to marry him. Staff Interns...
in Gujarat. Gujarat is the birthplace of Lord Shiva's Avatar Lakulisa (Staff-God). He established the Pasupata Shaivite tradition (one of the six major...
The Drops of God (神の雫, Kami no Shizuku) is a Japanese manga series about wine. It is written by Tadashi Agi, a pseudonym employed by creative team of...
God of War III is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released...
Tower of God is a South Korean manhwa released as a webtoon written and illustrated by S.I.U. It has been serialized in Naver Corporation's webtoon platform...
The vine staff, vine-staff, or centurion's staff (Latin: vitis) was a vinewood rod of about 3 feet (1 m) in length used in the ancient Roman army and...
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