As I said the Maoriboy logo is Tamanuitera - the sun - and represents Te Urunga-o-te-Ra or the rising of the sun. Its also about light, knowledge and life... as far as we are concerned all knowledge comes from this light and all light enters this world via Te Urunga-o-te-Ra... thus creating the world of light... the world of understanding... A world that turns forever (or as we say...Te Ao Hurihuri). My basic philosophy in life is "Ka huri te Ao, ka huri ahau" (The world turns, I turn with it)... it's about progress and moving forward.
Other Maori artists like Derek Lardelli, Sandy Adsett and James Webster have also drawn on the power of the sun, the light and knowledge... to create their own fantastic representations of Tamanuitera, as can be seen above. Ka mau te wehi these are inspirational peices that illustrate our collective pride and passion (nga mihi ki nga ringa tohunga)...
All over the world the ancient cultures of man knew the sun was central to all life and reveered it as a symbol of power and spiritual energy. Below are a small collection of artworks and symbols from all around the world to show how important the sun is to all cultures. From Apollo and Belenus to Surya to Kinich Ahau to Shen Yi to Tonatiuh to Viracocha... as far back as the Egyptian god Ra and beyond... for well over 5000 years (over 4000 years before Maori arrived in Aotearoa) man has worshipped the sun... and I find it fascinating... have a look
Since the beginning of human existence, civilisations have established religious beliefs that involved the Sun's significance to some extent or other. As new civilisations developed many spiritual beliefs were based on those from the past so that there has been an evolution of the sun's significance throughout cultural development. Even as late as the 17th century the development of tarot cards for fortune telling included a card that represents the Sun's influence on the life of man.
If we examine history we see that the religious beliefs of the very first civilisation, the Sumerians, weren't totally focussed on sun worship but they did have a Sun god. While the Sumerian's Sun god wasn't the most powerful deity in their culture it initiated the development of future Sun worship. Over the centuries the Sumerian Sun god's influence grew while other god's influence diminished.
By the time the Egyptian civilisation was at its peak, the Sun god had reached a supreme position. However, Sun worship reached its height and most involved form with the Aztec, Maya, and Inca civilisations of South America. The Inca culture was totally based on worship of the Sun.
1 comment:
Choice, bro! I really enjoy these comparative posts.
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