'Otua fefine (deity figure)

She is the sign of fertility­—spirit, vibrations, energies.  

—Visesio Siasau, artist 

Carved from the creamy core of a single whale tooth, this figure was a vehicle through which the formidable deity Hikule‘o manifested herself in the physical world. Her strong arms and flattened palms frame her body, containing forces of vital energy. Said to guard the entrance to Pulotu, the realm of the ancestors, Hikule‘o held a ritual role as mediator and was associated with the Tu‘i Tonga lineage of chiefs.