{"product_id":"wahaika-by-alex-sands","title":"Pounamu Wahaika by Alex Sands","description":"\u003cp\u003eHand carved by \u003ca title=\"Alex Sands carver profile\" href=\"https:\/\/www.silverferngallery.co.nz\/pages\/alex-sands-carver\"\u003eAlex Sands\u003c\/a\u003e from New Zealand Tangiwai Pounamu\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eErgonomically correct for use, but will be wonderful displayed as an artpiece\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e30cm x 10cm x 2cm at the widest points\u003cbr\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout Wahaika:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Wahaika is a type of traditional Maori hand weapon. Wahaika are short club-like weapons usually made of wood, whalebone or pounamu and are used for thrusting and striking in close-quarter, hand to hand fighting. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWahaika\u003c\/i\u003e translates to \"mouth of the fish\", in reference to the notch on one side which is used to catch an opponent's weapon. On the other side just above the handle the concave tip above a carved humanoid figure is the primary striking edge, particularly used against the opponent's temples, face, and ribs. The rest of the spherical edge is sharp like a blade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition to being a fighting weapon, rangatira would hold wahaika during ceremonies and speeches, especially if they wanted people to pay attention to something important. Special wahaika would only be given to people with considerable ranking in the Maori tribal structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"silverferngallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42557379313886,"sku":"AS","price":9250.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0626\/0486\/9854\/files\/IMG_4383.jpg?v=1718185444","url":"https:\/\/www.silverferngallery.co.nz\/products\/wahaika-by-alex-sands","provider":"silverferngallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}