This wooden pole probably served as a house post, which were placed on both sides of the entrance to a men's house. It is not absolutely sure though, it could also be a decorative figure from inside the house, representing an ancestor. Given the foot of the pole, it seems more likely that this item is a door post. These did not always hold the door or roof, sometimes they were merely decorative or rather had religious meaning. <BR> The carving of such wooden figures is exclusively the job of men. They hewed it from one piece of wood into human or animal figures and further adorned these with fine carvings. This piece shows a human, male figure. It has a big head. The mouth and ears are oversized. On its head there is a hat. The hands are holding to some plate which lies on the chest. The feet are again relatively big compared to the rest of the body. One can see plaits around his legs and there are carved patterns all over the body, which represent the traditional tattoos. The whole post is coloured red and the carvings white. The human and animal figures refer to deceased family members, sometimes killed warriors and ancestral beings, which are totems to the different clans. Therefore there were copyrights on the different motifs. Nobody should touch the post without reason and no loud noise was to be made near it. <BR> Those door posts seem to have been exclusive to men's houses. These houses were bigger and more richly decorated than the dwelling houses. Only men were allowed to enter, be it the clan members or passing-through guests. All kinds of ceremonial objects were kept in the house. <BR>