Hinemoa

In contrast to his formal portraits of Māori, this depiction of a reclining beauty conforms to the stereotype of the alluring dusky maiden found in many early postcards of New Zealand and the Pacific. Of Te Arawa legend, it is said that Hinemoa resisted tribal custom and family pressure to be with her lover Tutanekai, a youth of lower standing than she; whom she was not permitted to marry.

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