Our logo began with a design from a Maori artist who gave us our own Manaia. We stylized this and turned it on its side, so it became a resting manaia. Putting it in a circle brings to mind the yin/yang symbol and also the symbol for infinity. The triangle represents the mountain, our house, and the healing properties of a pyramid. Visitors will be reminded of the mists that swirl around Mt Manaia in the mornings, and the full moon rising over the mountain at sunset.
Manaia - Spiritual Guardian, Provider, Protector over the air, waters and land.
In Maori culture, the Manaia is said to be the carrier of supernatural powers. It is a supernatural being, an iwi guardian, to ward of danger and frighten away intruders. Traditionally depicted with the head of a bird, the body of a man and the tail of a fish the Manaia represents sky, earth and sea and the balance between. It is likened to a bird sitting on your shoulder looking after ones spirit, and when your time comes it will guide your spirit where it is supposed to go. Little is known about the true significance of specific designs, but there are certain common elements. The figures are usually a bird-like figure, depicted in side profile - part in the spiritual world, part in this. Some manaia were grotesque, others almost human, but always with fierce facial expressions. The paua shell resembles the beauty that surrounds you and within oneself, to have high self-esteem and awareness of what is happening around you. It is said to be the messenger between the earthly world of mortals and the domain of the spirits. The Manaia is a holder of great spiritual energy and is a guardian against evil. It links the ancestors in the spirit world to the living and brings the knowledge of the ages.