Manaia the Guardian Spirit 21st Key

Includes frame for self-insertable photo or image. The key comes with instructions on how to do this.

The optional stand is removable. It slides in the back and clips in place.

The 21st Key Tradition

21 is the age that a person in New Zealand is classed as an adult, and giving of the 21st key is a strong New Zealand tradition to symbolize opening the door of maturity and becoming an adult. Another meaning is giving the key as a symbol of the limitless doors they can open in their life.

Te Manaia, the guardian spirit plays an important roll in the Maori World. To Maori, every person on Earth has a guardian spirit which can be described as an unseen light surrounding each individual. During life, this guardian is a protector from evil and untimely accident. At death the guardian guides the spirit of the departed person safely to a spiritual doorway where it is re-united with the ancestors from the ancient homeland of Hawaaiki. Te Manaia are usually depicted in side profile symbolizing their role as messengers (i.e. part in the spirit world and part in the earthly world).They normally have the head of a bird (sky), the body of a man (earth) and the tail of a fish (sea) symbolic of the spiritual balance they have between the realms.The three fingers and toes have varied tribal meanings. To some they represent birth, life and death, to others they represent the three baskets of knowledge and yet to others faith, hope and love. Sometimes Te Manaia is depicted with a fourth finger symbolizes the afterlife.