Dedicated to the 'lady of the lake' the Maori cheiftaness whose protected burial site finds her in seated position on her throne on mary island ~ lake Hauroko Southland Fiords NZ, she......... "was laid to rest wearing a flax cloak with a dog skin collar weta feather edging around her neck, and was seated upright on a bier made of sticks and leaves. The reasons for the burial in this manner are uncertain, although it has been suggested that these burials were to either make sure the remains were protected from desecration by enemies, or to protect living descendants from a dangerous "tapu" the Māori word that means sacred, forbidden or taboo, that the ancient Māori may have believed the ancestral bones possessed. This led to the belief that this woman was of high-ranking status, which was later discovered through an archaeological investigation that she was a chieftainess of the ngati moimoi tribe. The burial still remains on the island today, with a grille made of steel and wire mesh ensuring that interested people can still view the burial, but the woman will remain untouched"
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