The Maori Tiki that I'm creating in class is very important to the New Zealand culture that it's from. It's... I would guess the equivalence (as far as importance)... of us at our 18th or 21st birthday. Except, to the Maori, it's a coming of age type of deal. It's extremely important to their culture. It signifies childhood and fertility, along with strength of character and individualism.
I'm having trouble positioning the pictures so please just bear with me. Then I had realized I needed to create a bail from which the hemp necklace I'm making could hold the piece. I tried just attaching a long, flattened out strip to the front and bending it to the back, but it would've been too fragile, so I had to create a ring out of clay before I attached it to the top of the tiki. I don't have a finished picture yet, because it hasn't been fired, but I will after break! :)