Maori wood carving - Ancestor's face.
A few days ago, I was in one of the many Marea (Maori temples). On the inside walls of the temple were carved the faces of ancestors and divinity. Each temple has its own ancestors and deities. I'm not sure, but I think they are divided into zones and places of origin. These faces carved in the wood impressed me profoundly. They were scary. They did not evoke welcoming emotions but anger, severity and aggression.
According to many religions, temples or monasteries are the mirrors of the inner individual world. In Maori culture, the ancestors carved wood on the interior walls, perhaps indicating that we are inhabited by our ancestors. For a non-religious person, it might seem absurd, but not unreasonable to think that knowledge, culture, society and individuals who lived before us have left an inheritance, and each person is a manifestation of the ancient wisdom. To explain it in simpler terms, society, culture and the ancestors who preceded us personify themselves through us. The concept of archetype coined by Jung indicates precisely this: archaic forces inhabit the deepest unconscious part of each individual.
However, looking at the faces of the ancestors, I wondered why they were scary? What was the reason that prompted men to depict the images of their ancestors with anger and severity? The best solution I came up with was that they represent the moral, cultural, and human guide. They are the judgment. Their gaze conveys a clear message - I am watching you. Behave with respect for culture, humanity and the universe; if you don't, you will encounter hell. They are the guardians of individual morality, and no one must violate their own morality because, once they do, there is no turning back. The hell emerges. And no one wants to live in psychological, physical and social misery. The ancestors push the search for truth and demotivate people from entering the gates of hell. This is why their faces are terrifying. Perhaps it is not the most correct explanation, but it remains a plausible and reasonable explanation.
What do you think?