Sample application in the interior (right side)
Upulera statue from Leti island
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A deity statue which has an anthropomorphic form, being in a sitting position and the knees are bent reaching his chest and both arms resting on the knees.
As with all Leti male ancestors, it squats on its pillar with arms
clasped around its knees. This statue is placed on a carved wooden pole and represents one of the first leaders of a clan or community. Its ornate earrings and headdress indicate its
high rank, and possibly its identity. The motifs carved on the plinth
and ear lobes represent ancestors’ names or events in the history of the
clan that once owned the statue.
On the top of the pole, extended to the left and right, are two wings (or a boat symbol). There are two wings, one bigger than the other, probably this symbolizes a vertical-down relationship to dere and luli (the founding fathers) and a vertical-up relationship with "it matromna" (the creator of the universe). The wings wriggles like flames of fire (symbol of divine power). This statue is a personification of the sun god (Upulera). Upulera statues are always on poles because of it's high status.
Storytellers used these motifs to help
them memorize their clan stories. The motifs may have been purely
decorative, but if they were of a special type called rou, they would
have been the exclusive property of the clan. Only that clan could
understand the meaning of these rou motifs.
