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How were Tahitian god figures and symbols kept at marae sacred enclosures?

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dilly bag; Aboriginal Australian art, Northern Territory, Australia — Oceanic art and architecture An Aboriginal Australian decorating a tightly woven dilly bag with white, yellow, and ochre (red) paints, Northern Territory, Australia, 1948.

In the Society Islands, particularly on Tahiti, figures of gods and sacred symbols were primarily kept at the marae (sacred enclosure). These figures were often housed within special wooden containers that were kept inside portable shelters located at the site.1

The figures themselves took several forms:
* Life-size figures: These were hollow and constructed from wood or basketry. They were used to hold red and yellow feathers, which were considered highly sacred in the region.1
* Divine emblems: These included shaped lengths of wood that were partially wrapped in braided sennit. In some cases, additional lengths of sennit were sewn onto these figures to represent limbs and other features.1
* Wooden slabs: Large numbers of tall, thin wooden slabs were set up on the marae. These were carved with openwork geometric designs and topped with figures of birds, human beings, or spiked projections.1