June is a busy month at Te Papa – it’s Matariki. And this year it’s going to be especially busy for the Education team! Our Term 2 Education programmes are fully booked this year with over 2500 students attending our Matariki education programme alone. This number includes: 916 students who will visit us because of… Read more »
As the History Team prepares to bring out William Colenso’s magnificent printing press for the forthcoming exhibition Oceania – Early Encounters (opening 6 August 2011), I am reminded that the Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery are planning ‘to celebrate the life and ideas of Colenso – one of the fathers of New Zealand – on… Read more »
2011 Māori and Pacific Textile Symposium The beating of aute, or tapa, is a heartbeat that resounds across the ocean of Kiwa. The harakeke of Aotearoa, symbolising family, acknowledges the relationship of the Pacific people as one, through weaving. These genealogical and material connections will be explored at the inaugural 2011 Māori and Pacific Textile… Read more »
The blessing for the painting of Poedua (Poetua), a princess from the Society Islands, by John Webber (1751-1793) was a much needed bright spot at Te Papa last week – a week when New Zealand reeled from news of the Pike River mining disaster. This remarkable painting, recently purchased by Te Papa, has lots of stories to tell… Read more »
An exhibition of Mäori fish-hooks (matau) made from wood, bone, stone, and shell opens at Te Papa on Saturday December 4th. While early European explorers considered these fish-hooks to be ‘ill-made’ and ‘of doubtful efficacy’, research has shown that the design was highly effective. Unlike modern steel hooks, the Mäori hooks were attached with fishing… Read more »
For over a decade National Services Te Paerangi has been supporting iwi in the development of taonga databases.
On Wednesday, several children came to Te Huka ā Tai at Te Papa and fished up the Te Ika a Māui (the North Island). And why not? After a long and lovely day soaking in some of the scariest, hairiest, chilling and thrilling myths and legends Aotearoa has produced, it just seemed…you know…like a good thing… Read more »
Were you one of the hundreds who came to the Museum or watched online last year? Make sure you pencil Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 June 2010 in your diary – Kaumātua Kapa Haka is back for Matariki! Come and watch the grace, elegance and beauty of senior Māori performing artists on Saturday 12 and… Read more »
The staff in Te Papa’s taonga pūoro group are very lucky to have Richard Nunns as our mentor. Through his teaching and encouragement we continue to explore the kaupapa of taonga pūoro. Richard is an incredibly busy man, travelling throughout New Zealand and often overseas, involved in many different projects. If he has a spare hour and he’s in… Read more »
It seems the language of the Na’vi, the indigenous people of the planet Pandora, may be the latest addition to the family tree of Pacific languages. In recent publicity surrounding James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar, it was revealed that the development of the Na’vi language was influenced by Maori language. As reported by Charlie Gates… Read more »