“Matariki Ahunga Nui – Matariki is a provider of abundant resources” This recent acquisition (purchased June 2013) is a tukutuku tūrapa, or panel named ‘Matariki’. It was woven to acknowledge the Maori New Year by master weaver Sonia Snowden (Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Whātua, Ngā Puhi). It is made of kiekie, pīngao , woven in a lattice form… Read more »
Posts categorized as Māori
Kura Pounamu: He aha ō rātou whakāro?
What do they think of it? Kura Pounamu exhibition tours China Kura Pounamu, the largest exhibition of taonga pounamu or ‘Māori jade treasures’ ever shown at Te Papa, was displayed from September 2009 to July 2011. As curator for the exhibition a favourite past time of mine was to sit to one side and quietly… Read more »
‘It was twenty years ago today, that Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play’……. Time has a funny way of sneaking up on us, and I felt this recently when I was invited by The Auckland Maritime Museum to talk about the series of photos I took 10 years ago, Kupe Sites, for Te Papas… Read more »
Watery eyes
Lately I’ve spent a lot of time researching the soldiers that were part of WW1’s 1st Māori Contingent. In a letter sent back home, Lieutenant Henare Kohere who was in the 2nd Māori Contingent, spoke about arriving in Egypt and being welcomed by the remainder of the first. When we neared the camp we could… Read more »
Free Work
I don’t actually work here. Well, I am doing work here, but for free. I’m currently half-way through a PGDip in Museum and Heritage Studies and as part of that, I get to do a placement. Just like how teachers do placements at schools, I’m doing one at a museum. And instead of working with… Read more »
Hei Tiki journey to the heart of Chinese Jade culture
人形项饰-海蒂基远涉重洋来到中国这个古老的玉文化国度 Te Papa’s exhibition “Kura Pounamu: Treasured Jade Art of Aotearoa New Zealand” opens on 1 April at Liangzhu Museum, Hangzhou, China. Liangzhu Museum is located in the heart of one of the largest and most significant jade archaeological sites in China dating back over 5000 years. 新西兰国家博物馆-蒂帕帕关于“毛利碧玉：新西兰文化艺术珍品展”即将于今年4月1日在中国杭州市的良渚博物院展出。 良渚博物院座落于中国最大的也是最显著的玉文化遗址区，良渚玉文化有超过5千年的历史。
Ralph Hotere, 1931-2013
Te Papa is deeply saddened by the death yesterday of Ralph Hotere – one of the country’s greatest artists. Our thoughts go out to his family, his friends, and the arts community. Ralph once commented that ‘There are few things I can say about my work that are better than saying nothing’. Keeping this in… Read more »
Rātana Church and Mita Ririnui: The Colours of Service
ME024090; Āpotoro Rēhita Haahi Rātana Kākahu (Registered Apostle Ratana Church religious clothing) Continuing the blogging about some of the key uniforms and acquisitions for the Uniformity exhibition, this blog is going to talk about one of my favourite uniforms in the show: the robes of an Āpotoro Rēhita from the Rātana Church and a uniform… Read more »
“We are the same-same.” Rapa Nui visitors to Te Papa Tongarewa
This past Saturday (1 December 2012), we had a special request from a group of visitors who were going to be in Wellington for a weekend. They wished to come in and talk to some of the curators and see the collection. This is relatively common but what was slightly unusual about the group was… Read more »
M is for mystery: M initial in the waistband of Te Papa’s piupiu Māori
My role at Te Papa is to identify feathers and hair in the ethnological collections, however on occasion I come across something interesting in my research including the following mystery. While identifying the feathers in the museum’s Māori textiles collection, I counted eight piupiu (skirt or waist garment) with the letter ‘M’ sewn into the waistband. It… Read more »