Tag Archives: Kahu Ora

Kōrero Kākahu: Goldie, Lindauer and Korowai

29 June 2012 – 12.05pm
by Matariki Williams

Aside from the kākahu on display, Kahu Ora presents visitors with the opportunity to see three exemplars of New Zealand art close up. Two oil paintings by Charles Goldie and another from Gottfried Lindauer show kākahu in another medium and are juxtaposed by an impressive example of a korowai. Many photographs are used throughout Kahu Ora to illustrate the history and kōrero (story) surrounding kākahu but the inclusion of these three paintings, almost in a section of their own, is a welcome inclusion.

The first painting is titled ‘Pipi Puzzled’ and depicts the bust of a Ngāti Whakaue woman named Pipi Haerehuka.

Pipi puzzled [Pipi Haerehuka (Te Ärani), Ngäti Whakaue], 1919, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1949. Te Papa

Pipi puzzled [Pipi Haerehuka (Te Ärani), Ngäti Whakaue], 1919, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1949. Te Papa

The texture of the painting is incredible; you can almost feel the softness of her hair and the leather of her skin. My father’s mother was from Ngāti Whakaue but we grew up not knowing her side of the family so having the opportunity to stand in front of a tipuna is one of the most important intangible experiences Kahu Ora offers.

The second Goldie featured in Kahu Ora is Thoughts of a Tohunga depicting the Ngāti Manawa tohunga, Te Wharekauri Tahuna. Due to his profile sitting, you can see the detail in the portrait down to the vein on his forehead. The depth of his wrinkles and tā moko are also evident. Unfortunately we don’t have the clearance to publish this image online, but come in and see the painting in person to fully comprehend how beautiful it is.

Darby and Joan [Ina Te Papatahi, Ngä Puhi], 1903, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1991 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board and the Minister's discretionary funds. Te Papa

Darby and Joan [Ina Te Papatahi, Ngä Puhi], 1903, Auckland. Goldie, Charles F. Purchased 1991 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board and the Minister’s discretionary funds. Te Papa

In other paintings of his, including those of Ina Te Papatahi from Ngā Puhi he depicts his sitter in a despondent manner with the decay of Māori culture materialised around her. This was representative of the contemporary view, and one that Goldie appeared to perpetuate, that Māori were a dying people and culture. Though we can look back on his practices with the benefit of hindsight, we also reap the benefits of seeing tipuna portrayed in such a realistic manner.

The third painting on display is by Gottfried Lindauer of Mrs Mihiterina Takamoana.

Mrs Mihiterina Takamoana, Napier NZ, 1877, New Zealand. Lindauer, Gottfried. Te Papa

Mrs Mihiterina Takamoana, Napier NZ, 1877, New Zealand. Lindauer, Gottfried. Te Papa

Lindauer and Goldie together were the most prolific portrait painters of their times and in the book Pictures of Old New Zealand by Gottfried Lindauer the value of the portraits lay in what they have captured for their descendants, “…the dignified rangatiras and warrior chiefs, who have now all passed away to the Reinga, the spiritland.” Unlike some of Lindauer’s more well-known portraits like Ana Rupene and Child that are also depicted wearing korowai, there is little known about Mihiterina and I think her inclusion in the exhibition heightens the chance that through this exposure she may be reconnected with her descendants.

Remember the Weavers Studio will be in until Sunday.

Korowai (cloak with decorative tassels), 1800 s, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Gift of Alexander Turnbull, 1913. Te Papa

Korowai (cloak with decorative tassels), 1800 s, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Gift of Alexander Turnbull, 1913. Te Papa

Korowai developed from the more practical pākē however the tags on a korowai are primarily for decorative purposes instead of protection from rain. Korowai evolved further with the introduction of wool to New Zealand and in the aforementioned painting Ana Rupene and Child, you can view an example of the colourful pompoms that were in vogue. The korowai on display with the paintings uses no wool and the hukahuka (decorative tags) are dyed with paru or ferruginous mud which has an active ingredient of iron oxide.

This korowai has provided us with another step in the evolutionary journey of the kākahu and how Māori have continued to adapt the techniques and materials. However, the inclusion of this korowai without wool and the paintings of people wearing similar kinds of korowai remind us that this evolution does not happen without the innovations of the past.

By Te Papa | Posted in Art, Exhibitions, Māori | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Kōrero kākahu: Rain Capes

21 June 2012 – 12.50pm
by Matariki Williams

This week we are featuring two kākahu shown in Kahu Ora that employ the same weaving techniques but use distinctly different materials. These kākahu are both versions of pākē or rain capes, one from 1850-1900 and the other made in 2009 by Matthew McIntyre-Wilson.

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

The inspiration for this pākē hukahuka came when Matthew inherited a pākē that had originally been given to his great-grandfather and was possibly from Te Rangihiroa, Sir Peter Buck. Trained as a jeweller, Matthew was taught how to weave through his friend and master weaver, the late Rangi Kiu. After initially working with flax, Matthew moved into using more contemporary materials thus combining his passions.

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

Päkë, 2009, Wellington. McIntyre-Wilson, Matthew. Purchased 2011. Te Papa

The underside of the cloak is very colourful and shows the base of the cloak to be made of electrical cables. The overlapping tags on the outer of the cloak have been made from the copper stripped from the cables. Despite the deep layers of silver and copper, the colours from the electrical cables also show through.

The pākē developed from a need for Māori to adapt to their newer, cooler clime. They were strong and durable and oft valued for their practicality over their aesthetic qualities. This pākē from Matthew manages to bridge both these qualities, being both modelled on a pākē with its layers of thatching (I’m not sure if it has been tested on its waterproof qualities!) and being exquisitely beautiful.

Whakatipu (type of rain cape), 1850-1900, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1904. Te Papa

Whakatipu (type of rain cape), 1850-1900, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1904. Te Papa

This whakatipu is from between 1850 and 1900 and is made from natural materials with a foundation of muka (processed New Zealand flax) and covered in rain tags also made from short strips of flax. The tags are attached to the foundation starting from the bottom of the kākahu and heading upward creating a thatch affect that causes rain to drain off the cloak and keep the wearer dry. The whakatipu is laid flat in Kahu Ora and the height of the tags off the foundation is impressive, this kākahu would be both warm but also impenetrable to rain. Botanist Joseph Banks who accompanied Captain James Cook on his first voyage to New Zealand observed of pākē that “every strip of leaf becomes…a kind of gutter which serves to conduct the rain down.”

Whakatipu (type of rain cape), 1850-1900, Taranaki. Maker unknown. Purchased 1904. Te Papa

The detail on this whakatipu is quite astonishing, each harakeke tag will have been scraped with a mussel shell to soften it, been folded in half and then twined into the foundation of the cloak. From afar, this cloak looks very feathery in texture due to the hundreds of tags. Most pākē were for everyday wear with mangaeka and tihetihe as exceptions, these kinds of pākē were coloured and worn by chiefs. Kahu tōī were different again and were valued for their protection and camouflage, they had thick necks that could dull the blow of a weapon.

Changes in the material used to make kākahu highlight the need for people to adapt to the areas they live in. Having discovered that the aute (paper mulberry tree) from the Pacific did not take to the cooler New Zealand climate, Māori found harakeke to be a suitable replacement to make garments with. Matthew carries this adaptive sentiment forward with his application of a material that he is already renowned for working with. In Whatu Kākahu it is stated that senior weaver Eddie Maxwell felt that it was the mana of the weaver that determined the value of any weaving rather than the materials, and considered garments woven from plastic and other non-natural resources as having their own beauty. This applies to Matthew’s cloak which is made from a mixture of natural and non-natural resources. His pākē is a rainbow of colours covered with the fine threads of copper and silver. The whakatipu is also impressive with deep colours on the rain tags and the sheer thickness of the kākahu. Both are taonga of their times but also manage to transcend time in that the techniques utilised are sustained.

A new competition has just been added to the Te Papa facebook page where you can design your own cloak and be in the draw to win an indulgent weekend in Wellington.

By Te Papa | Posted in Exhibitions, Māori | Also tagged , | Comments (3)

Behind the Scenes of Kahu Ora

20 June 2012 – 3.16pm

Many of the kākahu on display in Te Papa’s Kahu Ora exhibition are contemporary works that serve as fantastic examples of the vitality of raranga as an art form.  During preparation of the items for display, as we dressed them on mannequins and cloak forms, we had the special opportunity to work with one of the artists represented in the exhibition, Kohai Grace (she has also been in the Weaver’s Studio, see post below).  The ensemble that Kohai has lent us is woven in beautiful pale undyed muka and consists of a short strapless tunic style dress and cape, decorated with albatross feathers. 

Kohai Grace and Object Support Mountmaker Penny Angrick fitting the dress to the mannequin. Copyright Te Papa

Kohai Grace and Object Support Mountmaker Penny Angrick fitting the dress to the mannequin. Copyright Te Papa

 When the tunic and cape arrived in the conservation lab for assessment, I found a pointed shell pin inside the box as well.  We didn’t have any photographs that showed how the pin would have been used with the garments, so I wasn’t sure if it was meant to fasten the cloak, or for some other purpose.  I also noticed that one of the loops along the back opening of the dress had come unstitched, so a very minor repair would have to be done to enable the dress to be laced up the back properly.  Knowing that Kohai was within an hour’s drive of Wellington, I asked Curator Awhina Tamarapa to get in touch with Kohai to ask whether she would like to come in to help prepare her garment for exhibition.   Object Support Mountmaker Penny Angrick and I had previously worked out  the way we thought the cape might be displayed with the dress, but we learned from Kohai that she preferred more of the front of the dress to be visible to the viewer.  Kohai stitched down the wayward loop at the back of the dress and showed us the intended position of the shell pin.  It was nice to share the decision-making about display and presentation with Kohai, and to carry out our work in the true spirit of  “Living Cloaks”. 

Kohai stands behind her "Living Cloak". Copyright Te Papa

Kohai stands behind her “Living Cloak”. Copyright Te Papa

By peranne | Posted in Conservation, Exhibitions, Fashion, Māori, Textiles | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Kahu Ora: Weaving stories and people

15 June 2012 – 4.05pm

When taonga are brought out of the stores and into the light, they have a transformative power on their descendants. This tangible feeling is elicited immediately when you enter Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks.

At the opening of the exhibition, I entered the gallery to the sound of karakia reverberating around the walls of the gallery followed by a waiata sung by a visiting school. Returning to the exhibition yesterday was another sensory experience; the sounds of a waiata set to a performance of harakeke and the voices of the people experiencing the exhibition.

A woman uses a patu muka (flax-fibre beater) to prepare fibre for weaving, 1921 by James McDonald. Te Papa

A woman uses a patu muka (flax-fibre beater) to prepare fibre for weaving, 1921 by James McDonald. Te Papa

There are weavers in residence from Wednesday to Sunday each week from 12-4pm. Yesterday I had the chance to sit and talk with one of them, Kohai Grace, about a kākahu she is working on. The kākahu is being made for her whanau and has been touched by and worked on by many of her family members including one of the Collection Manager-Māori, Moana Parata. Moana explained to me how the feathers for the kākahu had been gifted to her by a Te Papa member in the natural history department who no longer had a use for them. They had been cleaned and prepared beautifully and the decision was made to use them in the kākahu. This story is symbolic of the connections between people that taonga Māori represent and how powerful this connection is.

As I walked through the exhibition yesterday I came across a kākahu that was given to ethnographer Elsdon Best by the Tūhoe rangatira Tūtakangāhau after the death of his granddaughter Marewa-i-te-Rangi. This connection brought me to tears, standing in front of a taonga of such intricate beauty from my own iwi, I felt humbled in her presence. My koroua is a direct descendant of Tūtakangāhau and my older brother is named after him, I also have a niece named after Marewa-i-te-Rangi so I felt the connection very profoundly. Last night I told my brother about the exhibition and he has decided to bring in his class when he next visits Wellington from Rotorua.

Kahu huruhuru (feather cloak), c. 1890, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Te Papa

Kahu huruhuru (feather cloak), c. 1890, New Zealand. Maker unknown. Te Papa

This is the transformative power of taonga Māori and the connection they have to their people. Taonga continue to connect people to one another and to themselves, accumulating kōrero and transcending time. Kahu Ora connects people and weaves together their kōrero, it has brought the taonga out of the stores to be warmed by their descendants and I implore you all to come along and experience it.

This weekend there are many events on at Te Papa as part of the Matariki celebrations. You can also find out more about kākahu on the Te Papa website.

Matariki Williams

Matariki Events at Te Papa
Kākahu Māori Cloaks website

By Te Papa | Posted in Collections Online, Māori, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments (1)

Delighted to have two finalists in New Zealand Post Book Awards

13 June 2012 – 2.41pm

Te Papa Press, New Zealand’s unique museum publisher, are delighted to advise that two of its books are finalists in the prestigious annual New Zealand Post Book Awards.

The finalists, announced last week, were selected from 160 entries and are described by the judges as “diverse and exciting”.

Whatu Kākahu: Māori Cloaks edited by Awhina Tamarapa and New Zealand Film: An Illustrated History, edited by Diane Pivac, Frank Stark, Lawrence McDonald and published in association with The Film Archive, are both finalists in the Illustrated Non-fiction category of the awards.

According to the finalist announcement the judges were unanimous in their selection of  the titles and Te Papa Press publisher Claire Murdoch is thrilled that both books are being recognised in this way.

“Awards like this are a welcome acknowledgement of the great care and professional pride our team takes in creating books about Aotearoa’s art, culture and natural world. An immense amount of dedicated scholarship went into the writing and editing of both books, and because they’re also heavily illustrated, the efforts of the photography and design teams were similarly substantial. I’d like to extend congratulations and hearty thanks to all who worked on these beautiful books, and to all who work closely with Te Papa Press.”

The New Zealand Post Book Awards will be announced at an evening ceremony on Wednesday 1st August. Readers are invited to vote for their favourite through the People’s Choice Award here: www.nzpostbookawards.co.nz

Visitors to Te Papa will also be able to find elements from Whatu Kākahu: Māori Cloaks featuring in the exhibition Kahu Ora Living Cloaks which opens at the museum this week. Entry to this exhibition is free. 

By Roxan Mathys | Posted in Museums, News, Te Papa Press | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks is open

7 June 2012 – 4.42pm

Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks

The scholarship, creativity, professionalism, enthusiasm, commitment and sheer hard work of the Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks team came to fruition today in the VISA gallery, and tomorrow will be on view to the public.

It’s a very beautiful exhibition, and visitors will love to be transported into Te Whare Pora – the House of Weaving. People I spoke to never fully understood that a tradition of cloak making, of the creation of stunning textile objects from local materials, was among the gifts of Māori culture.

Kukupa Tirikātene introduces visitors to Māori cloaks (kākahu) in Te Papa’s Kahu Ora | Living Cloaks exhibition.

From my perspective, as the project manager for the development of the exhibition, it was a point of pride to realise how Te Papa’s curatorial expertise, its broad range of research knowledge, and its understanding of how to care for these objects is such that Te Papa is recognised internationally as a repository of cloak matauranga. This solid foundation allows our skilled museum professionals to design an experience that will allow our visitors to fully engage with this scholarship.

Maureen Lander’s stunning art commission will attract lots of admiration, and the soundscape composed by Richard Nunns and Steve Garden is sublime. And of course the cloaks themselves, largely from Te Papa’s own collection, but also from other museums (including a rare example from the National Art Gallery of Australia) and private individuals, take centre stage. And all of this installed to the highest standards by our team of installers.

Now that the exhibition is open – congratulations, everybody – other expertise takes over. There will be weavers demonstrating their craft in the Weavers’ Studio. The Te Papa hosts will be on hand to guide visitors through the experience. There is a carefully thought out Education programme, and rich and exciting Events have been designed to further support the exhibition.

Kakahu online Maori cloaks

The specially created website, Kākahu Online, brings all of this information, and more, together in one place, and allows access to Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks to people in Aotearoa and around the world who, despite their best efforts, may not be able to make it to the gallery.

Simon Garrett
Project Manager,  Kahu Ora: Living Cloaks

About the exhibition
Events programme
Kākahu online

By Te Papa | Posted in Exhibitions, Māori, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Māori cloaks in the Kahu Ora exhibition – two days to go

5 June 2012 – 4.55pm

It’s two days to go before we open our Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition - and time to give you a little preview of what you will be able to see from Friday 8 June.

When an exhibition opens and all the taonga are in place, the graphics are up, and the lighting is done it’s hard to imagine all the work that’s been going on to get the exhibition installed.

Last week, at a quiet moment, they let me into the gallery to see how things were going.  Here is Sam, one of our exhibition team installers, preparing the case and mount to display the unique huru kuri, dog-skin pelt, cloak which we featured in an earlier blog post.

Sam Wallis preparing the case and complex mount for the huru kuri, dog skin pelt cloak, on loan from Puke Ariki, photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

Sam Wallis preparing the case and complex mount for the huru kuri, dog skin pelt cloak, on loan from Puke Ariki, photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

The exhibition graphics are the work of graphic designer, Wol Jobson – here he watches over the install of some of the larger wall graphics.

Wol Jobson, graphic designer, supervises install of some of the exhibition graphics. Photograph by Pamela Lovis, copryight Te Papa 2012.

Wol Jobson, graphic designer, supervises install of some of the exhibition graphics. Photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

And finally, before I give away too much – here are several kākahu installed in their cases but carefully covered up until later this week when the conservators will come in and remove the covers.

The whakataukī, or saying, that you can see on the wall speaks to one of the ideas key to  this exhibition:

Ko te taura whiri, he whiri i te tangata
The muka (flax fibre) cord is like the cord that connects people.

Muka is the silky fibre extracted from the leaves of harakeke, or flax. After hours of skilled preparation Māori weavers use this muka to weave the kaupapa, or foundation, of a kākahu.

Kākahu in their cases, soon to be revealed in the Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition. Photography by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

Kākahu in their cases, soon to be revealed in the Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition. Photograph by Pamela Lovis, copyright Te Papa 2012.

So cloaks, or kākahu, are all about connections – the threads that weave us together as people, and the stories that connect people and kākahu. Come and see for yourself, in Kahu Ora Living Cloaks  from this Friday 8 June.

By pamelalovis | Posted in Exhibitions, Māori | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Unique dog skin cloak – soon to be on show at Te Papa

23 May 2012 – 6.25pm

Every exhibition I work on is different. Each time I learn more and my basket of knowledge (my kete) expands and grows. This time it’s a wonderful exhibition about Māori cloaks, which features many kākahu from Te Papa’s collection, plus a small number of unique taonga which we’re fortunate to borrow from elsewhere.

Kahu Ora Living Cloaks opens in about 2 weeks time on Friday 7 June, and we start to install the taonga in the gallery next week. A week or so ago a very special cloak, a huru kurī, made from eight dog skin, or kurī, pelts stitched together arrived on loan from Puke Ariki in New Plymouth.

I was one of a  group of staff  who were excited to see this unique cloak – the only one of its kind that exists today – for the first time. We had read about it, researched it, and written about it for the exhibition, but this was the first chance to see this taonga close up. The person who once wisely cautioned me to never write a label for an object without seeing it for yourself – well they were right…

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī cloak in Te Whare Pora, the collection store. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī cloak in Te Whare Pora, the collection store. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

What really struck me was that each of the eight dog pelts stitched together to make the cloak is different. Some are white, some are dark black, and one has fox-like fur of quite a different texture. The white fur on another pelt is quite curly. And while I knew that the tails and pointed ears of the dogs were visible on this cloak it was another thing altogether to see them!

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī, cloak stitched from whole dog skins, on loan from Puke Ariki. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

Te Papa staff look at the huru kurī, cloak stitched from whole dog skins, on loan from Puke Ariki. Photograph by Moana Parata, copyright Te Papa.

Under the careful supervision of Conservator Anne Peranteau we  looked at the other side of the cloak.  Anne pointed out where you could see the imprint of the dogs’ ribs, still visible in the dried skin. To see the thickness of the leather and the quality of the stitching made me realise how much skill and effort was involved in making this cloak.

This taonga will now be carefully mounted and displayed in a section of the Kahu Ora Living Cloaks exhibition that looks at Māori sewing technology and recent research in this area by experts such as Dr Patricia Te Arapo Wallace.

To find out more about the huru kurī, the history of the cloak and see more images go to:
http://vernon.npdc.govt.nz/search.do?id=294155&db=object&page=1&view=detail

By pamelalovis | Posted in Exhibitions, Māori | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

‘Pīata’ – a cloak returns home

11 May 2012 – 4.42pm

He kanohi kitea, he hokinga mahara.
To see a face is to stir the memory.

On Sunday 6 May 2012, a beautiful kahu kiwi cloak from the Te Papa collection, was named by her descendants as part of a special church service held at Rongomaraeroa marae, Porangahau.

Te Papa Press recently published a cloak book Whatu Kākahu: Māori Cloaks edited by Awhina Tamarapa, Māori Curator. The cover of the book features a detailed image of this stunning kahu kiwi.

Part of the research for this book included liaison with weavers, textile experts, researchers and descendants to bring together information on the cloaks held by Te Papa. We were fortunate to have the guidance of Professor Piri Sciascia from Victoria University, Wellington for this particular kahu kiwi. How the cloak came into the museum collection was pieced together from archival records. Piri, his sister Marina, and their whanaunga Morehu Tūtaki, gave the history and whakapapa of their tipuna whom the cloak originally belonged to – an amazing wahine Rangatira- Rāwinia Ngāwaka Tūkeke. Her story and the journey of her cloak unfolded.

The journey home of Rawinia’s kahu kiwi after more than 150 years away was an emotional and joyous occasion. The whānau of Ngāti Kere, Ngāti Pihere, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Hinetewai and members of the Porangahau St Hill-Warren and Lambert families connected to the cloak’s history, welcomed Te Papa representatives with the pōwhiri onto the marae.

Te Papa was led by Tainui iwi resident kaumātua Taki and Ratau Turner, with Hema Temara and Tamati Cairns from Ngāi Tūhoe. Te Herekiekie Herewini and Mark Sykes were the cloak’s couriers.

Awhina Tamarapa and Hawke’s Bay Museum kaitiaki Tryphena Cracknell carried the cloak to the mahau of the wharenui during the pōwhiri. The sun peeked out and the mist rose, during the whaikōrero. Soft rain fell while the people gathered inside for the church service. “Kei te heke ngā roimata o Ranginui” – tears of happiness were shed”. A taonga returns to be with her people.

Descendants of Rāwinia Ngāwaka Tūkeke gather around the kahu kiwi before the blessing inside the wharenui Te Poho o Kahungunu. Rongomaraeroa marae, Porangahau. 6 May 2012.

Descendants of Rāwinia Ngāwaka Tūkeke gather around the kahu kiwi before the blessing inside the wharenui Te Poho o Kahungunu. Rongomaraeroa marae, Porangahau. 6 May 2012. Photographer Mark Sykes, Te Papa.

The blessing service inside the wharenui Te Poho o Kahungunu was led by Reverend Harriet Cutbush and Reverend Leo Te Kira. The cloak was carried into the wharenui by Ashton St Hill-Warren and placed on a table at the front of the assembly.

During the service, Rāwinia’s cloak was named ‘Pīata’, meaning ‘to shine, to glisten’, by Morehu Tūtaki. Pīata was the name of Rāwinia’s mother. Such a powerful, symbolic act, transcends the physical world. All present witnessed the spiritual and cultural reinstatement of the people to their taonga. ‘Piata’ remains a beautiful and precious symbol of their whakapapa and the community’s entwined relationships, which completed a full circle that day.

‘Piata’ will be on display in the upcoming Te Papa cloak exhibition Kahu Ora Living Cloaks, which opens on Friday 8 June. Piri’s daughter Atareta, has been photographed wearing ‘Pīata’ as the main promotional image for the exhibition.

Our thanks and best wishes to the people of Porangahau, and for all those that contributed to the day.

E kore e kitea ngā kokona o te ngakau.
The corners of the heart cannot be seen.

Awhina Tamarapa and Pamela Lovis

By pamelalovis | Posted in Exhibitions, Māori | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)
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