Māori weavers and carvers

RARANGA - WEAVING

Taonga such as kākahu (cloaks or garments) connect to the spiritual world through the whakapapa of the natural materials from which they are woven, the values and ancestral knowledge and practices. According to Ngāti Awa elder Hāmiora Pio, the knowledge of weaving began with Hine-rauamoa, the wife of Tāne-nui-a-rangi.

This whakataukī (saying) illustrates how important a weaver was to her community in the past. From birth, a girl of aristocratic lineage was initiated into the arts of Hine-rauamoa.

Muka, the inner fibre extracted from the long, sword-like leaves of the harakeke (New Zealand flax), is the preferred customary fibre for cloak weaving. Careful observation of protocols and rituals protected the mauri (life force) of the plants and material harvested for weaving, and the mauri of the weaver herself.

A well-known weaver gave mana to taonga (ancestral treasures) they created through their own personal skills and knowledge. Mastery of weaving involves many skills, from making baskets, cords and mats to fine cloaks, using processes and techniques developed over many generations. The most prized items were carefully and beautifully made for important people. These taonga increase in cultural value with each passing generation.

Source: Māori clothing and adornment – kākahu Māori - Weaving traditions and technique, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand 

DAME RANGIMĀRIE HETET (NGĀTI MANIAPTO)

Dame Rangimārie Hetet was an expert weaver who passed on her skills to numerous women in New Zealand, including her daughter, Diggeress Te Kanawa, herself a well-known weaver. Rangimārie Hetet continued to practise her craft until her death at the age of 103. 

Source: Ngāti Maniapoto - Ngāti Maniapoto today, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand 

DIGGERESS TE KANAWA (NGĀTI MANIAPOTO) 

A number of dedicated women sustained the weaving arts and passed them on to younger female relatives. Perhaps the most significant was Diggeress Te Kanawa (of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kinohaku), the daughter of another renowned weaver, Dame Rangimarie Hetet. Te Kanawa took part in hui in the 1950s hosted by the Maori Women’s Welfare League to promote whāriki-making and other weaving traditions. For the next 50 years she remained at the forefront of the promotion and revival of Māori weaving. Te Kanawa was a founding member of Aotearoa Moananui a Kiwa Weavers, later Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, the National Māori Weavers Collective of New Zealand. She received many awards for her work, including a CNZM in 2000 and an honorary doctorate in 2007. 

Source: Te raranga me te whatu - Revival of Māori fibre work, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand 

EMILY RANGITIARIA SCHUSTER (TE ARAWA)

A sustained revival of weaving traditions began in 1969, when a national weaving school, Te Rito, was established at Rotorua, alongside the existing national carving school. The first head of Te Rito was Emily Schuster. Te Rito trains students in the art and skills of traditional weaving either through a full-time three-year course, or in part-time community-based courses. Students are taught the skills of the art form, the traditions and tikanga (protocols) and the stories and designs unique to each iwi. Traditional Māori weaving is also taught in tertiary and other educational institutions. 

Source: Te raranga me te whatu - Revival of Māori fibre work, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand  

DONNA WAIARIKI

ERENORA PUKETAPU-HETET (TE ĀTI AWA)

Erenora Puketapu-Hetet (Te Āti Awa) grew up in Waiwhetū in the Hutt Valley. Her husband, master carver Rangi Hetet, was the grandson of renowned traditional weaver Rangimārie Hetet. Puketapu-Hetet learned cloak-weaving from Rangimārie, and passed on her knowledge to her children and many others through books and weaving workshops. She became famous for innovations on traditional techniques and designs, incorporating materials such as fuse wire and pāua shell. Since 1996 important visitors to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa have worn a kahu kiwi (kiwi feather cloak) made by Puketapu-Hetet. In 2002 she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to weaving. She died in 2006. 

Source: Te raranga me te whatu - Kākahu – woven cloaks, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand 

VERANOA HETET (NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA, NGĀTI MANIAPOTO, TE ĀTI AWA)

RANUI NGARIMU (KAI TAHU)

KIRI NATHAN (KAI TAHU)

WHAKAIRO - CARVING

Legendary origins of carving

According to legend, carving was discovered by Ruatepupuke when rescued his son, Manuruhi, from the carved underwater village of Tangaroa, the god of the sea.

Carving materials and techniques

The wood used for carving symbolised Tāne, the god of the forest. When carved it was considered to take on the properties of the figures it represented.

Stone or greenstone adzes and chisels were traditionally used in carving. After Europeans brought metal to New Zealand, carvers began to use sharper metal tools.

There were rituals and rules around carving, for example wood chips could not be used as fuel for a cooking fire.

A carver was expected to spend up to 20 years learning about all aspects of carving.

Source: Whakairo – Māori carving, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand  

The Rotorua school

The Ngāti Tarāwhai hapū of Te Arawa had renowned carvers, including Wero Tāroi. He lived in Rotorua, which was a popular tourist destination. The carving style was changed to please European tourists and patrons who bought the work.The Rotorua School of Māori Arts and Crafts was founded in 1926. It trained students in traditional carving. Through this programme, many carved meeting houses and dining halls were constructed around the country. 

Source: Whakairo – Māori carving, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand    

WERO TĀROI (NGĀTI TARĀWHAI)   

Ngāti Tarāwhai carver Wero Tāroi was perhaps the first to use steel chisels for carving. In the 1860s and 1870s he used this new technology to great effect, creating powerful sinuous figures on the maihi (bargeboards) and amo (front post) of his house Houmaitawhiti (1860). The surface patterning is boldly carved but complements rather than competes with the sculptural forms. As well as the free-flowing boldness in his designs, Wero introduced bicultural innovations, carving European riding boots onto his figures and decorating them with paint rather than traditional kōkōwai (red ochre). He transmitted his knowledge to his apprentices Ānaha Te Rāhui, Neke Kapua and Tene Waitere. 

Source: Whakairo – Māori carving - The Rotorua school, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand 

PINEAMINE TAIAPA (NGĀTI POROU)

 ERAMIHA NEKE KAPUA & NEKE KAPUA (NGĀTI TARĀWHAI, TE ARAWA)

RANGI HETET (NGĀTI TŪWHARETOA, NGĀTI MANIAPOTO)

PAKAARIKI HARRISON (NGĀTI POROU)

ARNOLD MANAAKI WILSON (NGAI TŪHOE)

WINIATA HARRISON (NGĀTI POROU)

MATAHI WHAKATAKA-BRIGHTWELL 

CLIFF WHITING (TE WHĀNAU-Ā-APANUI)

LIONEL GRANT (TE ARAWA, NGĀTI PIKIAO)

This story was curated and compiled by Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa | National Library of New Zealand, Services to Schools staff, November 2020.