Rare alpine tikumu daisy links past to present

When the Nelson Provincial Museum recently acquired tikumu (Celmisia semicordata) samples from a local weaver, they joined a collection of this rare alpine daisy that pre-date European settlement.

For many years, the musuem has been caring for a small collection of prepared tikumu leaves, which are considered taonga by kairaranga (weavers) across Te Waipounamu (the South Island). These leaves, which were found in a rock shelter on Puketoi Station in the Central Otago region, are thought to be around 300 years old, with estimates of their date of origin ranging between 1860 and 1730.

*Historic prepared tikumu leaves currently held in the Nelson Provincial Museum’s Collection. Planning is underway to repatriate these to Otago Museum.*

Known as the Puketoi Collection, these pre-European samples consist of both rolled and pressed leaves that were originally acquired by a collector called Frederick Vincent Knapp. Part of a much larger discovery, they were most likely prepared for making a kahu tikumu (tikumu cloak).

The entire Puketoi Collection made its way to Nelson for some time until it was yet again traded, but this time to the Otago Museum. However, a small portion of the collection remained in Knapp’s personal collection before passing through the hands of the Cawthon Institute and on to the Nelson Provincial Museum.

This year, the remaining part of the collection will return to its original whenua, with Kaitiaki Taonga Māori Hamuera Manihera now making plans to repatriate them to Otago Museum.

*Hamuera Manihera, the Nelson Provincial Museum’s Kaitiaki Taonga Maori (Maori Taonga Collections Manager) examines the recently acquired contemporary tikumu samples.*

In their place, the broad range of tikumu (Celmisia semicordata) samples in the recent acquisition – ranging from a botanical specimen through to leaves that have been prepared for weaving – will continue to provide insight into the stages of weaving a tikumu taonga, from the raw material to processed.

To prepare tikumu for weaving, the kairaranga (weaver) peels the felty underside of the leaf, known as the ‘tomentum’, from the green outer casing of the leaf on the top side. The tomentum can then be used immediately in weaving; there is no need to dry the leaves.

The nature of tikumu

Tikumu, which is in the Celmisia genus of daisies, is found high in the mountains of Te Waipounamu. There are around 70 species in the Celmisia genus across both Australia and Aotearoa. More than 60 of these are endemic (confined) to Aotearoa. They range in size from miniature to giant, from coastal to alpine habitats, and from wetland to dryland sites.

*Tikumu (Celmisia semicordata) growing in the wild. Photo by Naomi Aporo*

According to Shannel Courtney, a botanist with the Department of Conservation, Celmisia are a very conspicuous element of our alpine flora. The features that all Celmisia have in common are the solitary, white-petalled flowers they produce from December onwards.

‘Tikumu is one of our largest Celmisia and grows widely and abundantly throughout Te Waipounamu,’ says Courtney. ‘Tikumu has three distinct varieties, and there are also a number of similar-looking large-leaved species of Te Waipounamu with more restricted distributions that could have been used in a similar way. Curiously, there is one record of tikumu from Taranaki Maunga in Te Ika a Māui (North Island), but it is possible this has been planted.’

Historically, the few tikumu taonga that exist in several New Zealand museums have been recorded as being made from Celmisia coriacea, a species found in Fiordland. But a better understanding of this and similar species, and the appearance of the processed weaving material (wharawhara), has shown that the taonga were actually made from C. semicordata.

Revitalisation underway

While it was common practice amongst weavers of the past to use tikumu, its use in weaving is now making a reappearance. Ngāi Tahu in particular have a strong connection to Tikumu and it is one of their taonga species.

*Much of the tikanga (traditions) associated with harvesting tikumu is undergoing a revitalisation among weaving practitioners around Aoteaora.*

The decline of tikumu use (along with the use of other traditional resources) can be attributed to the arrival of Europeans to Aotearoa. Early settlers/migrants brought with them new materials from their homelands, such as wool, cotton and lace. Many of these new resources were already prepared and sized, were brightly coloured or were even completed pieces.

Māori quickly adapted, blending the old techniques with the new. Kairaranga began using these new materials in place of traditional resources. Kākahu became brighter, with woollen threads picked from jackets and woven into tāniko patterns and other decorative weaving techniques.

This is not to say all knowledge of tikumu has been lost to time; there may still be whānau who have continued to utilise tikumu.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that much of the tikanga (traditions) associated with harvesting tikumu is undergoing a revitalisation among weaving practitioners around Aoteaora.

Tikumu in the top of the South

While the collection of tikumu from Puketoi Station is from outside this region, there are records of tikumu being utilised by Māori within Te Tauihu (Top of the South Island).

In 1820, the Kurahaupō iwi of Tōtaranui (Queen Charlotte Sounds) were visited by the Russians in a two-ship expedition, which was led by Fabian Gottlieb Benjamin von Bellingshausen on board the Vostok and Mikhail Lazarev on board the Mirny. An artist called Pavel N. Mikhaylov was also present on this expedition, and he sketched the encounters between the two cultures.

Christchurch-based textiles expert Dr Patricia Wallace (Ngāti Porou) says one of these Marlborough Sounds’ sketches is of particular interest to researchers. It shows a Māori woman with a floral adornment worn in her hair, which Wallace identified as tikumu.

Tikumu (C. semicordata) does not grow in the Marlborough Sounds, however historically Māori lived transient lifestyles. They would travel long distances to gather resources from near or far, and to trade with bordering iwi and hapū.

Another possibility is that the floral adornment in the sketch was from Celmisia rutlandii, a large-leaved daisy species very similar to C. semicordata which is found in the Marlborough Sounds on Parororangi (Mt Stokes).

The recent acquisition, which was found in the Nelson Lakes area of the Tasman District, indicates that tikumu still grows in the region, although it is under threat from mammalian browsers, and habitat loss, including fires. It is also likely climate change will impact on the species, given it thrives in cooler temperatures.

Article prepared by Nelson Provincial Museum Kaitiaki Taonga Māori (Māori Taonga Collections Manager) Hamuera Manihera, with additional reporting and editing by Kerry Sunderland.

This article was originally published in The Nelson Mail on Saturday 29th July 2023. To view the story - click here