Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week 2022

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Māori Language Petition (Te Petihana), we have chosen to share a selection of taonga (treasures) with you, profiled by our Kaitiaki Taonga Māori (Māori Taonga Collections Manager) Hamuera Manihera.

He mea whakamāori e Thomas Parata (Translation by Thomas Parata).

Mane (Monday) - Hue

Hue (tahā)

He tini ngā ingoa mō te hue, otirā, he mana tōna i roto i te ao Māori. He waka kawe i te wai, he ipu mō te kai tahu (kākā me te kererū). Ka whakangūngūa ngā hue e ngā kaitā moko kiri i mua i te tānga ki te kiri tangata. He pēnei te kiri o te hue ki te kiri tangata.

Ko ngā tauira ki runga i te hue nei, he rite ki ngā tauira o te puhoro, he raperape me te mangopare.

Hue (calabash, gourd)

Hue have many names and many important roles within te ao Māori. They were used as water carriers to hold preserved foods (kākā and kererū), and the hue was also utilised by moko practitioners as means of practicing the application of moko to skin. The skin of the hue is soft like human skin.

The patterns seen on this hue are similar to what you would see on a puhoro – the raperape and mangopare.

HUE. NELSON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM COLLECTION. NN2021.61

Tūrei (Tuesday) - Tū Kāretu

Tū Kāretu (Tātua Wahine)

Nā te muka te tū kāretu, he mea hāro i te harakeke. Ko te āhuatanga ake o te tū kāretu, i rarangatia te kāretu hoki, he kakara, he tiare ataahua tōna.

He mea raranga te muka hei taura, ka hono ki te tuamaka kāretu. Ka tukua te muka ki te paru, ka pango. He whatu aho toru te taura muka.

Me āta rangahau tonu te pūtake o tēnei tū kāretu, engari, ko te rongo kōrero, no Te Ika a Māui.

Tū Kāretu (Women’s Belt)

Tū Kāretu is a women’s belt made from muka fibre, extracted from the harakeke (New Zealand flax plant). This taonga has a special feature and that is the use of the scented holy grass known as kāretu.

The muka fibre has been plaited into a taura (cord) and attached to a kāretu braid. The muka fibre has been dyed using paru. The braid consists of a three plait kāretu taura (cord).

The origins of this taonga require further research, but it is thought to have been possibly associated with the North Island.

TŪ KĀRETU. NELSON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM COLLECTION. K.283.73

Wenerei (Wednesday) - Kō

Kō

No ngā rangi tata nei te rironga mai o tēnei kō. Nā Layton Robertson o Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō i whakairo. E manawanui ana a Layton mō te whakarauoratanga o ngā taonga Māori me ngā āhuatanga o te whakamahi i ēnei taonga hoki. Nā ngā taonga tūturu ā te Māori i hanga ai te kō nei. Nā te toki, nā te whao, hōanga me ngā rau o te tī kōuka i oti ai tēnei taonga ataahua rawa atu. Mō ngā mahi a te māra te kō.

Hei ako māu, rapua te kōrero mō Rākaihautū ki te hononga nei: teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/29078/pou

Kō (Digging Stick)

This taonga is one of the Museums most recent acquisitions. This kō was made by Layton Robertson of Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō. Layton is passionate about the revitalisation of taonga Māori and their practices. Using traditionally made tools, toki, whao, hōanga, and the fibres of the ti kouka, Layton has created this beautiful practical kō. The kō was used for gardening.

To learn more, please refer to the story of Rakaihautu: teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/29078/pou

KŌ; LAYTON ROBERTSON. NELSON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM COLLECTION. NPM2022.38

Taite (Thursday) - Pounamu Kanioro

Pounamu Kanioro

Ko te tikanga o te kupu kanioro, ko te poro i te pounamu me te kōiwi mā te kani. Hāngai tonu atu te kupu kanioro mo te pounamu rawa, heoi anō, he mea paopao ētahi atu kōhatu a te māori.

Ko te taonga nei, e whakatairanga ana i ngā poronga o te kani ki te pounamu. He mere pounamu pea, he toki rānei te otinga, mēnā rā i oti.

Pounamu Kanioro (Sawn Pounamu)

The word kanioro refers to the technique used to saw pounamu and bone. Kanioro is more commonly associated with pounamu as opposed to other stones, which were more commonly hammer dressed.

This particular taonga displays kanioro saw marks of what could have been a mere pounamu and toki, had it been completed.

POUNAMU KANIORO. NELSON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM COLLECTION. E.2572.77

Paraire (Friday) - Awe Kurī

Awe Kurī - He motunga nō te taiaha

He hukahuka nā te kiri o te kurī te awe kurī, he mea tango mai i te kura taiaha. Kua meto te kurī i ēnei rā, engari, e tino whāia nei e te Māori, ko te kurī kōrako te makau. He tohu o te rangatira, o te toa, mēnā te tangata e mau kahu kurī ai ia. Kitea rawatia ki te tauri o te taiaha, e mōhiotia ana he awe.

Awe kurī (dog fur tassel) – detached from taiaha kura

Awe Kurī is a dog fur tassel, detached from a taiaha kura. The kurī (now extinct) was highly sought after by Māori, especially the white kurī. To wear kurī was a sign of a rangatira and great warrior. Kurī fur or pelts are often seen in kākahu known as kahu kurī and can be seen on the tauri (collar) of a taiaha kura, known as awe (tassels).

AWE KURĪ. NELSON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM COLLECTION. NN2020.24

Hātarei (Saturday) - Tikumu Wharawhara

Tikumu Wharawhara - Nā te kohinga Knapp

Ko te tikumu wharawhara, he rau nō te tikumu kua tāraia hei whatu kākahu. No te whānau daisy, engari, ki ngā tihi o ngā maunga whakahī o Te Waipounamu te tikumu, tipu ai. Ko te kupu wharawhara te kupu mō ngā rau tikumu kua oti kē te tārai.

No te rohe o Ōtākou tēnei pūkei iti tikumu, he mea kite i te wharau o te pari, otirā, he tini hoki ngā rauemi raranga, whatu hoki i tōna taha.

Tikumu Wharawhara – Knapp Collection

Tikumu wharawhara are the prepared leaves of tikumu for cloak weaving. Tikumu is a member of the daisy family, however, this daisy grows high on the mountain tops of the South Island. Wharawhara is the word used to describe prepared tikumu leaves for weaving.

This small bundle of tikumu wharawhara was found in a rock shelter, along with many other weaving resources, in the Otago region.

TIKUMU WHARAWHARA. NELSON PROVINCIAL MUSEUM COLLECTION. K.1143.73

Rātapu (Sunday) - Kōauau Toroa

Kōauau Toroa - Nō te Kohinga Knapp

I taonga puoro tēnei na te kōiwi o te toroa. He rite ngā kōiwi o te toroa ki ngā kōiwi o te tangata, he nui, he kaha hoki. He tika mō te hanga kōauau. No te rohe o Murihiku te kōauau nei.

Kōauau Toroa – Knapp Collection

As the name indicates, this flute has been fashioned from the bone of an albatross. Albatross, like humans, had large robust bones suitable for the production of kōauau. The Southern Royal albatross has a wingspan of 2.9 – 3.3 meters.

Early examples of kōauau toroa consist of horizontal and vertical lines sawn into the bone creating patterns. The origins of this taonga are attributed to Southland.