Tikanga

When I studied Maori carving and design I got a brief glimpse into Maori culture. It is so rich and in-depth, a word is not a word but a whole discussion can ensue with such variety and sense of meaning, I find that fascinating. I also believe that because I live in New Zealand I have a duty to try to at least understand tangata whenua and their language.

It is important to me to follow Maori tikanga (protocol) in the harvesting and preparation, in doing this I acknowledge the many people who have shared the gift of raranga (weaving) with me.

Each piece of weaving has its own story or whakapapa. It not only represents a significant investment of time, but the type of harakeke (around 70 different cultivars, each with different properties), who wove it, the meaning of the design or for what purpose it was woven.

For example, in order to create a kete the following steps are needed:

• Karakia or a giving of thanks before harvesting and cleaning of the bush
• Stripping of the leaves and softening each individual strip with pounamu (greenstone)
• Dying with colours if required, and choosing a pattern
• Layout and finally weaving can be started
• The top and bottom are cast off and plaited
• A kete whakairo (patterned bag) is usually woven inside out so it needs to be turned the right way out - always a scary moment!
• Handles are added, often from muka which needs to be extracted first
• Finally it is shaped and dried carefully