Rangikaiamokura Wirihana Hetet (born 18 April 1937) is a Maori master carver (tohunga

whakairo Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone. History Timber was formed into houses, fencepoles, pouwhenua, containers, taiaha, tool handles and waka (boats). Carving to ...

) of

Ngāti Tuwharetoa Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...

and Ngāti Maniapoto descent.

Early life and family

Hetet was born in 1937 to Charles Wilson Hetet and Lillian (née Smallman). He married Erenora Puketapu at Waiwhetu Marae in 1960, and they have four children. Their daughter

Veranoa Hetet Veranoa Angelique Hetet (born 1966) is a New Zealand Māori weaver and contemporary artist of Te Atiawa, Ngāti Tuwharetoa and Ngāti Maniapoto descent. Biography Hetet was born in 1966 in Waiwhetū, Lower Hutt. She was taught how to weave he ...

is a notable weaver.

Carving

Hetet first rose to recognition in New Zealand as one of the carvers of the meeting house at

Waiwhetū Waiwhetū is an eastern suburb of Lower Hutt in the Wellington Region situated in the south of the North Island of New Zealand. In the 19th-century period of European settlement it was worked by Irish-born Alfred Ludlam, who was a member of thr ...

in the 1950s, during which he met Erenora Puketapu-Hetet, who become his wife. His grandmother,

Rangimārie Hetet Dame Rangimārie Hetet (née Hursthouse, 24 May 1892 – 14 June 1995) was a New Zealand Māori tohunga raranga (master weaver). She identified with the Ngati Maniapoto iwi. Early life Hetet was born in Oparure, King Country, New Zeala ...

was a renowned weaver from Te Kuiti, who passed her skills on to Erenora Puketapu-Hetet. Hetet trained in fraternity of carvers known as Konae Aronui under legendary tohunga whakairo Tuhaka Kapua and later Hone Taiapa at the

New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) is an indigenous traditional art school located in Rotorua New Zealand. It operates the national schools of three major Māori art forms. NZMACI opened in 1963 as a successor school to ...

. He had only two apprentices, including Sam Hauwaho. As his wife did, Hetet sees his art as having a spiritual dimension: :The carver Rangi Hetet says that the materials he uses are no simply materials—they have a spiritual nature, being descended from Tane. A carver should show respect for Tane by not carving in too flamboyantly a manner; he should, of course, inject his own mauri into the work, but should do so for the sake of the work, not his own sake. Hetet tries to use raw timber rather than milled timber so as to be able to show respect by following the nature of character of the timber. Hetet's commissions have included a number of meeting houses, four waka taua (war canoes 60+ feet long) and a number of institutional pieces such as the one at

LINZ Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

. One of Hetet's 1989 sesquicentenary canoes was subsequently involved in a legal stoush. In the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

he was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

for services as a Māori master carver. He is still active and exhibiting in venues such as the Māori Art Market.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetet, Rangi 1937 births Living people Ngāti Tūwharetoa people Tohunga New Zealand Māori carvers New Zealand Māori weavers Ngāti Maniapoto people Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Atkinson–Hursthouse–Richmond family