Rangimahora Reihana-Mete (née Leonard; 25 January 1899 — 29 December 1993) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Māori tohunga raranga (master weaver) and textile artist. She was affiliated with the Ngāti Raukawa iwi. Her artworks are held in the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

(Te Papa). In 1974 she was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

and in 1992 the Order for Meritorious Service from Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa.

Biography

Reihana-Mete was born on 25 January 1899 to noted weaver Ranginui Parewahawaha Leonard in

Maungatautari Maungatautari is a mountain, rural community, and ecological area near Cambridge in the Waikato region in New Zealand's central North Island. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "mountain of the upright ...

. She moved to Foxton in 1920 and continued to live there for the remainder of her life. During her lifetime Reihana-Mete travelled extensively in New Zealand passing on her traditional skills and knowledge in weaving and other Māori crafts. She also served as a judge for events organised by the

Māori Women's Welfare League The Māori Women’s Welfare League or Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora is a New Zealand welfare organisation focusing on Māori women and children. It held its first conference in Wellington in September 1951. The League's official aims ...

. She died on 29 December 1993, and is buried in

Himatangi Himatangi is a small settlement in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located at the junction of State Highways 1 and 56, 25 kilometres west of Palmerston North, and seven kilometres east of the coastal sett ...

Art

A cloak made by Reihana-Mete was presented to the British High Commissioner George Fergusson by the Ngāti Raukawa iwi. Te Papa also holds a collection of Reihana-Mete's work. In 1993 works by Reihana-Mete formed part of the exhibition ''Ngā puna roimata o Te Arawa'' held at Te Papa that also featured works by Te Hikapuhi Wiremu Poihipi and

Mākereti Papakura Margaret Pattison Staples-Browne (née Thom, 20 October 1873 –16 April 1930), more commonly known as Mākereti or Maggie Papakura, was a New Zealand guide, entertainer and ethnographer. Of Pākehā and Māori descent, she was of Te Arawa a ...

. In 2006 a retrospective of her life and work was held in Foxton. This exhibition inspired the formation of the Te Taitoa Māori o Te Awahou Trust which has the mission of sharing

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

culture.

Family

Reihana-Mete was married twice. Her first husband was Pitihera Reihana who died in 1954. Her second husband was Whitu Mete. Her granddaughter Pip Devonshire is also a noted weaver.

Honours and awards

In the

1974 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1974 to celebra ...

, Reihana-Mete was awarded the

, for services to Māori culture. In 1992, Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa awarded Reihana-Mete the Order for Meritorious Service for her fundraising work including creating items for sale at church shop days. A mural depicting Reihana-Mete weaving was created by Mike Jull and Michael Barclay on the main street of Foxton next to the Westpac Bank.

Exhibitions

* ''The work of Rangimahora Reihana-Mete'', War Memorial Hall, Foxton, 2006. *''Ngā puna roimata o Te Arawa'', Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 1993.

References

External links

Image of Rangimahora Reihana-Mete
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reihana-Mete, Rangimahora 1899 births 1993 deaths Ngāti Raukawa people New Zealand Māori weavers New Zealand weavers New Zealand artists New Zealand women textile artists People from Waikato New Zealand recipients of the British Empire Medal