Maori Battalion Pouwhenua Thorndon Quay 02 (cropped)

Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

traditional art of

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

in wood, stone or bone.

History

Timber was formed into houses, fencepoles,

pouwhenua Pouwhenua or pou whenua (land post), are carved wooden posts used by Māori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand to mark territorial boundaries or places of significance. They are generally artistically and elaborately carved and can be found t ...

, containers,

taiaha A taiaha () is a traditional weapon of the Māori of New Zealand; a close-quarters staff weapon made from either wood or whalebone, and used for short, sharp strikes or stabbing thrusts with efficient footwork on the part of the wielder. Taiaha a ...

, tool handles and waka (boats). Carving tools were made from stone, preferably the very hard

pounamu Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in southern New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture. Name The Māori word , also used ...

(greenstone). Bone was used for fish hooks and needles amongst other things. Designs on carvings depict tribal ancestors, and are often important for establishing iwi and hapu identity. After European contact, many traditionally carved items were no longer widely produced in favour of using Western counterparts, such as

waka huia Waka huia and Papa hou are treasure containers made by Māori – the indigenous people of New Zealand. ''Waka huia'' was also the name of a long-running TV series on TVNZ. Containers These containers stored a person's most prized personal poss ...

treasure containers being replaced with lockable

seaman's chest A seaman's chest is a wooden chest which was commonly used by sailors to store personal belongings. They are also known as ''sea chests'', not to be confused with the recesses found in the hull of certain ships. Design and Use Seaman's chests ...

s by the 1840s. Traditionally, many expert carvers focused on creating elaborate

waka taua Waka () are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes (''waka tīwai'') used for fishing and river travel to large, decorated war canoes (''waka taua'') up to long. The earliest remains of a canoe in New ...

(war canoes), however this declined during the 1860s when waka taua were superseded by

whaleboat A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...

s or small European style sailing ships. During the decline, carvers focused instead on carved

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

, objects such as

tokotoko A tokotoko is a traditional Māori carved ceremonial walking stick. On a marae it is a symbol of authority and status for the speaker holding it. Poets from New Zealand who win the award of New Zealand Poet Laureate are presented with a tokotok ...

, or carved aspects of buildings such as churches. Most traditions that survived this period into the late 1800s were centred around communal whakairo schools, mostly located around

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

Te Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is t ...

, the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

and the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

. Carving schools balanced producing art for their own people with commercial works, with many of the most successful being

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa waka. The Ngāti Whakaue village Ōhinemutu is within the township of Rotorua. Ngāti Whakaue tra ...

Ngāti Pikiao Ngāti Pikiao is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi, including Ngāti Pikiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Whakaue. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The s ...

and

Ngāti Tarāwhai Ngāti Tarāwhai is a Māori iwi of the Rotorua area of New Zealand, and a member of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. The iwi's rohe (tribal area) covers the western shore of Lake Ōkataina. The tribe's carving has been noted historically ...

), located near

, during the tourism boom to the area in the 1870s, with an increased need for carved works such as the model village at

Whakarewarewa Whakarewarewa (reduced version of Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao, meaning ''The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao'', often abbreviated to Whaka by locals) is a Rotorua semi-rural geothermal area in the Taupo Volcanic ...

, and souvenirs. The Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at

, opened by Sir

Āpirana Ngata Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in Parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work ...

in 1926, is a stronghold of traditional carving skills. Ngata put arts as a 'vital part' of the rejuvenation of Māori culture.

Hone Taiapa Honing is a kind of metalworking. Hone may also refer to: * Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname * Hõne language Hõne is a Jukunoid language spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria ...

was head of this school for some time. Since the

Māori Renaissance The Māori renaissance is the revival in fortunes of the Māori of New Zealand beginning in the 1970s. Until 1914, and possibly later, the perception of the Māori race, although dying out, was capable and worthy of saving, but only within a Europ ...

in the 1960s there has been a resurgence of whakairo, alongside other traditional Māori practices, and an expansion into

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

. Many carvers express their practices in explicitly spiritual terms. The

Māori Art Market Māori Art Market is biennial Toi Māori event features art exhibitions, art sales, live art demonstrations, such as wood carving and tattooing, as well as presentations and master classes. It features traditional and contemporary Māori art by Mā ...

(funded by the state-sponsored

Toi Māori Aotearoa Toi Māori Aotearoa (English: Māori Arts New Zealand) is a charitable trust that promotes Māori traditional arts and Māori artists, both in New Zealand and overseas. Much of Toi Māori's funding comes indirectly from the government, through C ...

) is a significant venue for the promotion and sale of whakairo.

Features

Wooden Māori carvings are often painted to pick out features. Before modern paints were available this was often a mixture of kōkōwai (red ochre) and shark-liver oil. This was thought to preserve the carvings and also imbue them with a tapu (sacred) status. Following the introduction of metal tools there was a substantial increase in decorative ornamentation, particularly in wood and bone carving.

Notable carvers

Wero Tāroi Wero Tāroi (c.1810–1880), also known as Wero Mahikore and Karu, was a notable New Zealand Māori carver of the Ngāti Tarāwhai iwi. He was born at Lake Okataina, in the Rotorua district in New Zealand, and active from about 1860.https:/ ...

(c. 1810–1880) *

Eramiha Neke Kapua Eramiha Neke Kapua (c.1875–7 July 1955) was a New Zealand carver, tohunga and farmer. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāti Tarāwhai and Te Arawa iwi. He was born in Ruato, Lake Rotoiti, New Zealand circa 1875. His father was Ne ...

(1867–1955) *

Piri Poutapu Wiremu "Piri" Te Ranga Poutapu (8 June 1905 – 20 August 1975) was a New Zealand Māori master carver and carpenter. He identified with the Ngāti Korokī and Waikato iwi. He was born in Maungatautari, Waikato, New Zealand in 1905. He ...

(1905–1975) * Hori Pukehika (d. 1932) * Raharuhi Rukupo (d. 1873) *

(1911–1979) *

Pine Taiapa Pineamine "Pine" Taiapa (1901–1972) was a notable New Zealand wood carver, farmer, rehabilitation officer, writer and genealogist. He was one of the first students of the School of Māori Arts in Rotorua under Āpirana Ngata. As a carver ...

(1901–1972) *

Inia Te Wiata Inia Morehu Tauhia Watene Iarahi Waihurihia Te Wiata (10 June 191526 June 1971) was a New Zealand Māori bass-baritone opera singer, film actor, whakairo (carver) and artist. Early life Inia Te Wiata was born in Ōtaki, New Zealand, into the ...

(1915–1971) *

Tene Waitere Tene Waitere (1853–1931) was a notable New Zealand Māori carver from the Rotorua district. He identified with the Ngāti Tarāwhai and Te Arawa iwi. His mother was Ani Pape, the daughter of Te Rāhui, a Ngāti Tarāwhai leader. As a young g ...

(1853–1931) Maori Carving

Te Papa 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 ...

and

Auckland Art Gallery Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions. Set be ...

have substantial holdings of whakairo, with Te Papa in particular having many digitised in their ''Collections online'' website.

References

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History

Features

Notable carvers

References

Further reading