Pounamu - A Few Facts

Contemporary jade, Christchurch Arts Centre Market. Jan. 2009. Ajr

To most New Zealanders it’s greenstone. To the Maori it is pounamu. To the geologists it is nephrite, or jade. To tourists it is one of the most sought-after iconic souvenirs of New Zealand. But ‘greenstone’ is much more than a souvenir. From China to Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Middle East and New Zealand, jade has been revered for thousands of years. It has been endowed with symbolic status and mystical power, and treasured for its beauty, its sensual hues, diversity of color, its smooth touch and its extreme toughness. The New Zealand jade story is shorter than most – less than 1000 years – but early Maori valued it above all other possessions. Like the Chinese and the Mayans long before them, they treasured it more than gold. It provided them with a totally stone-based culture, which they developed to a high technical and aesthetic level in a relatively short time. Pounamu served them as tool, weapon, adornment, an item of trade and a symbol of authority and ceremony.

Traditional Maori Hei tiki at Okains Bay Museum, BanksPeninuslar. Ajr For Maori it was a gift from the gods of great spiritual and material value and archaelogical digs suggest they used nephrite as far back as the 13th century. Its use was well established by 1500 and between then and 1800 it was a key element of everyday life, the pivot of power between tribes and a major item of trade.The Maori continue to revere pounamu for its symbolic, mythological and aesthetic properties, and despite mass souvenir production, it retains a treasured place in Maori culture. If you are interested in Maori culture please click on my other blog http://maorilifestyles.blogspot.com for much more.

Digging Up History

Pegasus, North Canterbury. 2008 & 2009 Ajr

When I flew out of Christchurch recently, I had a clear view of the new North Canterbury town of Pegasus, 25 kilometres north of Christchurch. Viewed from the air it seems little more than an excavation site and I think the first residents have only just moved into their new house. There is a long way to go for the rest of the town, which will include hotels, shopping complexes, golf course, lakes, a yacht club and homes for 7,000 residents. In the meantime, much has been going on at ground level. Because of the town’s proximity to the old Kaiapoi Maori pa, home of the Nga Tu-ahu-riri hapu (sub-tribe of Ngai Tahu), the town’s developers, Infinity Investment Group agreed to work with a team of archaeologists and tribal representatives to ensure that any artefacts unearthed are treated appropriately. A significant number of Maori artefacts have been unearthed, including greenstone adzes, the remnants of a waka (canoe) and an ancient pou (carved post), which is believed to have been part of the old pa’s palisade defences, which were breached by fire in the 1830s. The plan is to house these and other significant cultural items in a whare taonga (cultural centre) to be built at Pegasus.

Pegasus, North Canterbury Jan 2009. Ajr

The rich historical significance of the Pegasus site has also been acknowledged in the placement of six new carved pou whenua, which make a bold statement at the entrance to the town. Carved by Fayne Robinson, Riki Manuel and Caine Tauwhare, who collectively have more than 75 years carving experience, the pou took eight months to complete. They’ve been carved from wind-felled totara logs from Okiwi Valley just north of Kaikoura and gifted by Te Runanga o Kaikoura on behalf of the people of Ngati Kuri. www.pegasustown.com If you are interested in Maori Culture please click on my other blog http://maorilifestyles.blogspot.com for much more.

Maori Cultural Centre

Christchurch. Jan 2009. Ajr

I was out biking the other day and found myself outside Nga Hau E Whau National Marae, a multi-tribal, multi-cultural marae that was built in Christchurch in the 1980s on land gifted by the Christchurch City Council. It’s the only marae in New Zealand that was founded as a meeting place for all the peoples of New Zealand regardless of tribal affiliations, race, religion or geography. It operates as a place of culture, education and entertainment and frequently welcomes visitors and tourists, who can watch Maori weavers and wood carvers at work. I love the Marae buildings here but as the complex was closed when I stopped by, I photographed this rather impressive front gate instead. The prominent lintel over the gateway is called Te Amorangi. The two top carved human figures are of Governor William Hobson (the Queen’s representative) and a Maori Rangatira (chief), who represents the three Ngai Tahu chiefs who signed the Treaty of Waitangi. Both represent the coming together of Maori and Pakeha (Europeans) at the Marae. If you are interested in Maori culture please click on my other blog http://maorilifestyles.blogspot.com for much more.

Carving A Living

Maori Carvings

On Sale

At The Cathedral Square Market

Christchurch

Jan 2009. Ajr

Tamatekapua - Another View

Here's another view of the Ohinemutu Maori Village meeting house, Tamatekapua I mention below.

Maori Carving at its Best

Carving, Ohinemutu, Rotorua. 2007. Ajr

Thinking of Rotorua yesterday (when I wrote, below, about Treetops Lodge), I was prompted to think of another of my favourite Rotorua places - Ohinemutu Maori Village. It's home to the historic Tamatekapua meeting house (above), the very beautiful St Faith's Church and a whole lot of stunning Maori carving, as illustrated in the exquiste and gigantic 'totem' here. What makes this place even more fascinating, is that the village sits right on the edge of Lake Rotorua amid a flurry of natural, steaming, hissing thermal vents. You can wander through the tight little network of narrow streets and see steaming rising from lawns, pavements and roadsides.

Te Puia Carvings

Te Puia carvings, Rotorua 2007. Ajr

These are four carvings I photographed at Te Puia in Rotorua last year. One of New Zealand’s major attractions, Te Puia opened its revamped facility last year. One of its most striking features is the magnificent sculpture Te Heketanga a Rangi, which forms the entrance to the complex. It features twelve beams reaching skyward, each decorated with an intricate carving. These represent the realm of the Supreme Being from which all things spiritual and physical originated. www.tepuia.com

The Best Little Small Museum Ever!

Okains Bay Maori & Colonial Museum April 2008 Ajr If you go down to the bay today, you’re in for a big surprise…..Okains Bay Maori & Colonial Museum is a thing of beauty and wonder – one man’s passion for collecting taken to extremes. Murray Thacker is the man behind it all. When his collection bulged out of his home garage, he bought the old cheese factory building (in 1968) and relocated the astonishing array of exhibits he had collected over many decades. In 1977 it was made a public museum and today it gets around 6,000 visitors a year – which is quite remarkable in itself when you consider how ‘off the beaten track’ Okains Bay is. I spent ages here, totally captivated by the gathered histories of Maori and Pakeha alike. The Maori meeting house shown above (top; interior and exterior) was built observing all Maori traditions, using original materials from other meeting houses. Most of the carving was done by well known master carver, John Rua. The main Maori artefact museum houses many treasures, including a sacred god stick dating back to 1400, a war canoe from 1867 and a valuable Akaroa hei tiki recovered in England and brought back to Okains Bay by the museum’s founder. An amazing treasure trove – expect more photos in the coming days.

Heart Felt

The traditional Maori Hei-tiki, or neck pendant, usually carved in pounamu (greenstone or jade), has made a big comeback as a contemporary cross-cultural accessory and tourist souvenir. For many Maori the Hei-tiki relates to a sense of Maori cultural identity; for other New Zealanders and overseas visitors, the Hei-tiki portrays a more general sense of New Zealand identity. There are plentiful references to the Hei-tiki form in Maori art and in contemporary jewellery. I spotted these great little felt Hei-tiki brooches made by Deborah Walsh, at The Little River Gallery on Banks Peninsula, 40 minutes from Christchurch. http://www.littlerivergallery.com/

It's A Zoo Out There!

When I flew out of Christchurch this morning bound for a job in Invercargill, I never expected to find myself in a cafe considering men's underwear design, cheetahs on bicycles, tribal artefacts and giraffe-themed toilets. But that's Invercargill for you - full of surprises! And that's just what travel should always be about - surprises. And you don't have to travel far for a surreal experience. Some of the strangest encounters can be moments away from your own doorstep. It's as Paul Theroux says: "True travel is launching oneself into the unknown. There is no excuse for it except that one offers oneself in the spirit of experiment. To me, one of the most compelling trips holds the prospect of the unknown near home ..... the whole point of travel is discovery."

Perfect Blue

And so to toheroa gathering - that magnificent big shellfish now only gathered in patches off the Southland coast - and only then by Maori customary fishing rights. Our mission: to write about toheroa, photograph toheroa, cook toheroa, eat toheroa - but not necessarily in that order - for Ngai Tahu's magazine TE KARAKA. With editor/photographer, Phil Tumataroa leading the charge, we bundled three kaumatua (tribal elders) of Murihiku Marae into our saucy blue car and headed for Oreti Beach. In a wide expanse of endless white sand beach, they knew exactly where to look, exactly where the toheroa beds lay and within minutes we had dug a handful from the wet sand. Half the pleasure of eating toheroa is in the digging," they laughed. "And there's nothing better than eating them fresh and raw, straight from the sand, with juice running down your wrists. It's the joy of the hunt."

Catch, Cook, Eat

How lucky are we to know award-winning Ngai Tahu chef, Jason Dell, who works as executive chef at Blanket Bay, one of New Zealand's most luxurious lodges. He's on our side. He makes us nice things to eat. He lets us wash his dishes - if we're really lucky we get to chop his parsley. It's his mission to take the traditional kai (food) of South Island's Maori and whip it into tasty dishes that give it a whole new modern interpretation. Then we sit the kaumatua down and give their taste buds a surprise.... and if we've been good, writer and photographer also get to eat. It's hard to call it work - but we insist it is!

Marae Design

Murihiku Marae sits on a rise on the outskirts of Invercargill city, overlooking a spread of yellow-green fields. It's a large complex complete with kitchens, meeting house (wharenui), offices, social rooms and, next door, the kohanga reo (maori language pre-school). Like most marae it is rich in carving (whakaairo). And in an inspired move, drawings from the tiny tots of the kohanga reo decorate the marae interior with almost as much importance as the wooden equivalents carved by master carvers. It's a lovely juxtaposition and it's good to know the next generation of Maori artists are being encouraged.