Maori Proverbs - 5

Maori Proverbs - He Whakatauaki

Tungia te ururua, kia tupu whakaritorito te tupu o te harakeke

Burn the overgrowth to allow the flax shoots to grow through

From The Reed Pocket Dictionary of Modern Maori By P.M.Ryan

Hats and Harakeke

Harakeke Decorations

Fabulous Flax

Woven

Attached to a Hat
May 2009 Ajr

Work in Progress

A week or so ago, I travelled down to the Ngai Tahu Hui-a-Tau at Colac Bay in Southland. It was a ten hour bus ride with a group of Ngai Tahu people, which turned out to be a lot of fun - albeit a long journey. We all found ways of keeping ourselves amused and I loved watching one lovely kuia (old lady), who sat diagonally across from me in the bus, weaving with fresh harakeke (flax). Watching her nimble fingers weave the intricate patterns for her putiputi (flower) was almost hypnotic. It was a very relaxing way to pass the time. I spoke to her about her work and she told me she had been delighted to learn some new weaving techniques different to her own. "I thought I should practice them at the hui and on the bus while I could still remember them," she said. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Part of a Pattern

Traditional Koru Patterns
Painted
Hiding Behind Harakeke Leaves

Alive and Well

Gisborne, Eastland. May 2009. Ajr

I had to smile when I walked passed this harakeke (flax) plant in central Gisborne the other day - someone had started weaving some of the leaves - while they were still part of the living plant!

A Treasured Plant

Flax - Phormium tenax. Feb 2009. Ajr

This is harakeke or flax. It is a member of the lily family and has been used by Maori for generations as a vital fibre resource. Long ago Maori often had a pa harakeke, or flax plantation, close to their marae. The roots were used in the concoction of treatments for skin complaints and the older outside leaves were cut and used for weaving. Different species were favoured by different iwi for their strength, softness, colour and fibre content and once the muka (fibre) had been separated from the green flesh with a shell and pounded to make it soft and pliable, it was woven into ropes for bird snares, fishing lines, nets, sandals and clothing. The full leaves, either fresh or dried, were used to make kete (baskets) and other woven items - and still are of course.

Woven Flowers

Putiputi

(Flowers)

Woven in Harakeke (flax)

Weaving Words

Green flax weaving at Te Tauraka Waka a Maui Marae, Makaawhio, South Westland

Putiputi = flowers

Specifically woven flowers

And dry flax weaving

Hokonui Marae

Southland

Weaving a Pattern

Weaving 2007 Ajr

Harakeke (flax) weaving

One Pattern