Celebrating Waitangi Day

Today is a public holiday in New Zealand - designated such to celebrate Waitangi Day, which in turn celebrates the signing of The Treaty of Waitangi at Waitangi in 1840. That's an aerial view of the Waitangi National Trust grounds at Waitangi above. The bridge across the causeway links Waitangi to the nearby village of Paihia in the Bay of Islands.

The two photographs above are among the many I took when I visited Waitangi last April, while travelling New Zealand updating the travel guide Frommers New Zealand. They show two views of Te Tii Marae, which sits adjacent to the Waitangi National Trust grounds and is the focus of Waitangi Day celebrations. Thousands of people and politicians will be packed in here today - and if today is like any other Waitangi Day celebration, some controversey is bound to arise.

The flagpole in the Treaty Grounds
I meanwhile, will be attending the Ngai Tahu Waitangi Day celebrations, which are being held at Onuku Marae in Akaroa. The Governor General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand will be in attendance. I hope to bring you photographs from today's Akaroa event later today and tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Above the Door

I took this close up of the ornate lintel carving above the door of the Whare Runanga at Waitangi National Reserve. The lintel carving design is adapted from one found in a Hauraki swamp. The carving above the window (only just visible) is a replica of a lintel carving from the Napier district; and the skirting board design reproduces a design formerly carved on bargeboards of important pataka (storehouses). This mixed nature of the derivation of carvings on the Whare Runanga is very much in keeping with the fact that it was built to represent not one tribe, but all the tribes of New Zealand. This concept from proposed by Sir Apirana Ngata, then (in 1934) the Minister of Maori Affairs, as the Maori people's contribution to celebrate the 1940 centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed at Waitangi in 1840. www.waitangi.net.nz

Talking about Tukutuku

When I called in to visit the very beautiful Ngati Kahungunu Marae in the tiny Eastland village of Nuhaka back in May, I was particularly drawn to the stunning tukutuku panels that lined the walls of the main wharenui (meeting house). They seemed more intricate and more elaborate than most I had seen previously and my lovely host that morning – the marae caretaker, Cairo Otene – let me take photographs of them. Two of those are shown above.

But then I remembered the equally memorable Whare Runanga on Northland’s Waitangi Treaty Grounds. There too, I had been captivated by the tukutuku (above and below). In this case, the panels lining the walls represent all the iwi (tribes) of New Zealand, with their individual patterns record the stories of individual hapu. Tukutuku I should point out, refers to the intricate lattice work panels that are almost always found in Maori meeting houses. They are made by weaving horizontal battens to a backing of vertical poles (toetoe reeds for example) with dyed or bleached harakeke (flax) or kiekie and the yellow-orange pingao fibre, in detailed and distinctive patterns. Often the battens are painted to introduce another element to the overall design. The making of tukutuku panels has traditionally been women’s work
There are many traditional tukutuku designs that represent various objects. A diamond shape for instance can represent the patiki or flounder (fish) and zigzag patterns the kaokao or ribs. A triangle is called niho taniwha, or monster’s teeth – a taniwha is said to be a mythical sea or river monster in Maori lore. In the Waitangi Whare Runanga, the tukutuku panels (like the carved poupou) are arranged in pairs down opposite sides of the house, each pair the work of a different iwi group.

Waitangi 'Warriors'

Maori culture is very much alive and well in the Bay of Islands and while you won't see too many Maori roaming about town dressed like this, you will see performers like this at Waitangi National Reserve at Paihia. I met these two men as I was coming out of the Waitangi Visitor Centre and when I asked if I could take their photograph, they took up a traditional stance. www.waitangi.net.nz

A Northern Ancestor

I photographed this stunning carving inside the Whare Runanga at Waitangi National Reserve - which I wrote about here a couple of days ago. This pou tokomanawa represents Rahiri, the Ngapuhi chief. Pou representing the other iwi (tribes) of New Zealand are placed around the walls of the interior, each displaying the ancestors and distinctive carving styles of their region. www.waitangi.net.nz

Waitangi - The Whare Runanga

The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are home to two important buildings in national history – the Waitangi Treaty House, where the treaty was signed; and the Whare Runanga, a Maori meeting house. Both are monuments to a nation its people and its ancestors. When I was in Waitangi during my latest ‘around-New Zealand’ trip, I spent half a day at the Waitangi National Reserve, wandering the grounds and buildings with lead guide, Wil Napier (Ngapuhi). Wil was brought up on the reserve (his father was caretaker), so there’s no better person to have as your Waitangi tour guide.

The Waitangi Whare Runanga is a little different to most in that it is a building of national rather than tribal significance and as such, it welcomes people of all tribes and nationalities; and it is one of the few whare runanga that you are allowed to take photographs in. Its foundation stone was laid by Lord Bledisloe on February 6, 1934 and it opened in 1940 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. It is also unique in that its elaborate interior carvings are a monument to the ancestors of not one iwi (tribe) but to all tribes of New Zealand. The poupou (carved figures) down each side of the interior are arranged in pairs (28 in all), and because the whare runanga is in Ngapuhi territory, the Ngapuhi carvings of their tribal ancestors, Hineamaru and Rahiri take pride of place. The carvings for all tribes were created specifically for this whare runanga under the supervision of master carver, Pine Taiapa of Ngati Porou. Carvings from each iwi tell the ancestral story of each in their own distinctive carving style.

For Maori, the meeting house and marae (literally the grassed area in front) sit at the heart of Maori society and culture. They are a symbol of prestige, a monument to tribal ancestors and much more than a simple architectural statement. Each part of the wharenui (meeting house) symbolises a notable tribal ancestor – the head (koruru) at the top of the roof apex is the head of the ancestor; the ridgepole is his backbone; the bargeboards the arms (with lower ends divided to represent fingers); the interior rafters are the ribs; and the interior is the chest and belly. www.waitangi.net.nz

Steeped in History

Waitangi, Northland. April 2009. Ajr

I HAD to stop and photograph these magnificent carvings at Te Tii Marae in Waitangi when I was there in April. The marae (often inappropriately referred to as the Lower Waitangi marae - in relation to its proximity to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds), sits beside the Waitangi River and opposite Te Tii Beach and is the focal point of Waitangi Day celebrations on February 6th each year. It is also an important meeting place for the Ngapuhi people.

Giant Waka Gets Makeover

Image Courtesy Waitangi National Trust

Ngatokimatawhaorua is a sight to behold. Probably the largest waka (war canoe) in the world it is 35 metres long, weighs in at 6 tonnes, has room for 120 paddlers and has reached a maximum speed of 27 knots (35mph/51kph). Built in 1935 from three massive kauri trees felled in Northland’s Puketi Fortest and launched as part of the Centenary Celebrations in 1940, it now sits in a specially designed korowai (shelter) at Hobson’s Beach on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands. It was carved by seven carvers at Waipapa, near Kerikeri under the supervision of Pita Hepera, and is a larger version of the waka that carried visiting and raiding parties on long coastal voyages before and after the first Europeans arrived in New Zealand. The name Ngatokimatawhaorua was the name of the original voyaging waka in which the ancient explorer, Kupe is said to have used on his voyage to Aotearoa.

Left: Tau Iho Right: Taurapa Photo: Ajr April 2009

Tauiho - April 2009. Ajr
The carved tau iho, at the front of the canoe, is an ancient genealogical record and a history of construction; while the elaborately carved taurapa (sternpost) is used for navigation. It is designed to cut the head wind and when it whistles, it is an indication that the vessel is balanced and travelling in a straight line.

Rear View showing taurapa. April 2009. Ajr
The waka is still used every year during the Waitangi Day celebrations and it will be the showstopper at the 2010 Year of the Waka Waitangi Day celebrations, when over 50 waka from around the South Pacific come together. To ready her for the event – and her 70th birthday - the team from Te Aurere Waka recently met at Waitangi to give her a makeover. The waka was completely pulled apart and repaired, tarred, repainted and relashed. www.waitangi.net.nz

Waitangi - An Aerial View

Waitangi, Northland. Image Courtesy Waitangi National Trust
This is the very beautiful Waitangi National Trust Estate as viewed from the air. I visited here again on my recent trip around New Zealand and I was lucky enough to do two of the Trust’s guided tours, with Waitangi’s senior guide, Wil Napier (Ngapuhi), who was born and raised on the Waitangi grounds. This is where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed on February 6th, 1840, granting Maori the rights of British subjects. The flagpole is in the foreground on the spot known as Te Pitowhenua, or Birthplace of a Nation. The Treaty of Waitangi is one of only two treaties in the war signed in peacetime not war. The other is the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959. www.waitangi.net.nz