Of Film and Marae

It was a pleasant afternoon back in early May when I arrived in the small Hokianga settlement of Whirinaki in the Far North. The first thing that caught my eye were the two cute red-roofed churches – they stand like little beacons all over rural Northland and I love them. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to stop and visit them but I did drive down the road that lead to Whirinaki School, the local kohanga reo (Maori pre-school) and Moria Marae. I didn’t venture anywhere near the marae as the flag was flying and there were people all about. The flag is usually the sign of a tangi (funeral) in progress and I think people deserve privacy at times like that.

I have since discovered that Moria Marae recently hosted the 3rd Hokianga Film Festival, which acknowledged the feature films of the late Barry Barclay, an influential New Zealand filmmaker, theorist and writer, who took part in the 2007 festival.
Barclay was and still is highly regarded within the New Zealand film industry. His television series Tangata Whenua and his feature films The Neglected Miracle, Te Rua, The Feathers of Peace and The Kaipara Affair all cemented him as someone with a unique ability to understand - and capture on film – the essence of Maori community and bicultural New Zealand. I would have enjoyed seeing the 2009 festival with its emphasis on locally-produced material telling local stories. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity for established and aspiring filmmakers to come together to learn and share their skills and knowledge, it also provides an insight into the often unsung heroes of local communities – and within Maori communities there is a richness of story-telling that to my mind, is frequently overlooked. It’s good to see that this festival is well supported by Creative New Zealand, The Film Archive, the New Zealand Film Commission and the Hokianga Community Educational Trust.

Catwalk Creativity

When the 2009 MAORI ART MARKet officially opens in Porirua, near Wellington tonight, guests will get a sneak preview of the fashion show, which will be a daily feature of the market at 12.30 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Along with a number of contemporary Maori weavers, the fashion show will include guest designer Dorothy Grant (USA/Canada) hot off the catwalks of New York Fashion Week; Patricia Michael from USA; and our very own Suzanne Tamaki of the Native Sista’s Label, shown in these two images taken at the 2007 Maori Market fashion show.

Suzanne (Maniapoto, Tuhoe, Te Arawa), is an Otaki-based fibre artist, who founded the Native Sista’s label. She was also a founding member of the Pacific Sisters fashion collective in the mid-1990s. Along with her fashion garments, she also creates body adornment and jewellery inspired by the legends and mythical creatures in the Pacific and the world of traditional indigenous costuming. The end results are dramatic and unique and it’s no surprise to learn that she’s scooped a number of awards and has exhibited her work nationally and internationally – including works in the 12th Sydney Biennale in 2000, the 1996 South Pacific Festival of Arts in Samoa and at Belau Museum during the 2004 South Pacific Arts Festival. Tamaki’s collection Bi-Cultural Rap 2000 (first presented as a fashion show set to rap music) was purchased by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Visitors to this year’s Maori Art Market are in for a treat when Native Sista’s take to the catwalk again. www.maoriarts.org.nz

Maori Murals

I photographed these terrific murals in Gisborne and like several others I've featured here previously, they make strong reference to traditional Maori design motifs. You don't see this proliferation of Maori mural design anywhere else in New Zealand - at least not to the degree that you come upon it in Gisborne and elsewhere in Eastland. It's understandable of course - the whole Eastland/East Cape region has a large Maori population and things Maori are very much alive and well here.

South of Ruatoria

As the door lintel to this marae suggests, this is one of the Ngati Porou marae. Located just south of Ruatoria, perhaps it is THE Ngati Porou Marae - as in the main marae of the iwi. I haven't been able to find out and at the time, I couldn't find a sign on the property. I'm not going to guess beyond that. The Ngati Porou iwi has 53 hapu groups scattered across East Cape and Eastland and if I put the wrong name to this particular marae, I'm sure to offend someone. www.ngatiporou.com

Meet the People - 23

Another in the Series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things – Sandy Adsett (Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Pahauwera), is one of New Zealand’s leading contemporary Maori artists. And as such he is adamant that Maori artists must work first and foremost for their own people. “A Maori has an obligation to the art of his/her people. It’s the people’s art. It doesn’t belong to you,” he has said. “It must identify Maori to Maori if it is going to remain relevant to statements about our tribal beliefs, values and mana (standing) in today’s and tomorrow’s world.” Born in Wairoa on the North Island’s East Coast in 1939, Sandy’s contribution to Maori art has been immense. Quite apart from his own broad art career as painter, carver, weaver, costume and stage designer (designing everything from postage stamps to full scale stage sets for the Royal New Zealand Ballet), he has been instrumental in furthering Maori Visual Arts within the New Zealand school curriculum.

Ever since he became an arts specialist for the Department of Education Advisory Service in the 1960s, helping to introduce the new ‘Maori Arts in Schools’ progamme, he has influenced generations of aspiring artists. In 1993 he was appointed a principal tutor at Tairawhiti Polytechnic in Gisborne; and in 2002 he settled in Hastings – the heart of his Kahungunu tribal roots – where he established the new School of Contemporary Maori Visual Arts, Toimairangi, Te Wananga o Aotearoa. He is a member of Te Atinga, the Committee of Contemporary Maori Visual Arts of Toi Maori Aotearoa and is on the board of Te Waka Toi, Creative New Zealand.
As an artist in his own right, Sandy has exhibited widely throughout New Zealand and in USA, Canada and Australia. His own works have been heavily inspired by traditional kowhaiwhai (rafter patterns in wharenui or meeting houses); and he has always maintained a balance between the contemporary and the traditional in the materials he has chosen to work with. This week (Oct 9, 10, 11), Sandy will be one of the participating artists in the biennial MAORI ART MARKet, which is being staged at Pataka and the Te Rauparaha Events Centre in Porirua, near Wellington. www.maoriarts.org.nz (All images courtesy of Toi Maori Aotearoa).

MAORI ART MARKet Returns

I just know I’m going to be horribly frustrated later this week because a series of already-scheduled meetings here in Christchurch mean that it is unlikely I will make it up to Porirua, near Wellington for the 2009 MAORI ART MARKet. One of my friends went to the 2007 market and said it was fabulous and I’d set my heart of going this time round. I’ll be missing a real showcase of top artworks by more than 60 leading and emerging contemporary Maori artists. Imagine all that creativity in one place – everything from painting, carving, photography and weaving to silver jewellery, clay works, mixed media and Ta Moko (tattoo). An estimated NZ$1-million worth of artwork is predicted to change hands at the event or soon after.
Driven by Toi Maori Aotearoa (Maori Arts New Zealand) and located at Pataka Museum and the newly-opened Te Rauparaha Events Centre on October 9, 10 and 11, the market is a biennial event that has flourished since it was first launched as Maori Arts Meets America in San Francisco in 2005. The concept is based on the highly successful INDIAN MARKET, which began over 80 years ago and is held in Santa Fe every August. As part of the concept, other indigenous artists are also invited to attend and this year, market-goers will have the chance to see the work of renowned Haida Indian fashion designer, Dorothy Grant; contemporary Hopi Indian painter, Dan Namingha; and Tahitian Tlingit sculptor, Dempsey Bob. Invited Pacific artists include Lorene Taurerewa, Michael Tuffery and writer/painter, Albert Wendt. And that’s before we even start on the terrific line-up of Maori artists – many of whom have already established high profiles nationally and internationally, others of whom are just starting out on their creative journey. I’ll be bringing you more about the market – and some of the artists featured there – in the coming days….even if I don’t get there in person. www.maoriarts.org.nz (Both images courtesy Toi Maori Aotearoa).

Searching for Tangaroa

Leading Maori sculptor, Brett Graham (Ngati Koroki Kahukura), opens his Wellington exhibition ‘Searching for Tangaroa’ at Bartley & Company Art tomorrow night, October 6th. It’s his first show in the capital for a number of years – though many Wellingtonians will be familiar with his large public sculpture, Kaiwhakatere, which sits behind Parliament Buildings on Bowen Street. Graham has exhibited extensively – nationally and internationally – over the last decade and he is highly regarded as one of the most exciting and accomplished contemporary Maori sculptors. Although many of his works are not overtly Maori, they are the product of Graham’s interest in “a dual dialogue of Maori and European histories, adhering to the Modernist emphasis on form and material quality.” His concepts and titles though, invariably draw on his Maori heritage. The small illustration here (courtesy of bartley & company art) shows sculptural detail from work in his upcoming Wellington exhibition – a solo show that reflects Graham’s ongoing fascination with water as a cultural site. Searching for Tangaroa explores the convergence of ancient and contemporary beliefs and technologies. He employs high-tech underwater scanners in a mythical quest for the location of Hui te anga nui, the house of the god of the sea and the original site of the carving. As a metaphor for the human search for meaning, the scanners reference a range of issues from the foreshore and seabed act to values systems and religions. Graham has also collaborated with fellow Maori artist, Rachael Rakena, who I featured here a couple of weeks ago. Their collaborative works (Aniwaniwa and UFOB) have attracted significant international attention and have been shown at both the Venice and Sydney Biennales. www.brettgraham.co.nz www.bartleyandcompany.co.nz

On the Peninsular

I thought I'd just run this pretty scenic shot from Port Levy on Banks Peninsular today. Known as Koukourarata in Maori it's home to an idyllically-place Tutehuarewa Marae that sits on the rise just to the left of the land end of this wharf. I've written about Koukourarata a good number of times before and you can see those postings by clicking on the word Koukourarata in the label line below this post. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Market Day

Traditional Piupiu

(skirts)

For Sale at Cathedral Square Market
Christchurch

From the Kete Files

One Small Kete

Decorated with Shell

Hanging by the Door

Cockle Cook-Up

Matenga Taiaroa told me he had been gathering tuaki (cockles) on the Otago Peninsular near Dunedin from the time he could first walk. He’d lived close to the Otakou Marae for 73 years and he’d always considered tuaki an integral part of his diet. He still gathers them – “once a fortnight at least” – and puts them in a bowl in the microwave for a minute, (“just to release the muscle”) and then he eats them raw. It’s the way he’s always known. I visited Otakou Marae on the Otago Peninsular for Ngai Tahu’s TE KARAKA magazine a couple of years ago. It was a cloudy day but we had all the fun we always did on these kai feature visits to the various South Island runanga.

“When we were kids we’d take a bucket down to the harbour at low tide to gather tuaki for the whanau and we’d always crack a few open and eat them there and then,” Matenga said. He was one of six children and whoever was around had the job of digging for cockles. He taught his own two children to do the same. Tuaki, or cockles as they are commonly known to the locals, are actually New Zealand Littleneck Clams (Austrovenus stutchburyi). They are the single most abundant large invertebrate animal found in inter-tidal sand flats in sheltered harbours and estuaries throughout New Zealand. They have been an important food source for Muaupoko (Otago Peninsular) Maori for generations and their shells have commonly been found in centuries-old middens. The area was speckled with many kaik (villages) and Pukekura (Taiaroa Head) was an important fortified pa. From early times the peninsular provided a wealth of resources – from tuaki and seals to fish and birdlife.
Sitting on a wide bench seat outside Otakou Marae, overooking the ocean and village below, Matenga Taiaroa talked about his great-grandfather, who walked the same soil, and he was proud of the fact that his family still owned land on the peninsular. “We’re the caretakers here; that’s what I like – the sense of continuity through generations and the fact that we have always only ever taken what we need from the land and sea,” he told me. That day the Otakou team sat down to cockle feast by then-executive chef of Blanket Bay, Ngai Tahu chef, Jason Dell. They were presented with risotto with spinach and parmesan cheese; steamed cockles with linguini and garden vegetables; grilled cockles with pancetta, garlic and herb crumbs; and cockle chowder with kumara and assorted vegetables. It was a far cry from the simplicity of raw, or plain steamed tuaki but the men were enthusiastic about their introduction to new flavours. With paradise ducks honking in the background and steely grey clouds creeping across the cold winter skies, they worked their way through Jason’s modern take on a traditional favourite with happy gusto. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Architectural Details

Traditional Carvings

Etched Glass

Architectural Details

Old and New

Waikato, North Island

Maori Place Names - 28

Beside the Awatere River near Te Araroa

Eastland, North Island

Place of Whales

I didn’t step onto the beach at Whangaparaoa on East Cape, which I regret now. It’s where the famous canoes the Tainui and the Arawa landed after their journey from Hawaiiki around 1350AD. It would have been nice to have stepped onto a place of such historical importance. I did however, stop outside Whangaparaoa’s Kauaetangohia Marae, which sits just to one side of State Highway 35 – that marvellous road that takes you right around this spectacular Cape from Opotiki to Gisborne.

Whangaparaoa, near Cape Runaway, was named by the first Maori warriors who landed there. When the Arawa and the Tainui canoes landed, they found a whale on the beach and both sought to claim it as their own, so they could used the valuable flesh and whalebone. Whanga means bay, paraoa is Maori for sperm whale. Later, after the arrival of Europeans, the area became a busy whaling centre.

It was blowing a gale when I stopped in the tiny settlement at 3.30pm on May 8th. There was no one about, although smoke was curling from the chimney of a little house across the highway from the marae and an old school bus was parked beside the health centre near the gates of the marae. A small inter-denominational church made a solitary statement on the adjacent hilltop. Whangaparaoa forms the boundary of the Opotiki District and also that of the local tribe, Te Whanau-a-Apanui. Onwards to the north and east, the land becomes home to Ngati Porou.

Across the highway from the church, sits the little Maori school, Te Kura Mana Maori o Whangaparaoa, which according to Ministry of Education statistics, had a roll of just 29 in 2008. It’s a pretty place, with traditional Maori designs painted along the railings of the entrance pathway. I was especially intrigued by the little shelter in front of the school, which appeared (from a distance) to house a large sculpture of an octopus. The octopus, or te wheke does have a number of mythical associations for Maori, chief among them, the legend of Kupe and his battle with Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, which is far too long for me to re-tell here. But if you have an interest in the legend, it is detailed on Google. The concept of Te Wheke, the octopus is also sometimes used to define family health. The head of the octopus represents te whānau, the eyes of the octopus as waiora (total wellbeing for the individual and family) and each of the eight tentacles representing a specific dimension of health. The dimensions are interwoven and this represents the close relationship of the tentacles. Perhaps that’s why it’s outside the school – but I can’t be sure. Next time I'll pray the wind isn't blowing so hard and I'll take a closer look.

On a Hill

Whitianga Bay, 51.2km north east of Opotiki on the North Island’s East Cape, is one of the prettiest beaches you’ll find. I arrived there, on my recent North Island travels, on May 8th. It was a sunny afternoon at 1pm and when I saw the sign pointing to Whitianga Marae, I turned right and drove up a short, steep, gravel road and found myself directly in front of the marae. It sits on a grassy knoll overlooking the beautiful expanse of ocean and the pretty horseshoe bay, with a thicket of pine forest rearing up behind the buildings. I felt at ease there. I felt a strong sense of peace and calm for reasons I couldn’t explain and I stayed for some time, sitting out the front of the marae, thinking about all the people who might have walked under its divine, ornately carved waharoa (gateway).

I loved its lively painted fence. I admired the lush pa harakeke (flax grown for weaving) that grew to one side of the car park. I wondered about the war memorial commemorating the lives of all those lost in both world wars, the Korean war, the Malaysian and Indonesian conflicts and the Vietnam war; and I thought about the statue commemorating the life and bravery of Te Moananui-A-Kiwa Ngarimu (1918-1943), who at 24 was a second lieutenant in the 28th Maori Battalion in Tunisia in World War II. Of Ngati Porou and Te Whanau-a-Apanui descent, Ngarimu grew up in Rotorua. He was awarded the VC posthumously.

One of the most striking things about the Whitianga Marae is the beautifully-carved waharoa and as the afternoon shifted, I took great delight in photographing the marvellous shadows it cast across the marae lawn. They seemed to have a life of their own and as they stalked across the grass, it was almost as if the carving was coming to life. All up it was a beautiful little stopover that I still think about frequently.

Leaping into the Spotlight

One of the big attractions at this year’s Body Festival in Christchurch is bound to be the award-winning show, Tama Ma, performed by two of New Zealand’s most acclaimed contemporary dancers, Taane Mete and Taiaroa Royal. The pair premiered Tama Ma at the Tempo Dance Festival in Auckland in 2008, where it received rave reviews, standing ovations and sell-out performances.

Still from the short film Pito Act 1

This evocative performance takes the form of a five act autobiographical dance journey, which tells the story of two men who travel from boyhood to manhood. It’s a real life tale of life, love, sorrow and joy. The five-part act moves from a short dance film projected on stage to a drag queen’s journey to femininity and the return back to masculinity; a young boy’s connection to his whanau (family) and iwi (tribe); and a mature man’s ideas of identity. “We do not often see choreography that is so deeply drawn from a core of Maori culture and personal experience,” says Jennifer Shennan in the Dominion Post.
Zoomslide Films director, Mark Summerville and producer, Heather Lee collaborated on Tama Ma, producing the short film, Pito that plays in Act 1 of the show. Distinguished choreographer, Douglas Wright worked on Act 2; and extraordinary talents of Michael Parmenter have shaped Act 4, Hand to Hand. Act 3, Rangatahi, explores remembered connections to whanau and iwi; and Act 5, Whanaungatanga, explores whanau and spirituality as Mete and Royal pay homage to their late fathers. It is an especially moving piece that sees both men reflect on the important life lessons learnt from their fathers’ tautoko (support) and korero (talk). The show runs in Christchurch at James Hay Theatre on October 6. www.thebody.co.nz
Images Courtesy of Elephant Publicity and The Body Festival

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

Traditional Designs - 10

Hats For Sale
Riccarton Rotary Market

Dance Festival

Images supplied by the Body Festival 2009.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about kapa haka and the Maori poi dance, the 2009 Body Festival offers the perfect chance to get up close and personal. Staged in Christchurch, the festival opened yesterday and runs until October 11. Tucked in between the many outstanding dance performances across all dance genres, is a comprehensive series of workshops designed to meet any dance preference. You can learn all about kapa haka from one of Christchurch’s most dynamic and versatile performing groups, Te Ahikaaroa on Saturday October 3; or you can try your hand at twirling the poi led by Maarie Hutana of Positive Touch on October 10. www.thebody.co.nz

Eastland Street Art

Gisborne, on the North Island's east coast is one of the more remote of New Zealand's provinvial towns and cities. It is also home to a large Maori population and I love the fact that you can walk the streets here and constantly come face-to-face with colourful murals, graffiti and street art, all with a strong Maori design theme. My time there most recently (in May) was unfortunately short, but I raced about the streets like a mad thing, photographing left, right and centre. Luckily the weather held and I was able to get a record of many of the street works that may well be gone a few months from now. I loved this mural, painted down the length of a wall of some of the Tairawhiti Polytechnic buildings. www.tairawhiti.ac.nz

Maori Place Names - 27

Central Otago

South Island

Leaf Prints

I photographed these 'leaf castings' in Cathedral Square. There are about ten of them cast into the base of Neil Dawnson's 'Chalice,' each depicting one of the native trees, ferns or plants of the Christchurch area.

Te Ati Awa Carving

Carving detail at Waikawa Marae, Picton

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.

Takahanga Carvings

One of my favourite contemporary carvings

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Takahanga Marae, Kaikoura