From the Kete Files

Kete on Display

(baskets)

Hokonui Marae,

Gore, Southland

2008. Ajr

A Portrait - 5

A Kapa Haka Performer

Te Puia, Rotorua

May 2009

www.tepuia.com

East Cape Carving

Stunning Carvings at Te Manawa Pouri Marae

Tokomaru Bay, East Cape

North Island

May 2009, Ajr

Carving Detail

Up Close

Carving Detail

At the entry to Whakarewarewa Thermal Village

Rotorua.

May 2009 Ajr

www.whakarewarewa.com

More From the Kete Files

Of the dozens and dozens and dozens of kete (baskets) I have photographed over the last year, this one remains my favourite. I snapped it at the Weaving School at Rotorua's Te Puia - a marvellous place to see weavers at work. There you'll see the whole process - from green fibre all the way through preparation, drying, dyeing and weaving. And in the unlikely event you get bored with that, you can walk next door to Te Wananga Whakairo - The Carving School...which I've also featured on this blog recently. (Click on words in the label line below this post if you'd like to see more). www.tepuia.com

A Portrait - 4

In a Bus

Weaving on the Move

South Island

Nov.2009.

Korowai - In Detail

This is a close-up shot of the taniko weaving that borders the korowai (cloak) worn by Mark Solomon, Kaiwhakahaere Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu at the dawn opening ceremony of Te Hokinga Mai, a stunning display of Ngai Tahu taonga (treasures) now showing at Robert McDougall Gallery, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch. You can see other photographs (including cloaks) from the dawn ceremony by clicking on Te Hokinga Mai in the label line below this post. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Maori Place Names - 53

Ohinemutu, Rotorua

Central North Island

May 2009, Ajr

Meet the People - 29

Another in the Series Meet the People - Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things - Grant Ryan (Ngai Tahu) has a huge and growing list of ideas he plans to work on. That's a good thing when you're a highly successful and motivated inventor and entrepreneur and Grant's commitment to making clever ideas a reality has already come a long way. One of his latest inventions, the Yike Bike (shown below), has been acclaimed the 15th Best Invention of the Year in Time Magazine's Top 50 Inventions of 2009.

For Grant, who was born in the tiny Southland settlement of Otautau and grew up in Invercargill, it is a pleasing and unexpected accolade but true to his quiet persona, he's not one to make a big deal about it. The Yike Bike though, is the smallest, lightest electric folding bicycle in the world. Weighing less than 10kg, it folds down to the size of a laptop and can be carried on buses, trains and cars and stored easily in an office cupboard. Not surprisingly, it is expected to revotuionize urban commuting internationally.
Grant, 40 is a big thinker with a degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in ecological economics from Canterbury University and the Yike Bike is just one of many already-successful projects he has embarked upon - and it won't be the last. Following on from the development of a social networking company, a software-as-a-service exporter and an Internet search company, the Yike Bike is just the beginning. Grant, shown above with his cousin, fellow engineer and business associate, Caleb Smith (Ngai Tahu), is excited about the potential the Yike Bike has shown. The company already has orders for the bike from all over the world - despite a handsome price tage of around 3,500Euros (NZ$7000), which puts it at the Porsche end of the market. The first models are due off the production line some time this year and Grant is sure they will herald the beginning of an all-new approach to transport in congested urban centres around the world. It's a long, long way from Otautau and Grant is already thinking about his next big idea. www.yikebike.com

More from the Kete Files

One Woven Kete

On Display

Whakarewarewa Thermal Village

Rotorua

www.whakarewarewa.com

A Model Village

An Intricate Model of a Traditional Maori Pa

Fortified

On Display

Auckland Museum

www.aucklandmuseum.com

Poi at Rest

Poi

Hanging from an Antler

An Unexpected Vignette at Whakarewarewa.

Rotorua

May 2009, Ajr

www.whakarewarewa.com

Tiki in a Tree

There's something incredibly 'alive' about this particular tiki, seen here on the promotional flag for Mo Tatou, the stunning exhibition of Ngai Tahu taonga (treasures) now showing as part of Te Hokinga Mai at Robert McDougall Gallery, Canterbury Museum, in Christchurch. It is dated from the 1840s and has been attributed to the Ngai Tahu whanui. It is currently on loan (in the exhibition) from Southland Museum and Art Gallery. I took this shot - and many others - at the dawn opening ceremony for the exhibition last Saturday (Feb 20th) - and you can see more of those if you click Te Hokinga Mai in the label line below this post. www.ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Maori Place Names - 52

Fitzgerald Glade, Near Rotorua.

Central North Island

May 2009 Ajr

Weaving - In Four Parts

I love trying to capture the detail of craftspeople of any kind at work. There's often a greater beauty (for me) in those tiny, close-up movements than in the bigger picture. I took these photographs at The Weaving School at Rotorua's Te Puia. www.tepuia.com

A Portrait - 3

A Young Maori Carver

Te Wananga Whakairo

(The Carving School)

Te Puia, Rotorua

May 2009

www.tepuia.com

More From the Kete Files

One Morning Weaving

A Small Kete Completed

Takutai o te Titi Marae

Colac Bay, Southland

Nov.2009 Ajr

Maori Proverbs - 6

Maori Proverbs = He Whakatauaki

Maramara nui a Mahi ka riro i a Noho

Big chips from the worker's chisel reach those who sit around.

(Lazybones gets some of the benefits of the hard worker)

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

Northland Adventures

The day I drove into Pakiri Beach north of Leigh in the sunny north of the North Island, the sun was not long up, it was already warm and I had the beach entirely to myself - except for a rather nasty bull terrior that decided I looked like a juicy snack!

It's one of those places I now have on my list of 'Places I Must Return To.' The whole area has a rich Maori history and not far away, Te Kiri Marae at Leigh is also worth a visit. As I've mentioned many times, I love driving down side roads but as I was just setting out and had a long journey ahead of me (all the way out to the tip of Karikari Peninsula with at least a dozen side trips along the way), I decided against turning down the road that led to Laly and Sharley Haddon's Pakiri Beach Horse Rides. Descended from Te Kiri of Ngati Wai, an ancient Maori chief and his daughter, Rahui, they would have been the perfect people to give me all the details about the area. They live on the land that has been handed down through generations and with a wealth of experience in farming and horses, they've branched out into tourism with their riding venture. The family farm, Taurere covers 2,000 acres of east coast Northland and includes a private beach and around 130 horses. They offer a number of multi-day horse riding options, most of which include an introduction to the Maori history of the area. I can't think of a better way to get to know this isolated and otherwise private stretch of lower Northland. www.horseride-nz.co.nz

Representing the People

Te Herenga Tangata

Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu

Te Herenga Tangata is the wood, shell and pounamu caring that represents the eighteen runanga and the people of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, the South Island's leading iwi (tribe). Each runanga is represented by one of the carved nobs. The carving is always present at important meetings and hui - I photographed it here, at the annual Ngai Tahu Hui-a-Tau, at Takutai o te Titi Marae, in Colac Bay, Southland in November last year.