Marae in Northland are traditionally without whakairo but moves are being made to revive the art form and the hope is that graduates of the New Zealand Certificate Ngā Toi Whakairo L4 programme will help in the revitalisation of mahi whakairo in Northland.
Ngā Toi o Manako is a 12-month course and is a collaboration between NorthTec and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia. Graduates are exhibiting their work at a special art exhibition and it’s a proud moment for the six graduates who survived the course.
The course is being run by Renata Tane, who studied at the prestigious New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute. He says Te Taitokerau has been trying to reinstitute mahi whakairo in its rohe. He is particularly proud to see his rohe undergo a change in how it perceives whakairo and he wanted the class to have real-world applications by commissioning artwork for the exhibition.
“Whakairo has had, for a long time, a sort of struggle to see ourselves within the Northland context”
“We wanted to produce five pou and the research and the clients were all provided for Ngāti Rēhia, to try and give it a sense of time frames and deadlines.”
Pita Beatty and Te Ahu Adams are two of the survivors of the year-long course, Beatty says the course focuses on more than just the chisel and a block of wood.
“We have learnt about carving, oral traditions, and whānau working in the spirit of togetherness”
“I am a wānanga person, so I loved coming to wānanga to learn about whakairo.”
The carving he chose to create was named after Atua Māori.
“My carving is named Tūārangaranga. Tāne copulated with Hinetūparimaunga and begat Pūtoto. Pūtoto copulated with Takaaho and begat Tūrangaranga - the origins of all Taniwha”
Adams chose Rēhua for his carving. He says he supports the shift in Northland to embrace whakairo, not just in wharenui but all over the rohe.
“That was one of the things I wanted to be involved with, being part of a group that would help adorn the walls of marae in Te Taitokerau with Whakairo”
“This carved post behind me is Rēhua. He is the sustainer of humanity.”
