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Six generations of the Hetet and Te Kanawa weaving whānau whose work helped safeguard raranga and take it to the world stage are being celebrated in a new exhibition in Hamilton.
Rīpoi Anamata, Rīpoi Inamata brings more than 180 years of that legacy together at Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum and Gallery, from Mere Te Rongopāmamao Aubrey to Dame Rangimārie Hetet, Diggeress Te Kanawa and their descendants.
“We grew up with flax in the house, being in the house, and busy hands ... that was a natural thing,” said Ata Te Kanawa (Ngāti Maniapoto), one of Diggeress Te Kanawa’s daughters and part of the working group on this exhibition.
Ata Te Kanawa said museums had always been a familiar environment for the whānau because her mother and grandmother were always exhibiting.
“Even if we didn’t quite understand what they were doing at the time, as we were growing up, certainly now, it’s a real stop and take heart of the work, their dedication, their commitment, their patience, and their foresight.”
Te Kanawa said the theme of the exhibition was to draw a correlation between portraits and kākahu.
One of the portraits features a third-and fourth-generation mokopuna wearing korowai woven for tamariki by their kuia, Dame Rangimārie Hetet.
Te Kanawa said it was based on a portrait of their kuia and her older sister at 16 and 18 years old, respectively.
“Both of them [the mokopuna] go to a wharekura, both have got reo, they’re very strong, they’re very assertive, and we wanted to capture that. So we kind of coach them to have a resting face, to own the space, to own who they are, as opposed to portraying them to be delicate, sweet, smiling petals, of which they are not.”
There were over 25 kākahu in the exhibition from across the generations of the whānau. Ata Te Kanawa said that included one made from dingo by a niece in Australia and one gifted to opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa.
Ata Te Kanawa recalled a fundraiser at the whānau homestead to raise money for Kiri to go to London for training.
“My sister and I, we can remember hiding under the piano or near the piano with our fingers and in our ears, because no one in the room had ever experienced opera singing before. So that was kind of funny; everybody, all the nannies, nodded and smiled as if they liked it, but they probably didn’t.”
Waikato Museum curator Maree Mills (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) told RNZ the museum had a long relationship with the whānau, with the work of Rangimārie and Digeress exhibited in the past.
“They were such committed teachers, and such committed women to continuing the craft of weaving, that in their own whānau, they’ve got children and grandchildren, their nieces, all still weaving and teaching weaving as well. And that’s also celebrated in the exhibition.”
Presented alongside the exhibition is Hautāmiro: Bound by the Winds, a monumental installation by the award-winning Mataaho Collective.
Rīpoi Anamata, Rīpoi Inamata and Hautāmiro: Bound by the Winds are on display at Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum and Gallery from 16 October 2026 to 7 March 2027. Entry is free.
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