Many stories found in pare carving
When you walk through the door of the wharenui at Nga Hau E Wha Marae, under the watchful eye of Puawaitanga, a transformation takes place.
‘‘When you walk under her, you are walking from the new world into the old world of our ancestors,’’ explained Te Rangi Porter.
‘‘She’s the guardian, to block out any negativity and makes sure all that’s left outside. So when you walk into the whare, there is nothing but good energy, peace and togetherness.’’
Puawaitanga is the central piece of a new pare carving, unveiled above the door of the wharenui at the Cambridge community marae in Leamington recently.
Porter’s father-in-law, Steven Tipene, was the carver of the taonga but in line with tradition, Tipene did not speak during the official unveiling ceremony.
That job went to Porter, who eloquently explained the stories depicted in the pare.
‘‘Our centre piece, our whaea, Puawaitanga, represents the blossoming of matauranga and in this case the belonging and togetherness of people at this marae.’’
At each end of the carving was a manaia, a guardian figure, and in between there were images of the four winds, representing all areas of the world people have come from to live in Cambridge.
Other features of the pare represented matariki, the star constellation which signals the start of the Ma¯ori new year which was now an event celebrated nationally in New Zealand.
‘‘There was a conservative requirement in the way we honour our views and customs. As we all know, in some Ma¯ori carvings we like to depict creation, between man and a women and these often show genitalia.
‘‘The carver has paid homage to this in a subtle way by adding a bird and a bee, in a very conservative but intuitive manner.
‘‘In this way we still honour our Ma¯ori whakaaro but are respectful of other people.’’
Porter agreed, the carving was a contemporary work, mixed in with some traditional elements of Ma¯ori carving.
‘‘There are lots of stories here in the pare and maybe if you come and have a look for yourself, you’ll find one that resonates with you.’’
Speaking after the formal presentation, Tipene said he had enjoyed working on the project, which he had started in September and completed in February.
The carving was made from pukatea wood and most of the work was completed in Auckland.
Tipene was of Ngati Hine and Ngati Ruapani decent with connections to Tainui.
He lived in Auckland where he was studying carving through Te Wananga O Aotearoa but his ties with the Waipa district were strong.
‘‘My parents and grandparents lived here way back.
‘‘All of my father’s siblings moved here for the work, in shearing gangs in the 1950s and were involved in the concept of the marae.’’