Gisborne iwi put taonga in spotlight
A traditional Ma¯ ori paddle once used as a paint stirrer has been given a new breath of life.
It was one of many taonga pulled out of the shadows to take centre stage at the Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow exhibition, which officially opened yesterday at Te Papa in Wellington with a ceremonial po¯ whiri.
Gisborne’s Rongowhakaata are the eighth iwi in Te Papa’s exhibition programme.
True to its name, the exhibition, which started out at the five marae in the Gisborne area, pulled out all of the old taonga from the shadows and into the light.
Artist David Jones said each marae hosted a week-long exhibition of its individual taonga, before it was collated into one exhibition at Tairawhiti Museum in Gisborne.
‘‘Every marae had their own flavour. Some were very museumlike, others were more relaxed, but what we did get to see was whanau who brought taonga out from their cupboards [such as] ancient cloaks and were like: oh yeah – this was just sitting out the back,’’ he said.
‘‘There is a hau, a paddle, quite an old paddle and at one of our marae exhibitions they brought it out and said: oh here, here’s a paddle. We had to clean it up because a conservator said: ah have you got a heritage number for that; and they said: no, we used to use it as a paint stirrer.’’
Starting out at the marae was requested by the Rongowhakaata elders.
‘‘It was really important for our people to understand those stories at home first before bringing them to the world and that was the foresight of our kaumatua, of our elders. It was their wish and hope for us to start at home,’’ Jones said.
The theme of light and shadow refers to the impact of light on the East Coast landscape and its influence on Rongowhakaata creative expression. This can be seen in the high relief of the iwi carving, for which it is renowned.
Other taonga on show at the exhibition includes Te Kooti’s prayer book from 1866, Wi Pere’s whale bone tokotoko (oratory stick) carved by Raharuhi Rukupo, and an original hoe (paddle) traded during Rongowhakaata’s 1769 encounter with James Cook.
The exhibition will be held at Te Papa for the next 21⁄2 years.