A moment of focussed attention as a Maori carver applies the finishing touches.

Taonga Maori ~
Maori Visual Arts

Taonga Maori is a term that covers traditional and contemporary works of art, craft and design.

There is no better place to see fine examples of traditional Maori art than in the wharenui or carved meeting house on a marae (tribal meeting place). The house itself represents a principal ancestor who embraces descendants and their tribal history in the form of elaborately carved pou pou (ancestral figures), kowhaiwhai (painted rafter patterns) and taniko (intricately woven wall panels).

Whakairo (carving) is also applied to a range of functional and ornamental objects still used on ceremonial occasions or worn as personal adornments. Such taonga (treasures), are made from pounamu (greenstone or jade), tohora (whale ivory), paua shell or native hardwoods.

Natural fibres and feathers are the primary materials used by practitioners of raranga (weaving). In galleries and craft studios throughout New Zealand, items such as kete (woven baskets) and korowai (feather and fibre cloaks) can be viewed on display or as they are being made.