Carvings speak to the kaupapa of Te Marae o Hine

Friday, 9 April 2021

New MÄori carvings stand outside the Palmerston North City Council building.

Guardians of Papaioea and Te Marae o Hine have united at the face of the chamber where the city's leaders plan the city's future.

Returned to their rightful place watching over the inner Palmerston North marae and the wider rohe, Rangitāne tohunga whakairo, or master carver, Warren Warbrick observed five carvings representing tīpuna from Rangitāne and Waikato.

Originally carved by Warbrick and esteemed Māori artist John Bevan Ford, the carvings of Rangitāne and his grandmothers, Reretua and Hinerau, were reintroduced to the city in March after a three-year hiatus.

The elements had damaged the pou mounted on the side of the city's council chambers over 27 years, so Manawatū Museum Services conservation specialist Detlef Klein was called in to restore them.

RangitÄne tohunga whakairo Warren Warbrick has carved two new pou in Te Marae o Hine/The Square.

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These carvings of two wÄhine are from the marae Te Marae o Hine was names after.

While Klein soaked the carvings in preserving chemicals, Warbrick was gifted two tōtora logs that had fallen into the Manawatū River, for two new pou to be placed in Te Marae o Hine/The Square.

It was natural to recognise Te Rongorito and her mother Hineaupounamu as wāhine from the Waikato marae that Te Marae o Hine drew its name and kaupapa from, Warbrick said.

“We felt that these two are the most needed ones because they speak to the kaupapa of Te Marae o Hine.”

Te Marae o Hine was founded on a kaupapa, or principle, of community and peace between Māori and Pākehā more than 140 years ago.

Te Rongorito and her mother Hineaupounamu were part of the original set of carvings Ford and Warbrick created in 1990.

They stood at the entrance to the marae, but weathering led to their demise and removal, sparking Warbrick to create new representations with a mix of Waikato, Rangitāne and Raukawa traditional carving styles.

While the carving style of the main bodies are reminiscent of Rangitāne, the white eyes with black dots and pākati, carved notches, are representative of tohunga whakairo Hokowhitu McGregor, a master carver of Ngāti Raukawa.

The pair hold turuturu, sticks used in the process of weaving cloaks. They symbolise the space where the sacred thread, or aho tapu, connects the people of Palmerston North.

Carvings representing Rangitāne and his tāua are an acknowledgement of the everlasting mana whenua of Rangitāne descendants across the rohe, Warbrick said.

“You can see that they are mounted off the wall. The idea is to show that although we work alongside the council, we also hold our own autonomy as tangata whenua.”