Bringing history to life
Mahi-Toi
Cultural Arts
Many Māori researchers have mahi-toi skills. Mahi-toi, arts and the production of art, is where a concept takes physical form, and is brought into the physical realm by mahi-ā-ringa. The mahi-toi practitioner is the conduit. When the practitioner is also the researcher and vice versa, these vernaculars can enrich each other, and structure the work. Setting research writing practice beside mahi-toi practice also lends theoretical and analytical frameworks that could be useful for mahi-toi practitioners in linking creative practice with academic research. (Jani Katarina & Taituha Wilson 2017).
Purakau Productions has found that following this practice has enabled them to delve deeper into the world of Te Ao Maori, gaining additional insights into mindsets of taha Maori.
Gallery
Mahi-toi
Kariponia - a kakahu (cloak) woven as a gift for the New Zealand Consulate in Los Angeles. This was inspired by the colours of the Californian flag, and presented to the Honourable Saskia McCulloch - Deputy Consul General, at the conclusion of the director's historical presentation 'Moka Te Kaingamata - The Treaty: To Sign or Not to Sign?' at the NZ Official Residence near Hollywood in July 2023.
A bouquet that was woven and created by the director, his wife Delise, and Lyn Davidson; on behalf of the NZ Consulate Canberra, for the Christchurch Memorial.
A replica re-creation of the kakahu (cloak) which Hongi Hika gifted King George IV when they met in London in November 1820. The original is in The British Museum.
Pukepuke-Ahitapu - a kakahu (cloak) which the director wove, and which is named after his great grandfather, who was a Ngapuhi rangatira (chief). This particular style is called a Korirangi, with the design imitating the plumage of the Pacific Cuckoo. It was first worn at an indigenous event at the NZ Consulate in Canberra.
A series of custom harakeke putiputi bouquets, which we gifted to the cast of the theatre production 'Reckoning: Te Waiata Paihere Wairua - The Sounds of Woven Souls' at Darlinghurst Theatre, Saturday, 16th September 2023.
Working on 'Kariponia' a kakahu inspired by the state of California, in readiness to be gifted to the New Zealand Consulate in January 2023.
This kakahu has now been gifted to the NZ Consulate in Los Angeles.
These putiputi were used in a bouquet that was gifted as a koha as part of the 2020 Christchurch Memorial in Canberra in March 2020.
This bouquet was gifted as a koha in memory of those lives lost in the Christchurch shooting.
This bouquet was gifted as a koha in memory of those lives lost in the Christchurch shooting.
Combining academic research with practical learning. We visited The British Museum to examine the kakahu which Hongi Hika gifted the King when they met in 1820.
Weaving a 2:1 sized replica of Hongi Hika's kakahu, as both a learning experience, as well as a prop to use as part of our Hongi's Hikoi: A Trio of Travellers bicentennial commemorative series of events in June-July 2022.
The inside of the kakahu showing the aho poka or shaping inserts, which enable the kakahu to fit the form of the body more closely. It was said that a kakahu without aho poka is nothing but a blanket.
Weaving a korirangi named after my Great Grandfather
A korirangi is a specific type of kakahu, black with alternating solid and broken brown aho; these are representative of the patterns on the wings and tail of the Koekoea bird.
This is the first event in which Pukepuke Ahitapu was worn, at the New Zealand High Commission in May 2019.
From the maunga to te moana: the harakeke was sourced from the Bluse Mountains, and woven at Malabar Beach.
