Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone. [1] Timber was formed into houses, fencepoles, pouwhenua, containers, taiaha, tool handles and waka (canoe). Carving tools were made from stone, preferably the very hard pounamu (greenstone).

Whakairo rakau (wood carving) focuses on using a range of native timbers, particularly wood from the majestic giants of the forest, the kauri and totara. The trees used for wood carving represent Tāne Mahuta, the god of the forest. Each carving tells a story and records a piece of history.

In the 20th century there was a renaissance of traditional Māori carving and many new whare whakairo (carved meeting houses) were built. According to legend, carving was discovered by Ruatepupuke when rescued his son, Manuruhi, from the carved underwater village of Tangaroa, the god of the sea.

Whakairo – Māori carving by Brett Graham. The earliest examples of Māori carving share common characteristics with Polynesian carving of the same period. However, over time Māori developed their own unique carving styles.

According to an East Coast legend, the art of carving was discovered by Ruatepupuke, the grandson of the sea god Tangaroa. Ruatepupuke’s own grandson had an insatiable appetite for kai moana (seafood) and to meet his demands, Ruatepupuke fashioned a stone into an exquisite fishing lure which he named Te Whatukura-o-Tangaroa (the sacred stone ...

Maori whakairo, meaning "carving" in the Maori language, is a traditional art form that has been practiced by the Maori people for centuries. It involves the creation of intricate wooden carvings, which are seen as a medium for storytelling and preserving cultural traditions.

Whakairo, or Māori carving, stands as a testament to centuries of cultural evolution and artistic expression. Primarily practiced in mediums such as wood, pounamu (nephrite jade), bone, and onewa (basalt), this art form holds deep cultural significance and …

2023年11月14日 · Indigenous Maori carving, known as whakairo, holds a significant place in the cultural identity of the Maori people of New Zealand. Whakairo is not just a form of artistic expression; it is a way of preserving and passing down cultural knowledge and traditions from one generation to the next.

The earliest known Whakairo is the Kaitaia Carving and dates to c1300. Probably designed as a roof combing, the carving’s composition features a central male figure with bent arms and legs, very similar to carvings from Rurutu in the Austral Islands.

2024年6月24日 · Whakairo is one of the means of expressing history and identity and deeper connections with ancestors and deities. They are there to inspire. The earliest examples of Māori carving prior to 1500 show similarities to Eastern Polynesian carvings of the same period.