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November 14, 2013
Waharoa replica marks Te Puia anniversary
Waatea Team
Posted On November 14, 2013
Ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of Te Puia-New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute have started with the unveiling of a carved waharoa at the entrance to the complex at Whakarewarewa.
It’s a replica original 1908 waharoa by Tene Waitere which was taken down some years ago because of damage from the harsh geothermal environment, and has been gifted to Waitere’s descendants, the Schuster whanau.
Karl Johnstone, the Institute’s director, says the anniversary is a change for past students, staff and supporters to celebrate where the institute has come from and where it could go.
He says the 1963 legislation which created it drew in earlier initiatives dating back to the cultural revival of the 1920 led by Apirana Ngata.
It recognised the importance of carving and weaving to Maori culture.
"We need to maintain our whare. Without our whare, we didn’t have a tribal culture, and so the need to maintain and perpetuate what was fundamental so the 50 years is about acknowledging those former years, it’s about acknowledging the perpetuation of our tribal culture, through that our knowledge, through that our identity, our ability to maintain our whakapapa and I guess the joining of that in 1963 with the tourism legacy that exists in and around Rotorua," Mr Johnstone says.
This weekend the marae atea at Te Puia will be used to show a range of Maori films, including some recent videos of the city shot by Rotorua schoolkids.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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