October 26, 2018
Kiingitanga treasures on view
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The public will get its first chance this month to see treasures from the collection of the Maaori king.
Te Paki o Matariki is a partnership exhibition between Waikato Tainui and the Auckland War Memorial Museum to mark the 160th anniversary of the founding of the Kiingitanga.
Taonga include the Kiingitanga throne, a whale bone tokotoko, a kaitaka fine flax chief cloak with taaniko borders, and the flag of the first king, Potatau Te Wherowhero, which hasn't been seen in public for more than a hundred years.
Te Warena Taua from Te Kawerau a Maki and Tainui, who was an ethnologist the museum in the 1980s and 90s, says it’s a fitting venue.
"Pukekawa is the Maaori name for the hill there. Pukekawa beleonged to Potatau te Wherowhero, so it is strategically placed to hold the exhibition at the place Potatau te Wherowhero actually lived," he says.
Te Paki o Matariki: 160 Years of Kiingitanga opens on Sunday.
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