September 15, 2019
Carving opens doors in Japan
As part of a campaign to promote this country at the Rugby World Cup, Tourism New Zealand has donated a kuaha and mauri stone to Japan on behalf of the people of Aotearoa.
Carving of the doorway, named Te Haeata Whero, was completed last month during the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute’s Tuku Iho – Living Legacy exhibition in Tokyo.
Master carver James Rickard says the 530kg, 3.6m totara and kauri carving is a way of welcoming people into the house and strengthening the ‘doorway’ to New Zealand for Japanese people by sharing narratives of people and place.
The name Te Haeata Whero or the red dawn, refers to the Central Plateau, where dawn is signalled by the red light on the eastern side of Mount Tongariro.
The mauri stone sitting inside the doorway, Te Kōpu Whānui, comes from Ngāti Hikairo ki Rotoaira, on the slopes of Tongariro.
Ngāti Hikairo are also the guardians of Ōpōtaka — the place where the Ka Mate haka, which was made famous by the All Black team, originated from.
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