Houses As Stories
Home Is Where The Heart Is
The Wharenui, sacred meeting house, is the pulse of the people. It is the archive of a tribe, a physical record of their existence. In a culture where there was no written language, art was the vessel of data. History was carved into every surface. Ancestors and stories breathed through its walls. To walk into a carved house is to come back to your people, to come home.
"How someone sees themselves is how they make their home. All their values, all their treasures are poured into that house," says head carver, James Rickard.
"A carved house is our home. We don't have photographs so our ancestors are carved. We work on deeds rather than looks."
The Wharenui is ornately carved and often represents an ancestor. To cross the threshold is to enter into the bosom of an ancestor. The first step is the first page. Once inside, chapter after chapter of stories, ancestors and deeds unfold in the intricate artwork.
Kahore i te rakau, engari kai te tohunga ke te whakaaro. The concept lies with the artist not the materials.
Every design has a meaning. Every nick in the wood has a purpose. "The Rauru, for example, is the spiral. Where you see the spiral it means movement," says master carver, Clive Fugill. "What happens when you look at a spiral for long enough? It begins to move. Our old people were very clever. A simple design brought our Tupuna, our ancestors, to life."
It can take more than three months to carve one of the many Tupuna lining the walls of the Wharenui. Carvers must be thoroughly researched in every aspect of the tribe, every trait of the ancestor stirring to life beneath his hands. "The discipline of the art is what makes that carving. The guidelines are very strict and they are there for a reason," says Clive. "Maori art is an abstract art. You cannot entwine traditional with the new. You cannot dilute it because when you abstract the abstract you end up with nothing. The art is gone. The stories are gone. History is lost."
Carved houses, therefore, are more than a work of art. Indeed, they are more than stories. They are painstakingly prepared, created with infinite care. They are the very heart of a people.
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