Artists | Patariki Dawson
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Patariki Dawson

Mātanga Whakairo
  • Te Arawa
Wānanga
Te Takapū o Rotowhio
Description
Ko Matawhaura te maunga
Ko Te Rotoiti-i-kite-ai-e-Ihenga te moana
Ko Te Ohautanga a Pōtakatawhiti te awa
Ko Hohowai te marae
Ko Te Takinga te whare tupuna
Ko Hohowai te waka taua
Ko Te Arawa te iwi
Ko Te Arawa te waka kawe moana
Ko Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tarawhai Ngā hapū.
 

Why I came to Te Takapū o Rotowhio?

From my Schooling at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu, I always wanted to do something with Māori art. My Kuia Hariata ( Binny) Kereopa was a weaver and my great Koro Tene Waitere was a Master carver, so Māori art runs through my whakapapa. After school, life had other plans for me. It wasn't until I came home from Australia, 6 years ago, I felt a yearning for art.. it was a calling. So, I started my journey from drawing to Tāmoko and from Tāmoko to now carving at Te Takapū o Rotowhio carving Bone and Pounamu school.  

What have I learnt?

I came in to this kura narrow minded, thinking I was only learning how to carve but I've learnt a lot more in the two short years I've spent studying at Te Takapū o Rotowhio. Not only carving but also all the whakapapa (genealogy), kimi korero (finding connective words and rangahau (research), all the things that come before even learning how to used the tools to carve. This changed my thoughts of how Whare Wānanga (house of learning) should be.  

What advice do I have for people who are considering bone/Pounamu as a career?

You must have an open mind and heart but also have a passion for Māori art.You also have to be a sponge, ready to soak in all the knowledge that the Wānanga has to share.  
Ko Matawhaura te maunga
Ko Te Rotoiti-i-kite-ai-e-Ihenga te moana
Ko Te Ohautanga a Pōtakatawhiti te awa
Ko Hohowai te marae
Ko Te Takinga te whare tupuna
Ko Hohowai te waka taua
Ko Te Arawa te iwi
Ko Te Arawa te waka kawe moana
Ko Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tarawhai Ngā hapū.

 

Why I came to Te Takapū o Rotowhio?

From my Schooling at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu, I always wanted to do something with Māori art. My Kuia Hariata ( Binny) Kereopa was a weaver and my great Koro Tene Waitere was a Master carver, so Māori art runs through my whakapapa. After school, life had other plans for me. It wasn’t until I came home from Australia, 6 years ago, I felt a yearning for art.. it was a calling. So, I started my journey from drawing to Tāmoko and from Tāmoko to now carving at Te Takapū o Rotowhio carving Bone and Pounamu school.

 

What have I learnt?

I came in to this kura narrow minded, thinking I was only learning how to carve but I’ve learnt a lot more in the two short years I’ve spent studying at Te Takapū o Rotowhio. Not only carving but also all the whakapapa (genealogy), kimi korero (finding connective words and rangahau (research), all the things that come before even learning how to used the tools to carve. This changed my thoughts of how Whare Wānanga (house of learning) should be.

 

What advice do I have for people who are considering bone/Pounamu as a career?

You must have an open mind and heart but also have a passion for Māori art.You also have to be a sponge, ready to soak in all the knowledge that the Wānanga has to share.

 

Their creations

Hei Tiki

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.

Hei Tiki

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.

Hei Tiki

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.

Rei Niho

Shark teeth were highly sought after to wear as a symbol of prestige for personal adornment. They were reflective of the mana of the shark itself. This tooth pendant references the Tiger shark. This shark is an aggressive predator and is found mostly in tropical and warm waters. Tiger sharks are named for the dark, […]
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Rīpi

Rīpi are implements with a sharpened edge used for the processing of harakeke (flax) for the purpose of raranga (Māori weaving). Other uses include cutting the umbilical cord. This rīpi has been fashioned from pounamu (NZ jade).
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Hei Tiki

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.
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Koropepe

The koropepe takes its form from the pepehuhu, a small grub that rolls itself up.
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Hei Tiki

Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.
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Māhē

Māhē are sinker stones used to weigh down fishing nets. This māhē has been fashioned from onewa (greywacke stone).
2335PD - Pekapeka
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Pekapeka

The Pekapeka (native NZ bat) represents the interwoven nature of the spirit world and the world of the living – the seen and the unseen.  The bat was interpreted by Māori as a creature who symbolically acted as an interface between the two worlds and whose physiology (which does not possess the gift of sight) […]
2342PD - Hei Niho
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Hei Niho

The mark of a high Chief was one who wore the hei niho (whale tooth pendant), as the teeth of the sperm whale were highly prized because of their rarity. Usually these pendants had simply etched out eyes to form a head at one end. With actual whale teeth being such a rarity, it became […]
2343PD - Hei Matau - Copy
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Hei Matau

Coastal and river-based Māori tribes traditionally used a variety of fishhooks and lures. Hooks and lures varied in shape, material and design. Today hei matau (fishhooks) have become symbolic of traditional Māori technology and continue to symbolize a relationship to Tangaroa, God of the sea.
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