A treasured
kite lost to the winds, brings much joy when found again.
Many Maori arts and crafts have enjoyed a renaissance
in the last twenty or so years, to the point where some taonga that were in
danger of being lost have been rediscovered and reenergised, and art forms such
as Te Reo Maori, Kapa Haka, Waka Ama, and Ta Moko have all been rediscovered as
taonga are now benefiting from their exposure to a new generation of artists
and redefined for a new generation.
Other art forms wait to be re-discovered Manu tukutuku
is such an art form. From narratives written about Maori kites and from our own
stories and songs, it is obvious there was once a strong tradition around the
taonga of kite making and flying.
Kites were flown for recreation, but they also had
other purposes. They were used for divination – to gauge whether an attack on
an enemy stronghold would be successful, or to locate wrongdoers. They were
also a means of communication. It is said that when the founding ancestor of
Ngati Porou, Porourangi, died in Whangara, on the East Coast, a kite was flown
and his brother Tahu, the founding ancestor of Ngai Tahu, was able to see it
from the South Island.
Another legend tells of the 19th-century Ngati
Kahungunu chief, Nukupewapewa, was unable to capture Maungarake pa. After many
attempts, he eventually constructed a large raupo kite in the shape of a bird
with wide-spread wings. During the night he fastened a man to it, and floated
him off a cliff and into the pa below. From inside, the man opened the gates,
allowing Nukupewapewa’s warriors to enter and sack the village.
Kites were flown to celebrate the start of the Maori
New Year, when Matariki (the Pleiades) appeared in the mid-winter night sky.
Unfortunately there are only seven examples of
traditional kite left in the world, and of these, only two are the large bird
kite, or manu tukutuku. One is in the Auckland Museum and the other in the
British Museum.
My idea was to explore a range of ideas based on the
kite but explored in materials that were unavailable or impractical in a model
that was intended to fly.
My first kites explored the look of the traditional
manu tukutuku, and the second series is in honour of Matariki, when kites were
traditionally flown. Seven kites (the sisters of matariki) were assembled and
hung to represent that period in our history.
I believe manu tukutuku is a toanga that has been lost
to the winds for too long, it is time to feel the joy of bringing it back into
the light.
.Kia manu
tukutuku te rangi ka uhia he huruhuru te manu ka tau.
Let kites
adorn the sky as feathers adorn the birds.
