Te Hā (a Hineahuone): Behind the weave

Apr 24, 2025

Kurawaka is the birthplace of humankind. Perfectly formed from the earth, imbued with divine understanding and endowed with the power to create life itself, this collection acknowledges the prime example of our humanness, Hineahuone.

E aro ki te hā a Hineahuone! Pay heed to the dignity of women

Her story is a testament of our universal values, our shared purpose. The most powerful source of energy for positive action is our human nature is to nurture life, to grow together and continue to create our future.

This design, based on the pūrākau (traditional story), reminds us of our innate connection to te taiao, nature, and the divine creators of our world. We may venture outward many times throughout our lives to gain more knowledge, to broaden our experiences and develop ourselves in various ways, only to be reminded that we have had the answers within all along. It is through the story of Hineahuone that te ira tangata (humankind) came into existence. Hineahuone’s story is told in three parts; the seeking of the female element, the creation of Hineahuone, and the breath of life.

Seeking the female element

After Papatūānuku and Ranginui, heaven and earth, were separated and pushed apart by their son Tāne Mahuta, the search for renewed purpose arose. The descendants of the primordial parents began to explore their new surroundings, traversing across expansive terrains, exploring the domains that would come to be their new home in Te Ao Mārama, the world of light.

Tāne Mahuta, having succeeded in cloaking his mother in flourishing, bountiful forests of flora and fauna, was laden with his next task to search for the uha, the female element. Tāne undertook this journey of discovery alongside some of his other siblings, venturing across the celestial realms and back to earth, as depicted in the ascending and descending poutama borders enclosing the sides of this design.

Weary yet resolute in purpose, the atua descended back to earth, to their mother, Papatūānuku, who directed them to Kurawaka, the birthplace of creation itself. This part of the journey is reflected in the main decorative border of the blanket.

The creation of Hineahuone

Papatūānuku’s unique composition of firm, compacted elements such as rock, stone, soil and clay with streams of lava, waterways and mudflows imprinting across her body, mimic the flow of fluids throughout our own bodies. The waharua patterns and ‘rī’ reflect the flowing, intermingling nature of earthly elements; fertile soil, a deep, rich red in colour.

The theme of three is repeated again in the body of this blanket to commemorate the three sacred threads required to successfully create Hineahuone; from Io (the supreme being); the atua of the heavens and; the divine children of Papatūānuku and Ranginui. It was only through precise balancing and interweaving of the three sacred components that humankind came to be and thus a reminder of the enriching nature of diverse elements that come together to create something extraordinary, never to be seen before. Alas, the example was set for te ira atua to contribute their own gifts and attributes to Hineahuone. Her lungs were provided by Tāwhirimātea (god of the winds), the lungs then moistened by Tukapua (god of clouds), and Punaweko (atua of birds) providing the hair. The ‘huru manu’ feather pattern reflects Punaweko and her gift in the creation of Hineahuone.

The ‘kura whetu’ stars detailed in the upper half of the body of this blanket design represent the wairua (spirit, soul), manawa ora (breath of life) and toto (blood), harnessed by Rehua (god of healing) and gifted by Io.

The breath of life

Protection, nurturing and sustaining life are embodied in Papatūānuku, our primordial mother, original example of wahine. Complemented by Tāne Mahuta who exemplifies the active, pollinating and artistic aspects of the divine male element.

These attributes are reflected in the ornate detail of the ‘kurawaka’ motif found at the epicentre of the main decorative pae. Te Hā a Hineahuone, the breath of life, is echoed as the blanket comes to life with movement, when wrapped, worn and adorned upon us as descendants of divine creation.

Te Hā (a Hineahuone) is part of our Kurawaka Limited Edition Collection, launching 01.05.25.