behind the weave · limited edition · story

Te Toi o Ngā Rangi - Behind the Weave

Jan 20, 2022

Te Toi o Ngā Rangi

Inspired by kōwhaiwhai, tāniko and Huikākahu Brian Kawe.

Huikākahu enjoyed the pursuit of knowledge and would always welcome opportunities to share his experiences and mātauranga/knowledge, especially with the younger generations. An advocate for traditional knowledge transferral and leadership succession, we wanted to design a blanket to recognise the relentless pursuit of knowledge that Huikākahu embodied. It is our hope that this pursuit of knowledge would continue to be shared and wrapped around others, inspiring them to persistently reach for the heavens.

We have always been fascinated by our traditional kākahu. There are many portraits of our ancestors laden in kākahu of all types, some of which carried a number of tāniko borders, displaying the many intricate patterns and designs that speak about our traditional perspectives and customs, our values and mana.

The design of Te Toi o Ngā Rangi empowers us in our pursuit of knowledge and understanding through our journey of life.

We placed a number of horizontal borders symbolising the 10 heavens held within the body of the blanket, to portray the journey of Tāne, the ancestor who climbed to the highest heaven to receive and bring back the 3 baskets of knowledge for the benefit of all mankind. This is also depicted in the poutama designed borders.

The pātiki and ara moana patterns in the paematua the feature border, are prevalent here in Tauranga Moana. Pātiki is the Māori word for flounder. It is a staple in our local diet and is identifiable as a diamond shaped design, resembling the fish when lying flat on the seafloor. It can symbolise manaakitanga or the value of taking care of people and signifies an abundance of natural resources, as well as the capacity we have to exercise and extend manaakitanga.

The aramoana, pathways through the sea design, pays homage to our seafaring heritage and inspires us in our wayfinding through life to uncover our path leading us to our Hawaiiki.

Sharing stories, sharing knowledge, sharing values.