What is Kokowai used for?

This lump of naturally occurring haematite, known to Māori as kōkōwai, is of the type used to produce red-ochre pigment for rock art. What does Kokowai mean?
1 : red ocher used in New Zealand as a pigment especially on woodwork. 2 : the earth from which kokowai is obtained.

Where can I buy red Ochre in NZ?

The country’s largest and best quality ochre deposits occur at Parapara in Golden Bay, where concentrated pigment literally rusts out of the most exposed section of a nine-milliontonne lode of high-grade iron ore preserved in a fault angle depression. Did Maoris use clay?
Early uses Māori did not fire clay, but they were well aware of it through their cultivation of the soil. There were over 30 Māori terms for different clays, soils and gravels.

How did Maori make paint?

Most South Island Māori rock art was painted in black carbon that was derived from soot then mixed with oil and other ingredients. … Natural deposits of iron oxide in the land provided red pigment for mixing into paint, or for use in a dry form, and the colours recorded so far range from orange through to deep carmine. What wood is used for Maori carvings?

pounamu Māori traditionally carved using wood from native New Zealand trees such as kauri and totara, with kauri being particularly precious as it is endemic to New Zealand and can grow to be thousands of years old. Māori also carved in stone, preferably the very hard pounamu (greenstone), or bone.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

What wood is best for carving NZ?

NZ Heart Kauri is probabaly the most famous New Zealand native, renowned for its perfectly straight grain with very few knots. It has a lovely golden luster which captures the light in a unique way. A very stable timber that machines extremely well, ideal for tunring and carving.

What did Maori use to carve?

Carving materials and techniques Stone or greenstone adzes and chisels were traditionally used in carving. After Europeans brought metal to New Zealand, carvers began to use sharper metal tools. There were rituals and rules around carving, for example wood chips could not be used as fuel for a cooking fire.

What color is Ochre?

Ochre (/ˈoʊkər/ OH-kər; from Ancient Greek: ὤχρα, from ὠχρός, ōkhrós, pale), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown.

What does Oneone mean in Māori?

soil Oneone means soil. … one-nui – rich soil made of clay, sand and organic matter.

Did Māori have pots?

Who is Hineahuone?

Hineahuone, the first woman, was formed from clay at Kurawaka by Tāne, a son of Papatūānuku. Her name means earth-formed woman. This is just one of many tribal traditions that tell of the birth of humans from the earth.

What is the purpose of Maori art?

Traditional Māori art was characterised by an integration of form and function. Objects were made to serve a primarily practical or symbolic purpose. They gave visual form and shape to cultural belief systems and expressed spiritual ideas in natural materials such as wood, stone, bone and flax.

How do you draw a Maori face?

Who is the most famous artist in New Zealand?

COLIN MCCAHON – THE GREATEST PAINTER Starting in the early 20th century, this New Zealand artist is considered the country’s greatest painter.

How did Maori carve jade?

With a large wooden hammer Maori ‘miners’ would hit smaller fragments of jade from the larger mass down pre-cut grooves. To make sure the fragments broke from the larger mass in the desired direction, large grooves were cut into the jade by rubbing sections with an abrasive quartz rich mica schist.

What are Maori sculptures called?

Toi whakairo Toi whakairo (art carving) or just whakairo (carving) is a Māori traditional art of carving in wood, stone or bone.

What is the hardest wood in New Zealand?

Black maire is hard (probably New Zealand’s hardest wood) heavy and strong, and mature black maire is extremely durable. As a result it was used by early European settlers as a substitute for lignum vitae for bearings and pulley blocks.

Is NZ kauri a hardwood?

New Zealand kauri | The Wood Database – Lumber Identification (Softwood)

What is the most expensive wood in NZ?

More than 20 pieces of one of the world’s most expensive timber, swamp kauri, have been unearthed at an Auckland construction site.

Why are carvings important to Maori?

As Maori people were extremely religious and spiritual, they performed many rituals, of which required significant objects. … In Maori history, carving itself was also a spiritual act surrounded in tapu. The wood chips carved and the tools used were all considered tapu, and thus were put in high regard.

When did Maori start carving?

The art of wood carving was brought to New Zealand by the ancestors of the present-day Maori, who likely settled the islands around 1100 A.D. Examples of ancient Maori wood sculpture are rare but a number survive, due, in part, to the practice of hiding valuable carvings by immersing them in swamps during times of …

What is the oldest Maori carving?

New Zealand’s oldest wooden carving Tangonge, also known as the Kaitaia Lintel, when it was last in Kaitaia in 2012. New Zealand’s oldest wooden carving, which is a taonga for Far North iwi Te Rarawa, is returning to the country this weekend after being part of Oceania, the world’s biggest exhibition of Pacific works.