Ko hine te iwaiwa, ko hine korako, ko rona whakamau tai

This painting by Robyn Kahukiwa focuses on the mana (prestige) of Māori women and, more particularly, of female ancestors who feature in Māori creation stories.

The work depicts Hine-te-iwaiwa (centre) and two associated female atua (gods), Hine Korako and Rona Whakamautai . These atua are connected with women, childbirth, and Māori weaving – an art form specific to Māori women.

Kahukiwa is of the iwi (tribes) Ngāti Porou, Te Atianga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Konohi, and Whānau-a-Ruataupare. She is credited with paving the way for Māori women artists in the 1980s. Her exhibition Wahine Toa: Women in Maori myth launched her career when it toured the country in 1984.

Largely self taught, Kahukiwa has developed a distinctive style that expresses Māori experience in New Zealand and Māori cultural and societal concerns.