Tokotoko Tāniko (Tāniko Staff)

A tokotoko tāniko (tāniko staff) is a walking stick of kānuka wood that has been adorned with tāniko weaving.

This tokotoko tāniko was woven by Adrienne in 2020 specifically for the Raukura Weaving Collective exhibition at Bowen House in Wellington. Muka (New Zealand flax fibre) dyed with paru (iron rich mud) and tanekaha bark has been woven around a walking stick carved from kahikatea wood by Jim Lowe of Paraparaumu. The patterns representer are wīwī wawa, nihoniho, poutama, and rau kumara.

The patterns of this staff link directly to the whakapapa (geneology) of women and intergenerational knowledge. When asked what inspired this tokotoko Adrienne stated:

"I thought of 3 beautiful wahine who have just about completed their PHD’s and how I’m looking forward to reading their thesis. How these women have to multi task while studying, working, whanau, iwi, hapu....So the niho pattern is about continuity, things that have gone before, the stories of old and the protection of knowledge. You will notice there is a line in the niho of tanekaha colour symbolising the thread of knowledge passed down. The poutama is about higher learning, intellectual achievement and attainment. The rau kumara is about manakitanga, caring for people which is what these wahine do."

Adrienne Spratt, 2020

Tokotoko Tāniko
The concept of tokotoko tāniko was first conceptualised and created by the late Erenora Puketapu-Hetet in the 1980s. Erenora first conceived of the idea when she witnessed many kokoro (elderly men) with elaborately carved tokotoko in contrast to the many kuia (elderly women) who possessed mass produced aluminium adjustable walking sticks. In response to this Erenora wove around one of these walking sticks with waxed nylon cord and the first tokotoko tāniko was created. Since then, several weavers have woven tokotoko tāniko with a variety of associated representations and stories, however they remain rare.

Tokotoko tāniko, like their male counterparts have become a representation of material Māori culture that specifically represents the whakapapa (geneaology) of wāhine Māori through the visual language and patterns of tāniko.


Sgnificance of Tokotoko
Tokotoko, or the orator’s staff’ are a common sight among Māori and are most frequently seen on the paepae of mārae, or at formal occasions where a kaikōrero (orator) is required. Tokotoko are most frequently carried by males and are a traditional sign of an orator, skilled in the arts of whaikōrero, karakia, and storytelling.

Tokotoko usually draw the attention of a viewer due to the whakairo or carvings that frequently adorn them. These carving usually depict a representation of a tpuna or ancestor who is usually of direct significance to the person who carries it, representing their whakapapa, and therefore their authority or right to speak. Some tokotoko, in the absence of a direct representation of genetic lineage will often depict a pakiwaitara or story of personal significance to owner or their iwi (tribe) as another way of representing whakapapa, however in most instances, whakapapa is the connecting common factor of all tokotoko.