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Overview
Hine Pīngao
Hine Pīngao is a kete whakairo woven by Anahera Alixine Curtis and was started March 2020 during the first COVID-19 lockdown and finished mid 2021. It is woven from natural pīngao, whitau (muka) and adorned with toroa feathers.
Hine Pīngao
is showcases the natural appearance of pīngao, a material that is highly prized by Māori weavers needing no enhancement in colour. Unfortunately pīngao can be difficult to weave using conventional raranga methods used with other fibres. This is due to its tendencies to be short in length, fragility during the preparation and weaving process, naturally tapering leaf size, and the edges tend to be sharp giving it the English nickname "cutty grass".Hine Pīngao
provides an exceptional amount of skill showcasing the use of pīngao not commonly seen in this type of weaving, including sculptural elements, braiding, puareare (stylised gap pattern work). The base of the leaves has also been incorporated to add to the kete’s adornment. Hine Pīngao is constructed to display skills and variance in order to teach and inspire today’s kete weavers.There are many pūrākau or oral histories of the origin of pīngao, however two of the most common acknowledge pīngao and its relationship between land and sea. The first speaks of pīngao as the seaweed daughter of Tangaroa, who fell in love with Kākaho, a child of Tāne
Mahuta. Pīngao was eventually allowed to go to Kākaho but become stuck due to the hot sand, transforming to her form we know today. The second speaks of pīngao originating from the eyebrows of Tāne Mahuta as a peace offering to his brother Tangaroa. Refusing the gift, he threw Pīngao back on the shore where she today marks the boundaries between ocean and land. The pattern woven at the bottom of this kete is commonly known as ‘karu whenua’ or the eye of the land, however the variation and stagger of Anahera’s interpretation hails to the ‘aramoana’ or the path of the ocean, connecting this kete to land and sea.
Kete
When looking at traditional Māori raranga, there is no more well-known or more woven taonga than the kete, and it is impossible to accurately tell the story of raranga without them. Kete have been a staple of Māori culture for possibly as long as there has been Māori. Historically the diverse kete has fulfilled a variety of practical and functional needs, ranging from carrying simple goods, to bags used for washing and cooking, to complex sieve and filtration systems, and into the ceremonial or spiritual such as the kete ipu whenua or the kete apapa used by tohunga.
In modern times the use of kete has decreased due to the availability of modern alternatives, however they have seen a resurgence with the recent ban of the plastic bag. Despite popularity trends, kete continue to be woven and used by Māori and non-Māori alike, and are a vital representation of past and ongoing material Māori culture. Due to the fineness of materials used, complexity of their weaving, range of colour, and the details of their patterns, many kete are works of art in their own right and are practical and iconic pieces used as representation of Māori and New Zealand identity.