Becoming a Tohunga Whakairo

In times past, young children were closely observed and nurtured by an entire iwi, particularly kaumātua. They believed each and every member of the iwi possessed special gifts or pūkenga. These gifts were identified and nurtured further as the tamaiti developed and matured. These tamaiti became tohunga or experts within their hapū and iwi.

In modern times, this practice became scarce to the point of extinction but this is not to say these gifts became extinct. As Matua Wiremu Puke (Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi) explains in this video, for individuals, the guidance of our tūpuna can still be felt and heard by those destined for tohungatanga. Wiremu is not just a skilled carver but a noted historian whose lifetime of research is being shared with us to this day.

Transcript

Wiremu Puke (Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi)

My first memories I was outside here. I was about 4. It was raining. I can almost hear the voices of the ancestors speaking out of those carvings.

These panels, they’re really etched on my memory.

The meeting house is really a library of knowledge. It talks about the stories of all the people here.

As a carver, I’m also a historian, and often the stories of the tribe and the genealogies were given to the carver to record and to commemorate and depict the ancestors.

I take a slightly different path to most carvers. I have a real deep interest in archaeology and museums and going into the museum collections and looking at exactly how those traditional tools were made and going home and having fun making exact copies of them.

When I’m able to carve carvings and treat them and decorate them as if they were from the 1700s, you’ve reached for me the connection with those ancestors.

So I was trained in ethnology in the museums, and it was a natural fit for me because I had an immediate knowledge of tribal styles and tribal patterns and a background to some of the carvers who would have done certain pieces that are in museum collections that I actually got to see first-hand and marvel at rather than just look in books. It’s another experience going into the back of the museum and having a look at those pieces for the first time.

That mallet here is an exact copy of one that was found in a lake near Hamilton called Lake Rotokauri. This is made from kauri. So it’s, it’s solid because the fact that there’s a lot of oil, natural oil in it that’s made it – it’s quite dense.

Some of our tools are actually balanced so you don’t get tired, you don’t injure yourself. One of the smart things you do when you’re a craftsperson or even if you’re just going to dig something is to make your tools work for you, not you work for the tool. People give up after 5 minutes. “Oh, I’ve got a sore back. Ah, this is hard work.” It’s only because they don’t use the tools correctly. You make the tools so you can enjoy the actual physical work that’s involved.

If you want to learn carving, seek out a good carving tutor, one that’s been trained, preferably through the Māori arts and crafts system.

Go and look at Māori art and look at how diverse it is too. I always take my cues from the traditional forms.

If you have a love for Māori art, don’t be distracted because it’s an integral part of a gift that we’re born with to pursue. One of the qualities of being a carver is being patient, humble and being open to learning.

Acknowledgements
Wiremu Puke (Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi)
Students: Layton, Micheal, Mikayla and Alyssa. Endeavour School, Kirikiriroa
Hukanui Marae, Ngāti Wairere
Special thanks to Dante Bonica, mentor of Wiremu
Wiremu carving and lashing adze from Tohunga Whakairo (Master Carver), courtesy of filmmaker Sebastian Lowe
Additional carving footage property of Wiremu Puke, 2014
Photos of 1982/104/1 – Ko, Collection Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato
Self Determination watercolour by Robyn Kahukiwa. Photo by Brendan Purdy. Photo released under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0
Christchurch Library tukutuku panels. Photo by Donna Robertson, copyright Christchurch City Libraries. Released under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Te Kūwaha o Wharetutu, waharoa carved by Cliff Whiting. Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra. Released under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0

This content was developed as part of the project 'Te ohomauri o Wairere – the empowering life force of Wairere', funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment through its Unlocking Curious Minds initiative.