CARVING IN NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND is known throughout the world for its beautiful scenery, but the works of New Zealand craftsmen artists both from the past and the present are also interesting The carvers had a prominent position in the society of Pacific nations, who did not possess a written language. Carving was regarded largely as supernatural and esoteric, usually kept for a handful of high-born men. The knowledge was passed down from one individual to another via oral tradition. Carvers (tohunga whakairo) provided tangible forms from durable materials such as wood, stone and bone to which oral, symbolic values were bound.. For a man of our Western civilisation, which regards the word on paper as one of the basis of the culture it is difficult to understand. Maori art is tribal art comparable to the art of Celts of Vikings. It developed in isolation from the rest of the world. It is the art of stone age. Maoris did not know the iron before the arrival of Europeans. They used tools from stone or bone. The art in the Maori society served to the needs of highborn and the elders of the tribe. Wood was the mostly used material. Stone adzes and chisels were used for felling the trees and carving. Life was for a great part dependent on things from wood starting with agriculture tools to weapons and massive canoes. The division of labour between men and women was natural. Carving hard materials as wood, bone and stone was an exclusively male profession. It attracted tapu and women were not even allowed to come near to working men in order not to violate tapu. Women worked with soft materials as plant fibre, hair, feathers. They used them for weaving and knitting. In Maori world nearly everything possessed soul (mauri) and spiritual life. The spiritual power is called mana. Things gained this vital lifeblood from spiritually strong personalities. By improper handling mana could be lost of removed. Protection of mana is called tapu. Tapu means sacredness of certain persons and things. Ceremonial objects attracted the most stringent tapu. For instance no tree must be felled without an invocation to obtain god’s blessing and prayers or chips from carver´s chisel had to be burned in a ceremonial fire. Legends say that the carving was invented by Rauru, the son of the ancestor Toi. Scientists see the origins of Maori carving in Polynesia, some even in Melanesia, Peru and India. Maori art is quiet different from other art in Polynesia. The first settlers brought to Aotearoa mainly simple geometric patterns. In new country new patterns evolved namely spiral and double-spiral, which are rarely seen in the rest of Polynesia. Koru – spiral motif – is the most widely used art design. The popular explanation of the koru is that it represents the unfolding of a tree fern frond (ferns and tree ferns are abundant in New Zealand) or curling wave. Koru has the application in carving, rafter paintings and tattoos. The carving in Aotearoa (Maori name of New Zealand) was facilitated by the factors: - good supply of wood suitable for carving - availability of jade suitable for the production of quality adzes and chisels - large population in comparison with small communities on the islands of Polynesia From the point of view of material we can speak about four kinds of carvings. 1. Carving in bone, which includes whalebone, whale teeth, tusks and bone of other mammals, birds and even humans 2. Carving in wood, which includes native woods such as kauri, rimu, totara, matai 3. Carving in stone, which includes jade and argillite (pakohe) 4. Carving in human skin – Maori tattoo moko 1.AMULETS In New Zealand and in the whole Pacific wearing of amulets as neck pendants was and up to the present is very popular. If you meet somebody with some pendant from bone or jade, then he is surely New Zealander or tourist returning from there. Bone carvings of various quality are in every souvenir shop or craft exhibition in the country. The history of making amulets from bones and teeth of mammals and birds has a strong tradition in whole Pacific. The most common materials in the past were teeth and bones of the sperm whale and bones of extinct moa, the biggest bird on the earth. Whale ivory used by Maori came from whales stranded on the beach, they never killed whales. Exceptionally even human bones were used, for instance for flutes. These materials are today no more or rarely available, much like ivory. They are replaced by cow bone. After the arrival of Europeans both cultures influenced each other. Today Maori motifs and designs are often used without the knowledge of symbols and meanings. Contemporary New Zealand carvings owns much to traditional Maori carving, but we cannot call it so any more as today’s carvers are persons of various often nonMaori origin. Their artworks are vary from small abstract sculptures to pendants and other adornments.
Frequent themes are fish, birds and flowers, which are to be found in New Zealand. Unlike intricate and fragile ivory carvings from Asian countries, contemporary New Zealand design is simple with meticulously polished surface often decorated with not too complex ornament. Bone carving is relatively simple easily mastered with common tools for everyone with skilful hands, patience and a bit of artistic feel. Any bones could be used. Of course greater possibilities for carvers have bones from big animals. No wonder that whale bone used to be the most popular. But even common cow bone which remains after the broth offers good possibilities. With its hardness and whiteness is very similar to expensive ivory. Bone carving is as old as the civilisation itself. Bone was one of the first materials of man. It served not only for the production of weapons, tools and adornments, but also as sketch-book in times, when paper has not been invented yet. Objects from bone could be found in all cultures from the prehistory to Antique, the Middle Ages, Renaissance to our times. No matter how plain material it seems to be it is rich in legends and workmanship of artistic genius. It was processed both by common people and distinguished artists for decorative artworks. For instance jewellery makers and smiths trained their patterns before using gold or silver. Bones were favourite articles of prophets, witch-doctors and other wizards 2.TIKI Maori carvings have no religious meaning. They do not represent idols, but legendary and real ancestors of the tribe or supernatural entities. Tiki is the main motif of Maori carving. It is embossed less frequently threedimensional stylised human figure from wood, stone or bone. In the mythology it personifies primeval man created by the god Tane. We could call him Maori Adam. Tiki is usually symmetrically formed, with disproportionably large head, mouth wide open with out-thrust tongue. Facial tattoo design is the main means of its identification. Originally every tiki had its identity, it represented a certain ancestor of some figure from the mythology. But with few exceptions names were not preserved. Later carvings are mostly impersonal and seldom portraits of individuals. The body is shortened, arms and legs are twisted, hands have usually three fingers and thumb. There are various theories explaining only three fingers. Legends tell about carver with three fingers. More likely explanation is that the tradition repeated the first primitive carvings, where fingers were symbolized by only three cuts. The figure often suggests the posture of war dance – bent knees and back. The other explanation for the curving of body, arms and legs is, that it was helpful in filling the available panel area. Such panel was then used for house decoration. The appearance of spirals at the joints of tiki figures gives their limbs an impression of flexibility or in some places spirals are just the decoration. Each tribe and each region had their typical design and paterns. Wood panels and boards with the bas-relief carvings of tiki were the main decoration of Maori meeting houses. Carved panels supporting painted rafters decorated all for interior doors and also the façade was heavily decorated. Standing three-dimensional was usually at the bottom of middle pole. In a simplified form tiki was worn as neck pendant – amulet. Then it was called hei-tiki. Usually it was carved from jade or bone. According to some theories this amulet represented the human embryo, thus one of its names fertility god. It was worn by men as often as by women. The value of a tiki was not in its beauty, high level of craftsmanship or value of the used stone. It was its mana - spiritual power - that determined its value. It could accumulate mana from the creator or being worn by somebody who emanated mana. High chiefs, war heroes or people who were considered to be of exceptional moral integrity and prestige had mana. Hei-tiki was often given into safekeeping to them. It was always recorded where a tiki of mana came from, and it was supposed eventually to be returned to its original keeper. Hei-tiki was valued heirloom in the family or in the tribe. Some Europeans carried hei-tikis away forever. The continuity of mana was thus broken. The Maori never saw possession as being personal Crafting of hei-tiki from jade was very laborious. It is a very hard stone, not even steel leaves a mark on it. Maori did not know steel not to speaking about diamond tools used today. Grinding with sandstone cutters lasted hundreds of hours before the figure took the shape. Arrival of Europeans increased the demand for these curious pendants. Their production increased, often jade adzes were used for it. With the introduction of metal tools stone adzes became obsolete. Whale ivory or teeth were softer material for hei-tikis. National museums in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch proud themselves with the best collection of tikis of all styles and sizes. The most precious are those from pre-European period. In Czech Republic only Náprstek Museum has a very modest collection of carvings from New Zealand.
3. JADE In the Stone-Age culture jade (New Zealand nephrite) played an important part for the Maori. South Island of New Zealand was called Te Wai Pounamu (nephrite water) or Te Woahi Pounamu (place of nephrite) by the Maori. Only here in the riverbeds of Arahura, Taramakou and Dart the purest nephrite or pounamu in Maori was found. More inferior form of nephrite called bowenit came from Milford. Precious stone called jade is often incorrectly applied to any green stone suitable for carving. In fact two different mineral names, jadeite and nephrite, apply to jade. Jadeite and nephrite have a definite chemical composition and structure with consistent physical properties. Jadeite is sodium aluminium silicate belonging to the group of the rockforming minerals – pyroxenes. Jadeite is very tough rock composed of many tine interlocking crystals, displaying a variety of colours due to the presence of trace elements such as iron and chromium. Nephrite belongs to amphibole mineral group and its composition ranges from calcium iron silicate – actinolite to calcium magnesium silicate – tremolite. Jade is very hard mineral, 6,5 on Mohs Scale. Its unique structure is also the reason the surface of finely finished jade carvings possesses a smooth, glowing lustre and a wax-like quality much appreciated by collectors. Its incredible toughness made it eminently suitable for tools and weapons. Beauty of jade, its colours, translucence and texture made it favourite material for personal adornments and amulets, especially in the form of hei-tiki, hei-matau (fish hook) and ear drops called tangiwai. Jade was excellent material for weapons such as patu, which is short club, often sharp at its forward edge and deadly effective in battle. It served also at ceremonial occasions such as closing pacts, chants and speeches. It was often used as confirmation of the truce between tribes or a compensation for an insult, which would otherwise lead to the fight. Maori tribes living on the West Coast of the South Island collected jade as boulders in local riverbeds, cut is to smaller pieces capable of transport and worked or unworked traded with the tribes from the North Island. It is rather difficult to find jade nowadays. It is becoming scarce. It is already imported from Asia for souvenir production. After The World War II jade was used primarily for souvenir production. The processing was usually done from New Zealand raw material in Germany. Gradually local artists try their hand on it. The turning point for the revival of the old craft had the book Jade country by Theo Schoon from 1971. Bill Mathieson and Don Salt belong to the real artists in this material. In conformity with the long tradition they are hiding jade carving in dark secret and only few elect can draw the experience from their workshops. 4.TATTOO Maori tattooing moko differed essentially from the needle-puncture method used elsewhere. It was virtually skin-carving. Main lines were engraved on the face with deep parallel cuts made by small chisel from bone, stone or shark tooth. With such instrument the tattooer had more control in forming his incised design than if he had used a knife-like instrument. Toothed chisels were used for filling-in the dye during the operation. The dye was made from sooty materials mixed with the fat. Today’s doctor immediately thinks about blood poisoning. Such cases might happen. We do not know now. In any case moko was a long and very painful process during which the face or other operative part became swollen, so that the person tattooed had to be fed through a special funnel. The operation lasted for months. Tattoos were added year after year as the person increased in prestige as a warrior.