(1927-1997)
Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Hinekura, Ngāti Tūwharetoa
Emily Rangitiaria Schuster (QSM, OBE) is an internationally renowned weaver, who descends from Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Hinekura and Ngāti Tūwharetoa. She was born in Auckland and raised in the Bay of Plenty region in Rotorua at the Whakarewarewa Village, surrounded by some of the most prolific carvers and weavers in Te Arawa. Mrs Schuster’s upbringing was steeped in raranga from a young age. Harvesting natural materials, gathering the feathers of birds to be woven into kākahu huruhuru manu, observing the whenua and environment, and sitting amongst her elders was how she learned and retained the knowledge and traditions that they recited in everyday activities at Whakarewarewa. During this time, raranga was not only used for everyday living but was also the main source of income for her whānau.
Mrs Schuster was taught the knowledge of raranga by her mother and aunties who were all weavers, as well as those who lived in the surrounding areas and visited frequently. Being nurtured in such an environment, paved the way to her life’s work. She completed many exquisite tāonga in her lifetime and discovered that raranga whāriki was her forté. Some of her tāonga were gifted for important events and people, and some currently reside outside of Aotearoa, promoting raranga and Māori culture globally. She believed that traditional tāonga were meant to travel beyond Aotearoa, so that no matter where Māori resided in the world, there will always be tāonga in the museum that belongs to their people.
As time went by, lessons became a passion, and the student became the teacher. Mrs Schuster witnessed the diminishing of traditional Māori weaving, which began when Māori realised that they would have to move into urban communities to find work and seek Western education to survive in the new era. At that time, the impact of this new way of living on future generations could not be seen. Māori children were now being raised far away from the traditional Māori life and knowledge held by their elders. Ensuring Māori knowledge pathways through the art form of raranga then became Mrs Schuster’s life mission.
In 1969 Mrs Schuster was initiated as the first weaving tutor for the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute and head of the original weaving school, Te Rito at Te Puia. The Institute (NZMACI) was established as a national teaching institution in 1967 and dedicated to the preservation and development of customary Māori carving and weaving practices to Māori. Mrs Schuster taught the basics of weaving, identifying various flax plants and the different uses of natural materials, how to harvest, treat and handle harakeke, what materials were used to make certain tāonga, and creating awareness of the spiritual connection between crafter and tāonga, the realm of the living and the beyond, and much more. She would then get her tauira to return home and learn about the distinguished raranga patterns and designs associated with their hapū or iwi, a robust strategy for widespread retention of mātauranga Māori.
On her many travels around Aotearoa cultivating the traditions of raranga within te iwi Māori, Mrs Schuster encountered many weavers who were still working within their tribal boundaries. She would later gather these prolific weavers from around the motu, including Pasifika weavers, to form Aotearoa Moana-nui-a-Kiwa Weavers in 1984. In 1989, Māori weavers formed Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, which continues today. By 1996 Mrs Schuster became the Chairperson of Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa and was a signatory for the foundational Trust Deed of the independent Māori arts organisation, Toi Māori Aotearoa, one of eight signatories representing the interests of national Māori art form committees.
Mrs Schuster wanted to make a formal acknowledgement of master weavers in Aotearoa, she purposed a separate committee for these master weavers. Her desire for such a group was later executed by her daughter Edna Pahewa in 2005, who was the current chairperson for Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa at the time and the Tumu Raranga at The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia. Mrs Schuster’s desires were fulfilled by the founding of Te Kāhui Whiritoi, the National Commitee for master weavers. Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa alongside The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute work together to cater to the needs of these master weavers and ensure that their collective knowledge remains central to the development of raranga in the present.
Mrs Schuster was awarded the Queens Service Medal (QSM) in 1983 and appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1994 in recognition of her years of service to her community and traditional Māori arts and crafts.
Over the years, raranga has been promoted beyond the shores of Aotearoa, creating awareness of the traditional art form of raranga internationally, Mrs Schuster was at the forefront leading these events and the renaissance of raranga. Her efforts to carry on the traditional art, saw an outcome of exponential growth, in the reciting of raranga amongst whānau and hapū around Aotearoa. Not only was she treasured by her people of Te Arawa, but by many diverse associations around the world, who still hold her in high regard. Te Roopu Raranga Whatu o Aotearoa, alongside Toi Māori Aotearoa, will continue her legacy and ensure the preservation of the traditional Māori art of raranga, for generations to come.
“Anei he rau harakeke hei hanga rourou, kō tāu rou, ko tāku rou, ka ora te iwi.”