Te Kākahu o te Whakapapa

Wearing a kākahu/ korowai can mean many things in Māori culture. But most importantly, it is a sacred act of putting on a whole whakapapa and generational mātauranga if the kākahu is passed down. The wāhine in this work represents the wairua of many great weavers, and she’s wearing a kākahu made by harakeke and colourful feathers. The small red wire wrapping around elements in the painting represents lines of mana from tīpuna.