Āhua Gallery

Often the bailer (tatā, tīheru or tā wai) was beautifully carved, and some were given a name. In canoe traditions, tribal members still name the bailers used on the original voyaging canoes from Polynesia.

Material: Tōtara (Red Pine)

Measurements: 270mm x 370mm

Autui were customarily used as a pin for fastening cloaks and may be made from bone, stone, wood or shell. They may also have been worn through the ear as an earring or around the neck as a pendant. Autui are still commonly worn as pendants and earrings and as with most Māori personal adornments, are often passed down generationally.

Material: Paua Shell

Measurements: 131mm x 31mm

Autui were customarily used as a pin for fastening cloaks and may be made from bone, stone, wood or shell. They may also have been worn through the ear as an earring or around the neck as a pendant. Autui are still commonly worn as pendants and earrings and as with most Māori personal adornments, are often passed down generationally.

Material: Paua Shell

Measurements: 118mm x 15mm

Heru were produced in varying shapes and sizes and were made from rākau (wood) and in some instance’s parāoa (whalebone). These combs were highly valued as personal heirlooms and were consequently passed down from one generation to the next, often acquiring their own personal names.

The combs were mostly decorative and held the pūtikitiki (top knot) in place. When a comb was broken, it was placed in a swamp or a sacred place for safe keeping because the head was the most sacred part of the body and therefore tapu (sacred).

Material: Tōtara

Measurements: 230mm x 90mm x 4mm