Hoe paddle

Rākau, kano māori

Wood, natural pigment

Ko te kōwhaiwhai, he mea kite i ēnei rā ki runga i ngā heke o roto i ngā wharenui. Nō waenga i ngā rau tau tekau mā iwa neke atu, i rongonui haere ai tēnei āhuatanga. Heoi anō, i kitea tōmuatia te kōwhaiwhai ki runga i te mata o ngā hoe. He nui tonu ngā hoe he mea whakairo ngā kakau, he kōwhaiwhai kei runga i ngā mata i kohikohia e Kuki i tana whakaterenga tuatahi I te tau 1769. He mea waituhi anō ngā hoe e Sydney Parkinson.

The flowing abstract pattern called kōwhaiwhai have become most commonly associated with those painted on the heke (rafters) of wharenui (meeting houses). These appeared from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. However, kōwhaiwhai were seen much earlier on portable taonga such as this painted hoe (paddle). Several paddles with carved handles and kōwhaiwhai designs on the blade were collected during Cook’s first voyage in 1769 and were also recorded in a water colour painting by Sydney Parkinson.

Case 5 hoe: On loan from Great North Museum Hancock, C589 and the British Museum, Oc1896.1147,  Oc, NZ 150, Oc.5370

Hoe paddle

Rākau, kano māori

Wood, natural pigment

Ko te manaia kua whakairohia ki te whiti me te pito o te kakau, me tōna mata e whakataurite ana i ēnei hoe. Ko ōna tauira e tohu mai ana nā tētahi hunga kotahi i waihanga. Ko te nuinga he mahinga kōwhaiwhai kei ngā mata, ā, he rerekētanga anō tō ia. Ko ngā tohu kōwhaiwhai, he pītau, he kape, he mea i kitea tōmuatia i ngā mahinga kōwhaiwhai e kitea ana i ngā heke kei roto i ngā wharenui i waenga i ngā tau 1800. Ko te kano māori, tērā pea he kōkōwai, he mea ranu ki te hinu mangō.

The intricately carved manaia design around the ‘whiti’ (hand grip) and the carved manaia design at the top of the handle, along with the overall leaf shape of the blade give this unique set of hoe waka a commonality. The design elements make them part of a set that were probably crafted by the same people. Most of these hoe waka also have intricately painted designs on both surfaces of the blades. While each painted pattern looks similar they are in fact very different and represent the earliest form of what we now know as kōwhaiwhai. The painted patterns consist of ‘pītau’ and ‘kape’ design elements which pre-date the kōwhaiwhai painting that appeared on buildings during the mid 1800’s. The paintings on each blade incorporate elements of asymmetry and symmetry. The pigment was probably kōkōwai (red ochre) mixed with shark oil.

Case 7 hoe: On loan from Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, D1914.66, D1914.67  and the Pitt Rivers Museum, 1886.1.1158

1886.1.1157 Pitt Rivers Museum

Hoe paddle

Rākau, kano māori

Wood, natural pigment

He motuhake ake tēnei hoe, inā he manaia anō kei tōna kakau. He toenga kano māori kei tōna mata, e tohu mai ana he mea tātai ki te kōwhaiwhai i mua.

This hoe waka, while resembling the others in this display is unique in that it has a manaia form carved half way up on the kakau (shaft). It has remnants of pigment on the blade which indicate that it was once painted.

On loan from Pitt Rivers Museum, 1886.1.1157