Piri Cowie, Te Hekenga, 2022. Bronze
Selwyn District Council Collection
Te hao tuna nunui The great tuna harvest
I hūtia ake tēnei patu tuna onamata i Te Waihora i kā tau 1930. Ka tohu i te hira o te hao tuna heke i te maramataka o Ngāi Tahu. Nō tūāuri te patu nei. He hono te tātaitanga kaokao ki te kāhua toi i mauria mau e te tangata whenua i Hawaiki, i te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ki te Rāwhiti. Whakamahia ai pea te patu e kā tīpuna i kā riteka hao tuna i te kahuru. I kā wā o mua, kikī ana te roto i te tuna kātua e ahu atu ana ki kā wāhi whakawhānau i te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Haoa ai te tini kerukeru i roto i kā kōumu i a rātou e whakamātau ana ki te puta atu ki te moana mā Kaitorete. Nā aua hao ko te pukahu kai hei rokiroki me te hokohoko. Nō mātou te hōnore ki te whakatau anō i tēnei taoka o te ao Māori ki tōna ake kāika.
This ancient patu tuna (eel striker) was hauled out of Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere in the 1930s. It marks the importance of the tuna heke, the harvest of migrating eels, in the maramataka, the seasonal cycle, of Ngāi Tahu.
The patu is many centuries old. The chevron style of its carving is a link to the art that tangata whenua brought from Hawaiki, their homeland in the Eastern Pacific. The ancestors probably used the patu in rituals that began the autumn harvest of tuna.
In former times, the lake would teem with mature adults heading for their Pacific Ocean breeding grounds. Thousands would be netted in kōumu (shingle channels) as they sought their escape to the sea across Kaitorete Spit. The catch provided an abundance of food for storing and trade.
We are privileged to welcome this taoka (treasure) of te ao Māori to its home area again.
On display
Tuna patu (eel striker) circa. 1300–1500
Made of wood by an unknown artist