Te Uenuku
Encyclopedia
Te Uenuku, or simply Uenuku is an important early Māori
carving housed at Te Awamutu
Museum in the North Island
of New Zealand
.
The taonga
(sacred treasure) is of extreme significance both to the local Tainui Māori people and also for its archaeological value. The carving is unique in form, and bears a noted resemblance to Hawaii
an carving styles. Tradition would suggest that it dates from circa 1400 CE, an era known to New Zealand ethnologists as Te Tipunga or Archaic period, although recent work by the museum has shown that it is made from New Zealand Totara, a common native New Zealand hard wood.
Te Uenuku (literally "The rainbow") represents the tribal god Uenuku
. It is 2.7 metres in height and consists of a simple upright post, the top of which has been carved into a spiral form. From the top of this spiral emerge four waving verticals, reminiscent of the teeth of a comb. The form, though seemingly simple, often causes a powerful reaction in viewers of the artefact. In appearance the carving is very striking and different to the style of carving seen in the later Classic period.
The form of Te Uenuku is a popular motif for New Zealand artists – though they must exercise care in its used because of its sacred significance to Māori – and is used in stylised form as the logo of the Māori Broadcasting Agency Te Māngai Pāho
.
According to Māori verbal history, around 1800 the Waipa District
of the Waikato was invaded by a strong force led by Ngati Toa
chief Pikauterangi. In the ensuing battle with Tainui and Ngati Maniapoto
warriors close to Lake Ngaroto
, the sacred carving of Te Uenuku was lost. The carving was found buried close to the lake's shore in 1906 and spent some time in the R.W. Bourne collection before being acquired by Te Awamutu Museum.
The work was the centrepiece of the Te Maori exhibition which toured North America and New Zealand in the early to mid 1980s.
Te Uenuku is currently on loan to Te Papa mueseum in Wellington till September 2011 then it will return to its usual resting place at a refurbished display in the Te Awamutu Mueseum in New Zealand.
Maori culture
Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...
carving housed at Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it...
Museum in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The taonga
Taonga
A taonga in Māori culture is a treasured thing, whether tangible or intangible. Tangible examples are all sorts of heirlooms and artefacts, land, fisheries, natural resources such as geothermal springs and access to natural resources, such as riparian water rights and access to the riparian zone of...
(sacred treasure) is of extreme significance both to the local Tainui Māori people and also for its archaeological value. The carving is unique in form, and bears a noted resemblance to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an carving styles. Tradition would suggest that it dates from circa 1400 CE, an era known to New Zealand ethnologists as Te Tipunga or Archaic period, although recent work by the museum has shown that it is made from New Zealand Totara, a common native New Zealand hard wood.
Te Uenuku (literally "The rainbow") represents the tribal god Uenuku
Uenuku
In Māori mythology, Uenuku is the god of rainbows. He is particularly special to the Tainui Māori.-Legend:The legend of Uenuku is similar to many other vanishing lover tales such as Cupid and Psyche or Beauty and the Beast....
. It is 2.7 metres in height and consists of a simple upright post, the top of which has been carved into a spiral form. From the top of this spiral emerge four waving verticals, reminiscent of the teeth of a comb. The form, though seemingly simple, often causes a powerful reaction in viewers of the artefact. In appearance the carving is very striking and different to the style of carving seen in the later Classic period.
The form of Te Uenuku is a popular motif for New Zealand artists – though they must exercise care in its used because of its sacred significance to Māori – and is used in stylised form as the logo of the Māori Broadcasting Agency Te Māngai Pāho
Te Mangai Paho
Te Māngai Pāho is a New Zealand Crown Entity responsible for promotion of Māori language and culture by providing funding for Māori language programming on radio and television....
.
According to Māori verbal history, around 1800 the Waipa District
Waipa District
Waipa District Council in the Waikato region of New Zealand is a municipality that covers Te Awamutu, Cambridge and several small towns. The seat of the council is at Te Awamutu. The district's population at the was , of whom approximately 35% lived in each of the main two towns. The district has...
of the Waikato was invaded by a strong force led by Ngati Toa
Ngati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
chief Pikauterangi. In the ensuing battle with Tainui and Ngati Maniapoto
Ngati Maniapoto
Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the waka Tainui...
warriors close to Lake Ngaroto
Lake Ngaroto
Lake Ngaroto is a peat lake in Waipa District of New Zealand.Located 19 km south of Hamilton and 8 km north-west of Te Awamutu, it has a surface area of 108 ha, making it the largest of the Waipa peat lakes...
, the sacred carving of Te Uenuku was lost. The carving was found buried close to the lake's shore in 1906 and spent some time in the R.W. Bourne collection before being acquired by Te Awamutu Museum.
The work was the centrepiece of the Te Maori exhibition which toured North America and New Zealand in the early to mid 1980s.
Te Uenuku is currently on loan to Te Papa mueseum in Wellington till September 2011 then it will return to its usual resting place at a refurbished display in the Te Awamutu Mueseum in New Zealand.
External links
- http://www.zealand.org.nz/teao2.htm shows an image of Te Uenuku
- Te Māngai Pāho
- http://artpasifika.com/uenuku.html and http://www.alexisinternational.co.nz/Products/Service/Detail/Product/148/Bill_Thrupp/Uenuku.html show two examples of artwork using Te Uenuku as their inspiration
- http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-BesMaor-c6-7.html shows an early image of Te Uenuku
- http://www.tamuseum.org.nz/ Information of Te Uenuku's current location and refurbishment