KARANGA MAI HOKIANGA

The post-war era in Aotearoa saw a significant migration of rural Māori by 26% to the city after the Second World War. This was a drastic shift to the 90% of Māori that were living rurally on their whenua before that. We now see over 80% of Māori living in the cities away from their whenua. Pahū are Māori wooden drums. They are crafted from native timbers taking two forms, one similar to that of a waka huia and the other a tongue pahū carved from a hollow tree that would remain in the ngahere. There is little knowledge of pahū, especially the tongue pahū form and their uses within Te Ao Māori. Pāhu, also known as ‘war gongs’ were used to signal warnings and messages to hapū.

Karanga mai Hokianga is a response to the call from our whenua to return home. It is a wave of pahū melodies activated within the hearts of our people to reinstate their position as kaitiaki of our whenua. I am second generation to born away from my whenua in the Hokianga. As did many of our whānau in Panguru, our whānau migrated from Te Tai Tokerau to the “big smoke”, Glen Innes, Tāmaki Makaurau. My father was born on the kitchen table of a state house in Glen Innes. With memories of eeling in the awa and a strong whānau whānui that would travel back home to Panguru. These pahū are created alongside my father, David Leef to support our journey back home. Transformed from a Rimu bed frame, these pahū are played alongside a waiata gifted by Rosa Hibbert-Schooner (nō Te Arawa), inspired by our whānau 5 year plan to return home in love, with our tamariki Te Ipukarea-Talei and Manawa and sister Christina Leef.

I have created a reo for these pahū that are woven into our #5year plan that celebrate the bounty of our whenua. Shells and kōhatu can be placed within the pahū that when stuck will vibrate the taonga within casting their oro upon that of the pahū. Karanga mai Hokianga is a message to our whenua that their uri are returning home. That when we are reunited again, I will cast my roots deeper into the whenua, playing my pahū in time with the beating heart of our people.

RINGATOI/ARTIST: Karen Leef
HAPŪ: Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Hineira, Te Uri Taniwha, Ngāti Korohue, Tau’tu
SIZE: W: 290mm H: 520mm D: 150mm (2x items)
RAUEMI/MATERIALS: Rimu, Pūkeko, Tī Kouka