TRIBALISM IN MODERN CARVING

Te Ao Hou, September 1959, Page 50

TRIBALISM IN MODERN CARVING When Pine and John started carving, tribal sentiments were very much more pronounced than they are to-day. Their earliest teacher, Rotohiko Haupapa, it seems, was not very happy about teaching men of other tribes and Pine and John used East Coast models for their earliest work, rather than trespass on what was thought of as a closed Arawa domain. So, by the time Te Hono Ki Rarotonga was finished, they knew the style of Ngati Porou. However, wider knowledge was needed for their next big job, the Waitangi house. This house contains slabs carved in five different styles: East Coast, Gisborne, Arawa, Whanau Apanui and Ngapuhi. John recalls how the carving team managed the Ngapuhi style which at that time was entirely forgotten and had not been practised for over a century: they stayed in Auckland for a while and carved small models of Ngapuhi work they found in the Auckland Museum. This was the only time small models were made; later when they had to carve in the Taranaki style for the house in Waitara, it was easy to imitate the style just by looking at the models in the museum. By then, the principle had been accepted that a practised modern carver may have to use several tribal styles, according to the area where the house was built. However, not all tribes insist on carvers adopting the local style; for instance, the house at Waihi was carved in East Coast style, no attempt being made to revive the quite unusual features of the old Tuwharetoa carving. This is all the more understandable as most of the carving parties were of mixed tribal origin. Among those who carved in the thirties were Arawa such as Tame Naera and Tuhaka Kapua, Northerners such as Joe Mokaraka, Wi Te Parihi and Henare Toka, while others came from Ngati Raukawa (G. Patuwaka and Kohe Webster) or Rarotonga, and all these carvers worked together on the same jobs. There was a custom of taking on learners from the tribes whose houses were being built. For instance, when the Sir James Carroll Memorial Hall was carved, three Wairoa students joined the party: Wharekauri Kaimoana, his son Hai, and Ipu Hook. In this way, carving is gradually becoming a national rather than a tribal Maori art. Nevertheless, there are certain specific features (body shapes, types of decoration) which are felt to belong to particular tribes and used accordingly.