Question about Maori icons
Question about Maori icons
Hey all.
Canadian here. A number of years ago my family visited New Zealand, and while falling in love with the country and the culture, I also discovered the Hei Matau - the Maori fish hook.
This has haunted me ever since, and I want to carve one for myself. However, we've spent the last decade starting to understand the relationship between European settlers and the North American Indigenous people.
So what I do in my basement with carving tools is my own business, but I ask honestly if wearing a Hei Matau in public is considered respectful or appropriation. And also if the material matters in this context. (It would likely be from a tagua nut - "vegetable ivory" - although it's possible I could get some whale bone from my coastal friends.)
Wearing them is no problem. They are common gifts for people leaving, we give carved greenstone to friends from overseas who vist. It's customary to only wear it if it's given to you, it's bad luck to buy yourself one. Though carvers will make a show of gifting it to you for koha if you really do want to buy one for yourself.
Learn the customs and the meanings and spread the Tikanga as you wear it.
It would probably be considered as appropriation by Māori, but I'm reluctant to (can't) speak authoritativly for Māori on this. I think that public display (by wearing) would be the line not to cross with out permission/blessing.
Māori experienced similar colonial problems as experienced by the indigenous north Americans.
Having said that, often one only needs to ask permission (per se).
If you do a search for "New Zealand iwi" you'll find contact details for different Māori iwi (tribes). I recommend finding one that's local to the area you've visited and just ask if they're OK with you reproducing their art and wearing it as it has considerable meaning to you too, and you want to respect their tīkanga (customs).
Edit: it's very cool that you even asked!
Thanks for the info. I'll do some digging.
Edit: it’s very cool that you even asked!
If we've learned anything in Canada in the last 15 years, it's that finding out about a culture before adopting it is kind of important.