Toi Māori kaupapa grows confidence and skills

Sylvie and Issy are members of the Rawhiti Kakahu Komiti which has created the contemporary korowai in the background for next year’s Manu Kura Māori prefects at Wellington East.

This year, kaiako from Wellington East Girls’ College (WEGC), Hutt Valley High School (HVHS) and Wellington Girls’ College (WGC) have been learning how to create contemporary korowai (cloaks) including weaving taniko (cloak borders). They will also be learning how to craft taonga puoro (traditional instruments). 

Nan Walden (Te-Aitanga-a-Mahaaki) is design and evaluation lead of technology at WEGC and Grace Wright is a deputy principal at HVHS. They both say that with the te ao Māori concept of gifting and reciprocity of knowledge, the project has provided opportunities for teachers to connect and explore without fear, which is particularly exciting leading up to the new achievement standards change for Year 11 in 2023.

“The New Zealand Curriculum is changing and with it all the NCEA standards. For everyone there’s a mātauranga Māori portion which they have to include. That’s exciting but I also know that for a lot of people that’s really nerve-racking because there’s a real fear that people don’t know how to tap into expertise to upskill themselves to then teach.

Making taniko bands.

“What’s quite exciting for us is if we each go off and learn something and then share it with each other, you end up with lots of things that you can share,” explains Grace.

“Yes, that’s te ao Māori: the reciprocation of knowledge and sustainability. If you were going to cut down some harakeke for some weaving material, then you would go back and plant another and say a karakia. In the new achievement standards coming out, everything is to do with sustainability and te ao Māori world is all about sustainability, so that marries so nicely,” adds Nan.

Whanaungatanga experienced

In term 2, Wellington East hosted about 10 teachers from Hutt Valley High School and Wellington Girls’ College for a full day workshop to learn about and engage in the tikanga and construction of contemporary korowai and how it can be implemented in their schools.

“The teachers from all three schools can now teach the skills – they also know the tikanga, karakia, mihimihi, pepeha, waiata that goes with it; then where to order your feathers, where to buy taniko band, and the linings you should use,” says Nan.

A more recent workshop offered kaiako the opportunity to learn about the tikanga and implementation of taniko in the classroom.

A taniko workshop was held at Wellington East for members of HETTANZ (Home Economics and Technology Teachers’ Association of New Zealand) including Rowan Heap and Emma Howell from Wellington High School, pictured with Nan Walden. 

“We did the taniko weaving workshop and we all sat around the table together and we had karakia and we said pepeha, then we learned how to weave together. As we were weaving, we were listening to music and having a good kōrero – that’s what would have happened back in history in a Māori weaving circle. That was a lived experience of mātauranga Māori for those women in that space and it showed whanaungatanga,” says Nan.

The group is also showing whanaungatanga to Whaearua Ross (Ngāti Hauā) , a second-year teacher who is the head of te reo Māori at Wellington Girls’ College and is part of the kaupapa.

“We are here to support her in whatever she needs to manage her teacher load. A lot of demands are made on Māori teachers,” says Nan.

“Wellington Girls’ College is not as involved in the sharing of knowledge yet, but that will come with time, that’s the idea of growing staff competency,” adds Grace.

Learning and growing together

The first part of the kaupapa is to grow the teachers and then grow the students.

“We’ve done contemporary korowai, we’ve looked at taniko and we’re going to be looking at some taonga puoro. The contemporary korowai was our start but that space is getting bigger as we learn more arts ourselves and share with each other,” says Grace.

“Our vision is to upskill the teachers so that every school can offer everything. If you have it that way and everybody takes charge of it, then you’re not dependant on a single person and you’re not making everything single cell – the teaching is broader, so there are more teachers able to teach it,” she says.

Miranda Hurley, technology teacher at WEGC was able to learn about contemporary korowai alongside a student.

“It allowed me to feel more confident in being able to implement some of these skills in my Year 10 class in fashion technology and also help other teachers within the workshop.

“We were doing a unit about what makes a hero. A student wanted to make a contemporary korowai for her mother and I was able to learn alongside her and help to guide her while sharing the journey of making my own contemporary korowai. 

“This process has meant a lot to me and my student and by the end I could see that she felt confident and supported in being able to incorporate tikanga into her work. This has also continued to grow in her next project which has been very rewarding to see. I hope to implement this more and more in the future,” says Miranda.

The first korowai making workshop was attended by Hutt Valley High School's Grace Wright, Daniel Ciapa (back); Cara Penfold and Michelle Buist (front) pictured with Nan Walden.

Citizens of Aotearoa

Nan and Grace believe that teaching and sharing mātauranga Māori is important for all teachers and learners in Aotearoa.

“This year we have developed Te Auaha Hangarau Kakahu Komiti – a group of Year 10 creative technology students who care for and maintain the kapa haka kakahu (clothing) and construct contemporary korowai for gifting, for example to Māori prefects, or teachers who are leaving,” says Nan.

She says that the narrative is not just about Māori or Pākehā, but about being a citizen of Aotearoa.

For example, a group of girls constructed a beautiful red velvet flowing dress and created hijab to go with it as part of their culture. 

“For them to be able to see me embracing my culture and disseminating it to my Māori students, then it becomes OK to be whoever you want to be. That identity is crucial.

“Year 12 Creative Technology student, Brooke, is Pākehā but embraces te reo and contemporary korowai construction with karakia and pepeha. She has just finished a contemporary korowai for her father who’s Scottish. She  had her clan tartan printed and made, and then she lined the contemporary korowai with that and the band at the top is not taniko – it’s the family tartan. She’s also a NCEA Level 2 Te Reo Māori student – so that incorporation of cultures reiterates my point of being an Aotearoa citizen,” says Nan.

Hutt Valley High School student, Amiria makes a porotiti (musical instrument).

Taonga puoro

Grace comes to the project from a different starting point. She teaches creative arts at HVHS’s marae, working out of field Māori standards and incorporating music and technology in the creation of taonga puoro.

“It’s quite a different space from being in a technology room and the process of how you approach the work is quite different. It’s far more from a tikanga basis and a learning of a craft for the culture first rather than the technology,” she says.

“I started from the music department and over the past few years I’ve had students saying they want to learn more – their curiosity has been piqued. They’re coming from a place of sound first rather than in terms of culture,” says Grace. 

Pūtorino made by Hutt Valley High School students.

“But they embrace everything as they go. Their whole view in terms of seeing music as a greater cultural experience changed and opened out beyond just playing into crafting and making. In terms of their kaupapa they’ve gone from making their own instruments to playing and then being able to absorb it into different genres of music. They might have a beautiful piece with guitar and voice and then they can bring in a kōauau (flute) over the top!”

Concrete as sandpaper

At the end of term 4, teachers from WEGC and WGC will travel to HVHS and embark on a learning journey with Grace in tikanga and traditional instruments – porotiti or purerehua.  

“I’ll take them through what I do with the students and they’ll make a relatively straightforward piece. Just a taster, but to have a slightly different approach in terms of working out of the marae. It’s not just about teaching to the technical skills; you could make some of those instruments very quickly with the gear over in the technology block, but how can a student do that at home?

“We might use concrete as sandpaper, so they understand that their resources are all around them and no matter what they’ve got, they can make things. If it’s in a technology room, that limits it to technology teachers, but I want it to be open to any teacher, or whānau to get involved,” says Grace.

Authentic contexts

Kaiako from the Wellington region including, left to right, Caro Rameka, Herataunga College, Radhika Pande,  Te Kura and Amy Macaskill, Kapiti College at the Wellington East-hosted taniko workshop for HETTANZ members.

The inquiry process the three schools have undertaken has put the focus on the mahi and learning. 

“Usually, you would take an achievement standard and apply it to learning, but for this we take that learning and apply whatever achievement standard goes to it. So, it’s more about the learning than how many credits something is worth,” says Nan.

“With the new achievement standards, as teachers explore what they need to in their curriculum areas for mātauranga Māori, it should hopefully change everything so that it becomes about the work and the learning, and the assessments become the by-product. I feel that this might be a place where teachers really experience that because they have to provide authentic learning contexts,” says Grace.

Nan would like to acknowledge Eva Mokalei, kapa haka costume designer and Rewhia King, whānau liaison kaiawhina at WEGC for supporting her on her journey.