‘Te Pou Mua o Te Waka a Rangi’ The Forward Mast of Rangi’s Canoe’Pou Wahine – Female Element
$4,800.00
2026
Totara/Feathers/Natural fibre cordage/Black wood stain/Linseed oil
SKU 16622
These spiritual pou work in unison with each other and both of these masts are responsible for supporting the constellation Te Kokota – Hyades, the great sail of Rangi’s waka. Without each other the great waka of Rangi will become a waka mapuna – an unmanned waka – floating about without any direction.
Pou Wahine – Female Element
This pou is the forward guide and responsible for guiding and directing the waka. This pou provides essential balance and stability to enable the waka to steer a straight course.
She wears her moko kauae – chiefly chin tattoo – proudly to show her status and responsibilities on the waka. Her long woven hair binds her to her ethereal and cosmological responsibilities.
She is wearing her korowai – chiefly cloak – tightly across her shoulders, comforting and protecting others and acknowledging her responsibilities which are not just in the spiritual realm.
The rope of her korowai represents connections and also resilience. Physically it is the rope used to hoist and lower the great sail Te Kokota into the night sky. The tell tails of her korowai are used as wind find markers for trim and steering.
Beneath her korowai is ara poutama – the stairway pattern – which represents growth, learning and the pursuit of higher knowledge.
The puhoro design below is based on flowing patterns representing the ethereal currents and movement of the cosmos and the waka as it traverses the night sky.
The darkened colour of these pou represents Te Pō Nui – the great night sky of Ranginui. It also acknowledges the present and highlights the damage we are doing to Papatūānuku – Earth Mother – through climate change, war and other factors.
The black, red and white colours represent Māori creation stories in the cosmic realm.
Manawatia a Matariki – let us celebrate the rising of Matariki.
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