Mokopuna o Mahuika 1980s
by Colleen E Waata Urlich (born 1939), Te Popoto o Nga Puhi ki Kaipara/ Ngati Whatua
clay, sand, feathers, pounamu (greenstone), paua shell, and muka (flax fibre)
On loan from the artist

The guardians
Colleen Urlich designed kaitiaki (guardian) vessels like this one to be placed outside the homes of single parents. Mahuika is the atua (spirit) of fire - she kept the flame in her fingernails. Mahuika also symbolises ahi ka (keeping the home fire burning) – the right of people to occupy their land. One of her mokopuna (granddaughters) is represented in this work.

Creation stories such as that of Mahuika provide the foundation for much of Colleen’s work.