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Commissioned for He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving, kaiwhakairo Sam Hauwaho’s carved wooden artwork Whaka-iro reflects upon and references the meaning of the word whakairo or whaka-iro-iro – to make like a wood-boring grub.
“I’m always learning. Doing commissions, teaching, moulding something from nothing, just from a raw piece of material, timber.”
– Sam Hauwaho
Just as an iro – grub – eats its way through wood, the act of whakairo is also a process of bringing out or revealing the essence of something. Early ancestors drew upon the patterning created in nature for the name whakairo as the process of wood carving. As Sam says:
“The grub, it’s a pūriri grub, eh... . It bores its way through the timber. It’s not stagnant. It goes in any direction. It has a whole lot of different avenues which it goes through.”
Around the edge of the spiralled carving, different iwi from ngā hau e whā – the four winds – are represented by manaia heads who are kaitiaki enhancing the significance of what they protect.
Sam Hauwaho (Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Awa) began learning carving in 1988 from his father-in-law, Tohunga Whakairo Rangi Hetet. As well as being a kai whakairo, Sam was also one of twelve crew members chosen for the maiden voyage of Te Aurere to Rarotonga, the first waka hourua made in Aotearoa New Zealand in modern times.
For many years he has taught carving classes to tauira at Whitireia Polytechnic, and the intergenerational aspect of Hauwaho’s practice contributes significantly to how the art of whakairo has been kept alive and flourished over time.
English transcript
Te reo Māori translation
Whaka-iro (carved artwork), carved by Sam Hauwaho (Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, Ngāti Awa), laminated tōtara, rata, pāua shell, wood stain oil. Commissioned 2025. Te Papa (ME024863)
Experience over 140 whakairo (carvings) spanning seven centuries – many never exhibited before. He Toi Whakairo: The Art of Māori Carving showcases creativity, ancestral narratives, and contemporary innovation. Every carving is an expression of artistic excellence and human dignity.
On now
29 Aug 2026 – August 2031
Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga
Twelve crew members are chosen for the first voyage of Te Aurere to Rarotonga. This is the first time in hundreds of years that an Aotearoa waka hourua (double-hulled vessel) has voyaged across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean).
Whakairo – carving is a living art form – a visual language of whakapapa (genealogy), history, and artistic excellence. From tiny fishhooks to mighty ancestral figures, each taonga (treasure) is a powerful expression of cultural pride and identity. View some of the taonga that Te Papa holds on Collections Online.
