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Close-up of a hīnaki (eel trap) showing its weavings

Hīnaki: He Huritao Tikanga Mahi Hīnaki: Contemplation of a Form

Ko te hīnaki, ko ōna ahunga whakairo me ōna tauira manganga, he mahinga toi nui whakaharahara o te ahurea Māori.  Ko tōna whakamahinga hei mauhere tuna, ko tōna tikanga mahi, tae atu ki ōna rauemi waihanga, he kōrero i ahu mai i te mātauranga ā-iwi me te taiao.

He tirohanga whānui tēnei whakaaturanga ki tēnei mea te hīnaki. Atu i te whakaatu i ēnei taonga, ka aro anō tēnei whakaaturanga ki ngā pahī e rua a ētahi whare taonga i mua, waihoki ki te hononga a te Māori ki ngā awa whakahirahira e rua me ngā urupare toi hou e pā ana ki te hīnaki.

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Hīnaki

  Hīnakieel trapMāori
, with their sculptural dimensions and intricate designs, are a distinctive Māori art form of great cultural significance. In their function as eel traps, their form, and their materials, they express mātauranga ā-iwi mātauranga ā-iwitribal knowledgeMāori of te taiao

  te taiaothe natural worldMāori
.

This exhibition provides a broad experience of hīnaki. As well as displaying these taonga

  taongacultural treasuresMāori
, it focuses on two early museum expeditions, Māori relationships with two significant awa

  awariversMāori
, and contemporary artworks related or responding to hīnaki.

  • When | Āhea Opens 10 Jun 2023
  • Where | Ki hea Toi Art, Level 5
  • Cost | Te utu Free entry

He pūkenga, he tohu

He tikanga whai pūkenga te waihanga hīnaki. Ka mounutia, ā, ka tauria ki ngā riponga awa, ka pōria rānei ki ngā takere awa. Nā te mea e huri kōaro kē ana te waha o te hīnaki, ka rere ana te tuna ki roto, korekore ana e āhei te puta ki waho.

He matatini te whatunga mai o te hīnaki i ngā rau kaha pēnei i te tā o te mangemange, i te aka o te kiekie, i te aka tororaro, i te peka mānuka me te muka i ētahi wā anō. Ko ngā ingoa ka hāngai ki tōna hanganga, ki tōna āhuahanga, ki tōna whakamahinga rānei, pēnei i te hīnaki waharua (e rua ngā waha) me te hīnaki tukutuku rānei.

He tohu te hīnaki o te ao Māori tūturu, he whakatinanatanga hoki o ngā uara me ngā tikanga pēnei i te mahinga kai me te manaaki. E ai ki te kōrero, nā te tipua, nā Māui-Tikitiki-a-Taranga i hanga te hīnaki e kīia nei ko te ‘akura’. Ko te kupu tēnei mō te waha kōaro o te hīnaki.

Skilful and symbolic

Hīnaki are skilfully made forms used as eel traps. They are baited then placed in a river’s current, or weighted down on the riverbed. Eels enter the inverted openings and can’t escape.

Hīnaki are intricately woven from strong materials like mangemange stalks, kiekie aerial roots, aka tororaro stems, mānuka branches, and sometimes muka

  mukaflax fibreMāori
. Their names relate to their construction, shape, or use, like hīnaki waharua hīnaki waharuadouble-mouthedMāori or hīnaki tukutuku hīnaki tukutukulattice-wovenMāori.

They represent a Māori way of being, embodying values and practices such as mahinga kai mahinga kaifood gatheringMāori and manaaki manaakihospitality, careMāori. The tipua tipuademigodMāori Māui-Tikitiki-a-Taranga is said to have invented a hīnaki called ‘akura’, a word for the trap’s inverted opening.

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