Kōrero: Pounamu

He taonga tino nui rawa atu te pounamu ki te Māori – ka rawea, ka reia, ka arongia nuitia. He tohu te pounamu ki te mana me te wehi; he taonga whakarākei, he taonga whakapūmau hoki i te rangimārie.

He kōrero nā Basil Keane
Te āhua nui: Pounamu touchstone at the national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa

He korero whakarapopoto

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

He kōhatu mārō te pounamu, ka kitea i roto i ngā toka. Ko ngā ingoa a te Pākehā mō te pounamu, ko greenstone, ko New Zealand jade rānei.

Ka manakotia e te Māori te pounamu i te mea:

  • he mārō, he ātaahua
  • he tohu mana
  • he tapu.

Ngā wāhi ka kitea te pounamu

Whāiti ai ngā takotoranga pounamu ki te taiao o Te Wai Pounamu, nā reira tōna mana nui ki te mana whenua ki a Ngāi Tahu. Kei ngā takere me ngā tahatika o ngā awa ngā toka pounamu. Kei a Ngāi Tahu te mana o ngā pounamu katoa i te taiao.

Ngā whao

Ka whakamahia te pounamu kia hanga toki, hanga whao, hanga oka mō te whakairo, mō te tope rākau hoki. I tua atu, ka orohia te pounamu hei matau, hei pākuru, hei tara tao. Ko te hōanga (sandstone) hei orooro i te pounamu.

Taonga whakarei

Ka auahatia e te Māori te whakakai, te whakahei me ngā taonga ka mau ki te ringaringa. Ko te tiki te hei rongonui rawa, ka rite tōna āhua ki tētahi tangata e noho ana me ōna waewae whiri.

He tohu rangatira

Kāhore ngā rākau pounamu mō te riri, mō ngā ringaringa kē o te rangatira, he tohu ki tōna mana. Ko te pounamu mō ngā kawanga me ngā take nui a te iwi, mō te whakapūmau hoki i te tatau pounamu.

He kura te taonga pounamu; ka tapaina he ingoa mōna hei hokinga mahara ki ngā tūpuna me ā rātou kōrero. Ko Te Āwhiorangi te toki a Tāne nāna ngā here a Ranginui me Papatūānuku i tapahi.

Ngā whakairo i ēnei rā

I ēnei rā ko te waka topatopa ka hiki i ngā toka pounamu i te wai. Mā ngā taputapu taimana rawa e tapahi, e orooro i te pounamu hei taonga kahurangi, hei taonga toi.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Basil Keane, 'Pounamu', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/pounamu (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Basil Keane, i tāngia i te 12 o Hune 2006