Authoritative companion to Māori weaving returns in smart new edition

Tāniko weaving is one of the supreme expressions of Māori art. 

Weaving and dyeing the fibres of native flax creates elaborate patterns that are used to adorn clothing, with distinctive styles that have evolved in different parts of the country over centuries of creativity.

Te Whatu Tāniko presents the history and social context for weaving, as well as clear, practical guidelines for making tāniko. 

The book’s many clear and concise graphs and drawings can guide beginners or practising weavers to create a range of beautiful patterns. 

In print in various forms since 1952, Te Whatu Tāniko is now in a redesigned edition with a new preface by Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith of the University of Waikato, the daughter of the author. 

She writes: 'Tāniko work has its own beauty when woven with pride and exhibiting masterly control of the artform. It is as relevant now as it was when this book was first published.’ 

Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Sir Hirini sees this as signalling of passing the mantle of this artform, in decline when he first wrote the book, back to the female practitioners who are helping it to thrive today.

This new book will be welcomed by all who practise and appreciate this distinctive artform.

The author

Sir Hirini Moko Mead (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūhourangi)is a pre-eminent Māori writer, commentator and scholar. In the course of a distinguished academic career he authored numerous books on Māori art (including Te Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving, with Oratia Books) and developed the first Department of Māori Studies in the country at Victoria University. He was knighted in 2009 for services to Māori and education. He lives in Wellington.

Sir Hirini (Sidney) Moko Mead

Publication: 15 August 2019  |  ISBN: 978-0-947506-61-2 |  RRP $45.00

Paperback, 250 x 185 mm, 136 pages b&w

Book giveaway: Te Toi Whakairo – The Art of Maori Carving (2015)

Sir Sidney (Hirini) Moko Mead is one of the truly distinguished authors that we’ve had the privilege of working with over the ten years of Oratia Books. 

Over his long career he has been an innovator and leader across a range of academic and artistic fields, notably for his iwi of Ngāti Awa, for which he has received numerous honours including his knighthood. 

Hirini Moko Mead

From the 1950s on, Tā Hirini wrote pioneering works on Māori art forms of which he was himself an enthusiastic practitioner. Te Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving, which Oratia published in 2015, had been through various incarnations since its first publication in 1961 by A.H. & A.W. Reed “as a very humble little book”, as Hirini writes in the 2015 preface. The current edition is a comprehensively illustrated work of 276 pages.

Detailing the evolution of styles in history through to present-day forms, Te Toi Whakairo is a standard reference work for carvers as well as all those who appreciate Māori carving, and Oratia is committed to keeping it in print. Click here for more information.

Next month will see new life given to another of Hirini’s standard works on Māori art, with the publication on 15 August of Te Whatu Tāniko — Tāniko Weaving: Technique and Tradition, in a fully redesigned and expanded edition

Te Whatu Tāniko will be published in August

Visit our Fb Page  to be in to win a copy of Te Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving. Prize available to New Zealand residents only. 

Competition closes on Monday 15 July, and winner announced on Tuesday 16 July.

Major tribal histories and carving book make a welcome return

Today we are proud to be bringing back to print three major works of Māori history and art under the Oratia Books brand. 

Horouta: The History of the Horouta Canoe, Gisborne and East Coast is a monumental, deluxe work that relates centuries of history for the peoples of the East Coast region, with many detailed maps and whakapapa (genealogical charts). 

Takitimu: A History of Ngati Kahungunu also spans centuries of pre-European settlement and post-Contact interaction for Ngati Kahungunu, the main iwi (tribe) of the Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa regions (and the third most populous iwi in the country). 

Te Toi Whakairo: The Art of Maori Carving is an abundantly illustrated overview of this quintessential art form, written by distinguished academic Sir Hirini Moko Mead. This informative volume remains one of the key reference books on woodcarving. 

All three works are part of a promotion of Māori books in selected bookstores, alongside the June publication Ngā Atua: Māori Gods (click here for more) and Scotty Te Manahau Morrison's superb Te Reo translation of Paul Tapsell's Pūkaki (to be published on 12 September).

Mauri ora!

Publication Date: 20 July 2017
Horouta: ISBN: 978-0-947506-20-9 |  RRP $120

Jacketed hardback, 280 x 210 mm, 496 pages

Takitimu: ISBN: 978-0-947506-21-6 |  RRP $80

Jacketed hardback, 240 x 150 mm, 312 pages

Te Toi Whakairo: ISBN: 978-0-947506-37-7 |  RRP $49.99

Paperback with flaps, 242 x 182 mm, 276 pages

Te Toi Whakairo is published today

Te Toi Whakairo

The Art of Maori Carving

Hirini Moko Mead

New edition published today

Te Toi Whakairo is among the most comprehensive and valuable books published on Maori woodcarving, and has been out of print  for many years – until today.

Distinguished author Sir Sidney (Hirini) Moko Mead explores carving from its mythical origins to modern art, from the styles of Northland through to those of the South Island, from an explanation of basic techniques to the most elaborate surface decorations – with the help of hundreds of photos and drawings.

The book returns with a new cover and author’s note; in the latter, the author writes:

“Te Toi Whakairo lives on and is available to people who are interested in art in general, and especially in woodcarving that belongs to the traditions of this land.”

Sir Sidney (Hirini) Moko Mead is a leading authority on Maori art and culture. Born in 1927, he had a distinguished university career at Victoria University and internationally, has written numerous books, was a driving force behind the Te Maori exhibition, and has been a leader of his iwi, Ngati Awa. He was knighted in 2009 for services to Maori and education. Ta Hirini lives with his wife in Wellington.

Publication Date: 17 September 2015  |  ISBN: 978-1-877514-82-1  |  RRP $45

Paperback with flaps, 242 x 182 mm, 276 pages b&w