Artist’s statement
Ereni Pūtere
Kāi Tahu, Kāti Mamoe, Waitaha, Te Ātiawa o Taranaki
Kā Kaha a Tahu (the bindings/lineage of Tahu) trace my Meaning Ancestry or family lineage through the Meaning Tribal areas of Kāi Tahu whānui.
Through weaving with the traditional materials available to us in Te Waka o Aoraki (the South Island), I have drawn on the Meaning Stories to create a series of hei (neck ornaments) that serve as a visual manifestation of my Meaning Tribal identifier .
My descent from Te Rākaitauheke of Kaikōura, to the
Meaning
Fertile soil
of Waitaha (Canterbury) and the kano kōhai (kōwhai seeds) from our
Meaning
Home
May be used to refer to a defensive settlement or hillfort
Also: pā
, to the houhī of Moeraki and our
Meaning
Mountain
Te Kohurau, inland to Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (the Southern Alps) and further south to Murihiku (Southland) where the old people were referred to as Te Kārehu o Tamatea.
Nāia kā kaha e aukahatia ana tēnei Kāi Tahu ki Te Waka o Aoraki. These are the fibres that bind this Kāi Tahu to our waka, our ancestral homelands of the South Island.
Contact: Ereni.putere@outlook.com
