Te ao MāoriThe Māori world

Biculturalism. Decolonisation. Mātauranga Māori. Dive into te ao Māori, explore Matariki, brush up on your reo Māori, and learn how the kiwi lost its wings.

Colonial collecting – returning a raranga vest

Te Papa collection manager and kaitiaki taonga Moana Parata shares a story of her journey to Los Angeles to bring home a precious taonga (treasure), a raranga vest collected by Carl Freeze, an American Mormon missionary in the early 1900s.

A black and white photo of a museum with everything jammed in together.

Museum collecting: Acknowledging our Colonial past

Our national museum’s history began in 1865, and early documentation wasn't as thorough or careful as it is today. Curator Mātauranga Māori Amber Aranui takes us back to this creatively documented time and what it means for tracking our collection items.

A black rectangle with a faint Māori design in the background with words in silver that say Te Maori 40th Anniversary

Te whakaaturanga o Te Maori – Toi Māori ki te ao

From 1984 to 1986, the exhibition Te Maori was a pivotal moment in Māori cultural revival showcasing traditional artwork on the international stage. It is widely acclaimed as an exhibition that changed the way that museums and art galleries interpreted and managed taonga Māori.

The Maramataka | Māori calendar

The maramataka is a planting and fishing monthly almanac. For most iwi, the lunar months begin with the new moon (Whiro), but for others it begins with the full moon (Rākaunui). The start of each month is aligned to the morning rising of particular stars.

Close up of the Te Tiriti ki Waikato-Manukau | Waikato-Manukau sheet, showing the beginning of the English text

The Treaty of Waitangi

It is celebrated and argued over. It contains contradictions, and yet it offers clarity. It has a rocky past, but it is providing New Zealanders with new ways forward. It is the Treaty of Waitangi – this nation’s founding agreement.

matariki-night sky with designed star on it

Matariki: The Māori New Year

Learn all about Matariki and see our events. Matariki is a time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.

A colourful stage within a room with sunlight through coloured windows bathing the room in shades of blue and purple

Te Marae o Te Papa Tongarewa: Rongomaraeroa

Rongomaraeroa is a unique marae (meeting place) within Aotearoa New Zealand. Like all marae, it is founded on Māori principles of kawa (marae protocol) and tikanga (cultural practices) it was created for our unique museum context as a contemporary marae acknowledging the whakapapa (ancestral history) and the taonga (treasures) of all peoples who call Aotearoa New Zealand home.

A spiral carving with holes every four notches. There is a ahead at the end of the spiral with red beads for eyes. He whakairo tōrino whai kōhao i ia whā pākati. Kei te pito o te tōrino tētahi upoko whai pirepire whero hei karu.

Te whanake i tētahi kawa ki te tautohu i te pānga iti ki te momo o ngā taonga tūturu

This project will create a minimally invasive sampling technique to identify the animals used in manufacturing taonga tūturu, precious objects created by Māori artisans. This will substantially enhance the capabilities of the museum and heritage sector to find and engage meaningfully with the custodians of these taonga.

Māori language at Te Papa

Articles, quizzes, events, and activity books to celebrate and learn about te Reo Māori.

‘Museums are dangerous places’ – challenging history

How do museums learn to tell the truth about what they hold in order to become “decolonised archives”?

Ko Rata me ngā Tamariki a Tāne | Rata and the Children of Tane

He Paki Taonga i a Māui

'He Paki Taonga i a Māui' is a series of 18 short films for tamariki aged 7-11, and tells stories about taonga in Te Papa's collection.

A doll made from soft materials of a Māori with a baby on her back wrapped in a blanket.

Tales from Te Papa Episode 80: Picture Perfect Dolls

Bessie Murray made these beautiful dolls to support her family. Riria uncovers her attention to detail in portraying the Māori women she saw down at the local store.

A yellow and orange canvas with the words 'Tuhoe are the People' on it

Tūhoe country: Colin McCahon and his Te Urewera paintings

Mātauranga Māori curator Matariki Williams (Tūhoe, Te Atiawa, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Hauiti) dives into a series of paintings by Colin McCahon, commissioned by the Urewera National Park Board in the 1970s.

Collection Manager with a kahu huruhuru (feather cloak)

Is there a culture of exclusion in museums?

Puawai Cairns, Kaihāpai Mātauranga Māori | Head of Mātauranga Māori, looks at the nuances of language and how ‘diversity denial’ can exclude the communities you’re trying to embrace.

Haka: Te Taiao

The haka Te Taiao acknowledges that each of us are kaitiaki of Aotearoa New Zealand, and that we all have a role to play in protecting and nurturing te taiao.

Rock art drawing which includes a human figure

Digitising Theo Schoon’s photographs of Māori rock art

Intern Tim Fortescue-Willis has spent the last six weeks cataloguing and digitising Theo Schoon’s photographs of Māori rock art. Tim describes his journey working with these negatives and reflects on what he’s learnt about Theo Schoon during his time at Te Papa.

A black leather gang jacket with the word 'Toa Aotearoa' on it

Why a jacket from a fictional gang is in the national museum

In 2017, a jacket worn by the fictional gang Toa Aoteoroa entered the national collection, history curator Stephanie Gibson tells us why.

William Hodges, Waterfall in Dusky Bay with Maori canoe, 1776, oil on panel. Purchased 2019 with assistance from Lottery Grants Board, Tuia Encounters – 250 Fund. Te Papa (2019-0003-1)

Finding a painting in a landscape: locating the site of ‘Waterfall in Dusky Bay with Maori canoe’

In April 2019, Te Papa acquired a rare, early oil painting by William Hodges, artist on Captain Cook’s second voyage, titled Waterfall in Dusky Bay with Maori Canoe. Here, Te Papa tour host Bill Whelen reflects upon his journeys into Dusky Sound, and finding the exact location of Te Papa’s newly acquired painting.

Māori kakahu (cloaks): When is a korowai not a korowai?

There have been many conversations circulating in the media about Jacinda Ardern wearing a kakahu (cloak) at the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Kaitiaki Māori Collection Manager Mark Sykes explains the differences between kahu huruhuru, kahu kiwi, kahu kuri, and korowai.

Decolonise or indigenise: moving towards sovereign spaces and the Māorification of New Zealand museology

Sustainable indigenised practice in colonial museum models – is there such a thing? Kaihāpai Mātauranga Māori | Head of Mātauranga Māori Puawai Cairns explores this question in this adaptation of a speech given in 2019.

Te ao Māori: The synergy between women and the land

Iwi development manager Migoto Eria looks at the relationship between Heretaunga chief Hēnare Tōmoana and his wife Ākenehi Pātoka, who signed the suffrage petition in 1893, and reflects on the synergy between wahine (women) and whenua (land).

Rongowhakaata

Articles, video, and more about Gisborne iwi Rongowhakaata, whose exhibition Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow was on display at Te Papa 2017–2022.

Rongowhakaata: Borrowing from iwi to build the exhibition

Loans and Acquisitions Advisor Amy Cosgrove sheds light on the process behind 'Ko Rongowhakaata: The Story of Light and Shadow', as well as revealing an ‘average’ day.

Illustration of a tattooed Māori chief 1784

Tāmoko | Māori tattoos: history, practice, and meanings

Discover the history and practice of tāmoko, and find out why the lines of a moko carved in skin represent much more than a tattoo.

Hue (calabash), 1800-1900, New Zealand, maker unknown. Bequest of Kenneth Athol Webster, 1971. Te Papa (WE000901)

Māori musical instruments

Read about different taonga puoro (Māori musical instruments) and discover what their original purposes were.

A Union Jack flag with the words Pumuka and Tiriti Waitangi embroidered on

Pūmuka’s flag

Gifted to Northland chief Pūmuka by James Busby in 1834, Pūmuka’s flag was present at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and is a national treasure. Find out more about this important taonga and the conservation process to allow it to be displayed safely.