Rauemi Tākaro – Play resources
Overview
These learning resources reflect Māori culture and can be used to help kaiako integrate a Māori perspective into different play areas. Tamariki exploring and participating in cultural customs and using natural resources in their play is beneficial to their learning and development.
Korikori Pōrehe - Messy Play
Hei Tiki - neck pendant
About Tiki
The word Tiki is used throughout Polynesia for the human form and Hei in this context means something worn around the neck. Highly prized Hei Tiki are made from pounamu greenstone or whale bone and like many other family taonga treasure are passed down from generation to generation.
Activity
Use old playdough to make a Hei Tiki. Get an adult to bake it on high until it has hardened. What colour will your tiki be?
Hikia te Hā - breathing exercise
Practising hikitia te hā on a daily basis with simple, open-hearted attention can help make you more aware of te hā (the breath) and be more present in each moment.
Activity
Slow down and count your breaths; tahi, rua, toru…
Whakarongo; listen to your breath, what other sounds can you hear?
Kete - bag
Kete are a type of bag or basket. In earlier times kete were important in everyday life for carrying and storing food. Plain open-weave baskets could be made quickly from strips of harakeke (flax) and finely crafted kete showing intricate geometric patterns. Kete were made and designed for specific purposes; e.g., a kete used to carry kūmara wouldn’t carry shellfish.
Activity
Make your own kete, and hunt for objects to fill it e.g. karaka (orange) objects only.
Koru - spiral
The coiled motif of the koru is a frequently used design in many Māori art forms. Another term for koru is pītau, which is also the name of the fern frond. As the fern grows, the tightly wound spiral unravels into a fully formed leaf, symbolizing growth and renewal.
Activity
Create your own koru! Use natural resources, draw or paint, or go and find one in the ngāhere!
Poi
Poi is the name of a performance song and dance and also the name of the object that features in the dance. There are short and long poi. It is commonly made from wool for tail, and stuffed cotton for the ball. Poi are swung in time to a rhythmic pattern created through song and dance. They are useful for developing good coordination skills, flexibility and strength.
Activity
Make your own poi using clean material and wool.
Raranga - weaving
Raranga/weaving is an expression of mathematical ideas about position and place. Harakeke (flax) was the most useful plant in Aotearoa to Māori. Used to make many things like woven mats and baskets. Large amounts of harakeke can be found around traditional Māori pa sites, grown and harvested to provide fibre for weaving.
Activity
Weaving with paper or string to experiment with place and position. Tamariki can help design a Weaving obstacle course; Over, under, in, out, and around things.
Weaving a flax star for Matariki — Rarangatia he whetu harakeke mō Matariki
Tī rākau - short stick
Traditionally, the manuka, the flower stalks of the toetoe, raupō and harakeke were collected to make tī rākau. Tī rākau is as a rhythmic game and useful exercise created through song and dance Tī rākau are useful for developing good coordination skills, flexibility and strength.
Activity
Use rolled up magazines or find you own sticks. What is your favourite waiata? You can beat your Tī rākau together to create a beat.
Tukutuku - wall panel
Traditional tukutuku are the lattice display panels inside whare tīpuna (ancestral meeting house), usually located along the walls. Tukutuku are identifiable by the repeated geometric straight lines that dominate the design.
Activity
Use tape to create lines, colour over then peel tape away. What pattern will you create?
Poutama (Staircase pattern), Kaokao (Triangle), Patiki (Diamond).
Learn more about tukutuku designs
Waka - canoe
Starting with their use in their migration from central Polynesia. Waka have been an essential component for Māori. But waka are much more, canoe traditions are essential to the identity of Māori, whakapapa (genealogy) connecting to the crew of those founding canoe serve to establish the origins of tribes and defined relationships. Thus, they express identity and define tribal boundaries.
Activity
What can you make a waka out of? Use wood, recycled plastic, paper. See if it will float!
Whai – string games
Whai are games using a length of string tied to form a circle. When put over the hands, hooked over the thumbs and little fingers and pulled taut, the formation of various designs provide amusement and develop manual dexterity. In myths and legends the origin of whai is accredited to Maui, a hero of the Māori who used his magic rope to fish up Aotearoa and slow the sun.
Activity
Use thick wool as it is strong yet soft. What shapes or patterns can you create?
Wheku - mask
A wheku is a carved face or mask made from wood that represents an ancient tupuna (ancestor). There are many symbolic meanings behind the surface patterns seen in the carvings of wheku, though the patterns and meanings may vary from iwi to iwi.
Activity
Use cardboard from old cereal boxes to make your own wheku. What colour will your wheku be?