At Te Takapū, students learn the revered tradition of carving pounamu (Nephrite-Jade/Greenstone), bone and stone. This tohu (qualification) is for two years and is approximately 40 hours per week, 47 weeks of the year.
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Toki earrings (or drop earrings) are designed to suspend from the bottom of the earlobes. The length varies from a centimetre or two, all the way to brushing the wearer's shoulders.
Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)
Measurements: 71mm x 7mm
Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.
Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)
Measurements: 107mm x 50mm x 15mm
Hei tiki are the best known of all Māori adornments. Tiki are symbols of fertility that depict a new-born child. They are often family heirlooms bearing personal names and embodying their wearers lineage. As with most Māori personal adornments, hei tiki are often passed down generationally.
Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)
Measurements: 107mm x 60mm x 14mm
Pōria Kākā are leg rings crafted from bone or stone used to keep pet kākā (parrots) from flying away. The giant kaka parrot was used by the Māori to assist them during hunting. The bird was used as a decoy to capture other kaka parrots.
As with many Māori items the kaka ring was both used as a tool as well as an adornment.
Material: Pounamu (Kawakawa)
Measurements: 42mm x 31mm x 6mm