Form, pattern, light and shadow are the main components of Toi Whakairo. The predominant form is the human figure. The head is always prominent in terms of the scale of a piece, and can be naturalistic or highly stylised in appearance. The common human forms noted in Whakairo include Tiki, Manaia and Tekoteko. While the Manaia figure has been described as part human, part bird or sometimes part human, part fish, it is probably more likely that Manaia in fact represent a stylised human form in profile. In complex carvings such as the Tauihu - the ornate and dramatic carved prow of a waka taua as seen in the image introducing his blog, the head of a Manaia form can be noted at the bottom of the piece behind the legs of the main figure at the front of the prow. Facing upwards, the Manaia shows one eye revealed by the profile, wide and all seeing in the

classic pūkana expression, while the nose, mouth and always protruding tongue - called whētero - the warrior’s gesture of defiance you’re sure to see in a properly performed haka; these features are suggested by curved elements also alluding to koru and takarangi, two of the major design motifs of Toi Whakairo and Kōwhaiwhai, which I’ll elaborate upon further as we go.

All the components and design elements of toi whakairo have narratives of their own, as do the carvers, the tohunga whakairo who bring their experience, skills and sense of aesthetic to the work. The head for example, receives attention and prominence because it is the most tapu part of a human. Think of your head as the house where your mana resides and you’re likely to keep a tidy house. The human form in carving is sacrosanct in the sense that in nearly all cases it is representational of ancestry, whakapapa or some other narrative that relates directly to the people of a particular place or context or to the Māori collective experience as a whole.

The three dimensional aspect of carving brings light - te ata - and shadow - te atakau into the work. The play of light and shade across a large carved figure adds drama and the suggestion of movement where a tongue may protrude from the dark void space of a mouth or ridged curvilinear reliefs form spirals ornamenting knees, shoulders and buttocks. Smaller spirals can be observed sometimes on the treatment of the hands and elbows, the hinges and leverage points of the human form that allow us action and physical gesture, expressions of life, vigour, vital energy. The use of the void space to introduce light itself as both form and pattern is most notably observed in the example of pītau as

seen here in a detail from our waka tauihu above.