Lifting the tapu: Māori women who carve

It's commonly assumed that Māori women don't carve. Carving is a tapu occupation with its own tikanga and ritual. Women have often not been allowed to be present while a carver is working. It's a practice that continues on some building sites today.   But tikanga varies and changes. The binary gender division with carving has often been broken. Last century, male mastercarvers like Pineāmine Taepa, Cliff Whiting and Paki Harrison taught women in toi whakairo, and women carvers have been written about by everyone from Sir Apriana Ngata to more recently art historian Ngaarino Ellis. But that doesn't mean it's easy. A new collective of wāhine Māori carvers, Te Ana o Hine, is creating a safe environment to support women who want to learn the craft. Te Ana o Hine - which can be translated as the cave of Hine - have recently established a carving studio with Tāmaki Makaurau art gallery Te Tuhi.  Today Mark is joined by one of Te Ana o Hine's members, artist and curator Holly Tawhiao. Of Ngāti Tīpa, and Tainui descent, she is a Elam fine arts and Museum studies graduate. Known as a cultural advocate for Hamilton, she joins us from from the Kirikiriroa studio.