The art of taonga

Abstract

This essay, the revised text of a lecture delivered by Paul Tapsell, provides a compelling insight into the integral role played by taonga in the Maori world. As a synonym for 'Maori treasure ', safely encased in a museum vitrine, ' taonga ' entered the mainstream vocabulary in the 1980s as an initiative of the exhibition Te Maori. Yet despite widespread recognition of the term, the majority of New Zealanders remain ignorant of the complex interplay of past and present that characterises the operation of taonga in the Maori world. Usually named for significant ancestors , it is their judicious deployment in a marae context that enables those ancestors to participate in ameliorating life crises for present and future generations.