NCEA L1 Toi Ataata flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Toi ataata

Māori visual arts as a field of practice and study, covering carving, weaving, painting, tā moko, and contemporary media, and examined through both making and contextual analysis.

Whakapapa

Genealogy and lineage linking people, materials, and designs to ancestors and places. In toi ataata it explains the origin and authority of a motif or artwork.

Kaitiakitanga

Guardianship and stewardship. In art practice it means sourcing materials respectfully, protecting knowledge, and accepting responsibility for how designs are used and shared.

Mana and tapu

Interlinked concepts of spiritual power and sacred restriction. Together they govern who may use particular designs and under what conditions in Māori visual arts.

Ringatoi

The Māori term for an artist or creative practitioner. It is used in analysis to name the maker and connect them to iwi, whakapapa, and body of work.

Mātauranga Māori

Māori knowledge systems encompassing observation, genealogy, narrative, and practice. It underpins design decisions such as pattern choice, symmetry, and repetition in toi ataata.

Whakairo rākau

Wood carving using adze and chisel. Characteristic surface treatment includes haehae parallel grooves and pakati notched ridges, often on poupou and pare panels.

Haehae and pakati

Paired carving surface patterns: haehae are parallel grooves cut into the wood, while pakati are notched ridges left standing between them, creating light-and-shadow contrast.

Pounamu

New Zealand greenstone, a form of nephrite associated with Te Waipounamu. Carved into hei tiki, mere, and kōauau, and worked wet to manage dust and heat.

Raranga

Māori weaving, especially with harakeke. Correct harvesting leaves the rito centre shoot and outer muka leaves so the plant continues to regenerate for future use.

Whatu and taniko

Whatu is finger weaving; taniko is the geometric border band worked into garments using black, white, and red motifs, with the aho weft tensioned by hand.

Tukutuku

Lattice wall panels of crossed kaho rods and dyed whenu strips, used inside wharenui. Patterns include purapura whetū and niho taniwha.

Kōwhaiwhai

Painted rafter patterns in red, white, and black. Motifs such as koru, kape, and mangōpare repeat along heke and take their name from the painted surface.

Tā moko

Māori skin marking applied with uhi chisel or needle. It is distinguished from decorative tattoo by its whakapapa reference and governance by tikanga.

Harakeke

New Zealand flax, the primary weaving material. Leaves are split for whenu strips and scraped for muka fibre, with harvesting rules protecting the plant's growth.

Wharenui components

Tekoteko, maihi, koruru, amo, poupou, tukutuku, kōwhaiwhai, and heke each carry a distinct structural and narrative role within the meeting house.

Koru

An unfolding spiral based on the ponga frond, signalling new life and growth. It is a repeating unit across kōwhaiwhai, whakairo, and tukutuku.

Mangōpare

The hammerhead shark motif, built from symmetry and repetition. It commonly signals strength, protection, and vigilance in carving and rafter painting.

Taurite

Balance in composition, either symmetric or asymmetric. Carved pare and tukutuku panels typically use symmetry, while contemporary works often weight negative space asymmetrically.

Tāruarua

Repetition of a motif or element. In toi ataata it builds rhythm across a surface and can encode whakapapa through repeated ancestral forms.

Rerekētanga

Contrast or variation between elements, such as light against dark or large against small. It creates emphasis and prevents repetition from becoming static.

Aronga

Focal point or visual direction. Scale and placement determine where the viewer's eye settles first in an artwork.

Visual analysis sequence

Describe observable elements, explain how principles organise them, then interpret meaning through whakapapa and context. This order matches the assessment verbs describe, explain, analyse.

Double spiral

Koru rua, a paired spiral form appearing in rafter patterns and carving. The two arms suggest balance, partnership, and cyclical movement.

Tikanga

Correct protocol and practice. In art it includes seeking permission before depicting ancestral figures and acknowledging sources and collaborators.

Cultural intellectual property

The principle that Māori designs are not a free visual resource. Discussion should reference kaitiakitanga, consent, and attribution alongside legal copyright.

Assessment verbs

Describe requires observable detail; explain requires reasons and function; analyse requires relationships between parts; evaluate requires a judgement supported by evidence.

Named evidence

Specific reference to a work, artist, iwi, material, or motif. Answers without named evidence remain descriptive and do not reach analysis or evaluation.

Tekoteko

The carved figure at the apex of a wharenui gable. It usually represents an ancestor and anchors the building's whakapapa narrative.

Maihi and amo

Maihi are the sloping bargeboards flanking the gable; amo are the vertical boards supporting them. Both are carved and painted with kōwhaiwhai.

Poupou

Carved wall posts inside a wharenui, each typically representing a named ancestor. Together they form the genealogical spine of the house.

Practical folio evidence

Documented trials, decisions, and changes showing idea development and safe technique. Assessment rewards critical reflection, not only the finished artwork.