Key vs Taonga - 21st
Dallas Hawe carves a patu
What is a 21st key?
A Key is the gift customarily given to young people to celebrate reaching 21, the traditional age of majority. Although people in New Zealand are generally treated as adults from the age of 18, 21 remains the age of celebration. Māori and other Pacific people have adopted this tradition wholesale and as a result Māori artists are often asked to create keys to commemorate these events.
We spoke to some Kaiwhakairo (carvers) about these traditions and what it is they do when asked for a key.
Lenny Boonen (Ngāti Porou), a Mātanga Whakairo working at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute in Rotorua, says “It’s not my niche, it’s not what I do. I’ll advocate for something more traditional. I like things that have more significance to our people.
I value the idea of gifting something when rangatahi reach adulthood. What I suggest is to choose something that will become a real heirloom, that the mokopuna will want to inherit.
If they’re still really keen for a key specifically, I know people I can send them to.”
Lenny Boonen and Hikurangi Mangu carving in their home workshop
Fellow graduate of the Institute, Hikurangi Mangu (Ngāti Porou) agrees “the first thing I say when whānau ask that is ‘nah, I don’t do those’. The second thing I do is point out that a taiaha is cheaper”
Carving student Tawhiri Solomon (Kāi Tahu) encapsulates the younger generation’s thoughts on where the culture is headed:
“It doesn’t have to be a key, eh.”
“What I suggest as a possible standard thing is to gift a carved hoe (paddle) to symbolise that as an adult they are steering their own waka now. That’s what I’d ask for from my dad, if given the choice.”
Stone options (L-R): a māhē or carved fishing sinker, a patu onewa, an intricate hei matau
“There can be so much more meaning placed into a traditional piece, whether it’s a pare, a patu, a taiaha… just choosing the right symbol makes it deeper from the start.” says National Carving School graduand Dallas Hawe (Ngāti Whakaue) who is already becoming a prolific carver. As he speaks his chisel shapes a wahaika patu intended as a 21st “key” for a relation.
“This particular patu was chosen because a wahaika was the primary weapon of one of their significant tīpuna” he explains as the wood chips fly.
Yeah my bro, way deeper.
IRR
