Rakau whakapapa
Acknowledgements
Copyright Reproduced courtesy of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Creator
Unidentified
Identifiers
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa number ME002350
TLF resource R5394
Source
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, http://www.tepapa.govt.nz
Description
This is a rakau whakapapa, a genealogy stick, of unknown provenance. Made of a lightweight wood, it
has 17 generation notches, not including an ancestral figure carved at the top. The ancestral figure
has light-blue glass eyes, and hands that reach up behind its head. The handle is similar to that of a
tokotoko (walking stick or staff). The sides below the notches are carved with pākati (dog tooth
pattern) and haehae (pattern of parallel grooves). It has a dark surface coating and measures 81.7 cm
x 6.8 cm x 3.0 cm.
Educational value
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This asset is a taonga (Māori cultural treasure) that would have been used by a rangatira
(chief) or tohunga (ritual expert) as an aid to memory in the reciting of the ancestral history
and genealogy of a particular whānau (family), iwi (tribe), or hapū (subtribe).
It illustrates a taonga whose notches would have played an important role - kaumātua (elders)
fingered the notches to check they were recalling each generation correctly; the notches might
be used to recall a particular event or to find a connection to the whakapapa (genealogy) of a
visiting iwi.
It indicates that whakapapa was used to connect people and events - early Māori recorded
and sorted vast amounts of oral history with extraordinary accuracy; knowing whakapapa and
the connections and relationships continues to be very important to Māori as it helps them
understand and remember their origins and identity, their histories and traditions, and their
natural place in the universe.
It is an example of a taonga that was highly valued and rarely seen, except at important
gatherings - rakau whakapapa were often carved from tōtara (‘Podocarpus totara’).
It illustrates an item whose origins are unknown - rakau whakapapa are always notched along
the shaft to represent the preceding generations; some examples contain 40 or more; it
usually features a figural handle with an elongated head.
It indicates the effect of European arrival on taonga such as rakau whakapapa - many of these
treasures, whose stories were a key element in the transmission of cultural values between
generations, were acquired by collectors, ethnographers, and naturalists during the 19th and
early 20th centuries, and their names and stories lost.
It indicates the consequences of European arrival for Māori cultural knowledge - the
dislocation caused by European settlement meant that much genealogy associated with rakau
whakapapa was lost.
© Curriculum Corporation and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2006, except where
indicated under Acknowledgements
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