Kakahu by Taongahuia. Photo / Taongahuia Maxwell (Facebook)
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
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Nō te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā wha i whakaarangia e Taongahuia Maxwell tana pākihi ITI, me te mea hoki kai te kaha tonu ia. He ahakoa kua roa ia e mahi ana hai tāna he rite ki te kohu, kai te tū haere kokohu nei ia. ' Nā te mea kua whatua e ahau ētehi kame ka whakatū toa hoko kame ahau kai te wiki ētehi taimā, tēnā kai te pō o te rāwhā. Ka toko ake tēnei whakaaro i roto i ahau mēnā rānei kai te hiahia pea te hāpori ki ēnei momo tāonga, nō te tau, e rua mano, kotahi tekau ka whakarewangia taku pae tukutuku, ITI Gifts. Katahi au ka tahuri ki te mahi pūeru, ka hokona atu ki taku whārangi ITI Gifts’.
Nō Ngāti Maniapoto a Taongahuia ko tōna pā kai ahi kai Te Kūiti, kai Hangatiki ki te whārua hoki o Waitomo.
He Makiwhara tōna hoa tāne nō Tōrere. E hoki ana ki te huarahi kua takahia e ia, kua rua tekau mā rima o ngā tau e mahi ana mā tētehi kamupene inihua, nā wai rā ka tāhuri ki te Kooti Māori ki reira mahi ai mō ngā tau e waru. Nō tana whakawhiwhinga ki tana Tohu Paetahi Reo Māori nō te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā whitu ka mea mai tana hinengaro me whai nā e ia tētehi anō huarahi mahi. Nō mai tana mōhiotanga ki te tui me te whatu pūeru nā tana kohi i hīnawa ai tōna wairua ki ngā āheinga o ngā tini pūeru. ' Kāore he painga o te whatu pūeru ki te rāweke kame ki te waihanga rauemi ko ngā whakarākeitanga kai reira kē te wero nui, ko te whakauru i te koru, te tāpiri hoki i te hukahuka ki te paepae raro o ngā weweru, ka hanga tuaruangia e ahau tētehi koti i te auaha niho, rānei ka kite ahau i te mana o te huaki nā ka tāpiringia ki te pakē o te ao hou nei’.
Ko tana huarahi he ara takirau. ' Kua atawhaingia ahau e te kaupapa ko Kiri Nathan, kai reira ētehi wāhine mana nui me te hohonu hoki o te mātauranga kai tēnei kāhui. Ka nui hoki taku whakamihi atu ki a Miromoda tētehi taumata kaha ki te tuku i ēnei tangata hinengaro pakiki ki te kaupapa whakahirahira katoa o Aotearoa, nā ko te New Zealand Fashion Week.
' Nō te tau kua hori i waimarie ahau. I wikitoria i ahau te wāhanga avant garde. Kāpuia katoatia ki tēnei whare pora ko ngā akoranga tuku iho ka heke mai i ngā kakahu onamata, ko te mahi nui he nanao atu ki tēnei mātauranga hai mātauranga mō te ao hou nei. Ko te tikanga tuarua o tēnei kāhui, ki a tika tā tātau whakahuahua kupu e noho motuhake nei ki te whare pora ki a kāua noa tātau e panga e maka kupu noa iho. E wāuna hoki i te hingatanga o te waka NZFW , nā reira kai kōnei ahau e whakatakoto kaupapa nā mō te tauhou.’
E ai ki a Taongahuia ko te ruku ki te rētōtanga o te reo Māori kāore i noho mātua ki a rāua ko tana hoa tāne. ' Nō te reanga i patua i te kura ko te reo Māori te take māua ko taku tāne. Nā tēnei i aro pū nei māua ki te whakapakari i a māua tamāhine ki te reo me ōna wāhanga katoa. Mai i te kohanga reo whaihoki kai te kura rāua ināianei.
' Hakoke kau noa mātau hai aha te kaupapa. Ka tae ki ngā pā taunaha ki NgaiTai me te rohe o Maniapoto hoki. E tika ana te pepeha hokia ki ngā māunga kia pūrea ai koe e ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea. He kanohi kitea he kanohi mōhio’. Kua tīmata kē a Taongahuia ki te whakarite i tana rautaki āpōpō.
' E mahi tahi nei māua ko taku mokopuna, ka te mihini tui rāua ko tana hoa, koia nei te pae tawhiti e ora nei tēnei moemoeā'. Ko ngā kupu a ōna kaumātua te tūāpapa e arahi nei i a ia otīā āna mahi katoa. ' Kanohi titiro, e hinga, e tū nā reira e pūhakehake ai tō ngākau whiwhita ki te tui, ki te waihanga ki te hanga taonga – māu te ara e para e whāia noatia koe e te mārea’. —Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori tenei purongo.
See below for English translation
Taongahuia Maxwell started her ITI business as a pop-up shop in 2014 and never closed.
She slips under the radar and acknowledges that many locals in Rotorua don’t even know she exists. “Because I’d been crafting, I had stalls at markets in the weekends or after work on Thursday.
“I did the pop up to see if there was an interest in Māori gifts and I had also started a website in 2010, under the name ITI Gifts.
“The clothing line came after that, and I sell my clothes through my ITI shop and online.”
Taongahuia is of Ngāti Maniapoto and has strong connections to her pā in Te Kuiti, Hangatiki and Waitomo.
Her husband is a Maxwell from Torere.
Taongahuia has had a varied career with more than 25 years in the insurance industry then eight years in the Māori Land Court.
She felt encouraged to change her career path after completing a Bachelor of Māori Art in 2017.
Before that Taongahuia created Iti Gifts and her clothes are sold under her Iti website.
She has always been a sewer, maker and crafter and the course inspired her to use textiles as her medium.
“I just like to create from the heart based on things that I have an interest in. I love the creative, craft and handwork side of things ... merino reverse appliqué koru dress ... hukahuka random button dress ... Reconstructed tartan jacket made from Niho ... or Huaki Inspired layered dress with contemporary pake.”
Taongahuia acknowledges she has had help along her chosen pathway. “I’ve been fortunate to be part of the Kiri Nathan Mentorship programme where we have some amazing fellow designers and speakers sharing industry knowledge.
Miromoda has also been a great catalyst for exposure in the industry providing access to New Zealand Fashion Week.
“Last year I won the avant garde section with a collection based on elements found in traditional kakahu Māori and bringing traditional garments into the 20th century in a fun functional way.
“The collection was also created to provide a platform and opportunity to get the message across about the correct terminology being used for the names of contemporary feathered kakahu.
“Unfortunately, NZFW was cancelled, so I am in the process of planning a local event for next year.” Taongahuia says total immersion in te reo was never an option for her and her husband.
“We were the generation down from our parents who were scolded for speaking Māori. So, we were adamant our daughters would be given the opportunity to have te reo, and they have come through kohanga and kura.
“I would travel with them regularly to our pā both in Ngaitai and Maniapoto, being actively involved in iwi and marae mahi and activities, to ensure their reo was balanced with our relevant tikanga and kawa, and whanau relationships and whenua connections.” Taongahuia has already started working on her succession plan.
“My moko helps out in the shop a lot and I’ve put her and her friend behind the sewing machine.
“I plan to do more of the same so she can continue to help make products for the shop.”
Taongahuia has lived by the advice she offers future generations.
“The more you observe, fail and work at your passion, the more knowledge and skill you have to create from.
“Be the one that others want to copy.”
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