Local Focus: Weaving people together

The tradition of weaving has been around for centuries and raranga mahi kaiako Anna Hayes says it's much more than an art form - it weaves people together.

Her classes host people from across the globe, gathering at The Arts Village in Rotorua to learn.

Turkish student Esra Carkci learned to weave storage items such as food baskets.

But the classes have also helped her learn English and Māori, making new friends along the way.

"It was a good atmosphere," she said.

"I learned about the Māori culture and learned how to speak a little bit of Māori language."

Hayes is of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa descent and has lived in Rotorua for 20 years.

She teaches students the importance of following protocols taught to her.

"We always start and end with karakia and I explain why we're doing that," Hayes said.

"I also explain that we don't have any kai around our mahi raranga and that we must treat the plant as if it were a person.

"As if it is our tūpuna or our grandparents because that actually is what we're harvesting from the plant.

"It's the grandparents: they've lived their life, we harvest them from the plant, we transform them into something else so that they can keep living.

"If those tūpuna aren't harvested from the plant, the plant dies from the outside anyway.

"The bubba, the new shoots, come up from the middle.

"It's really important that is explained, and then people can decide if they want to abide by that or not, and I stress the importance of it."

"Then I know that I've taught as I've been taught."