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A 25-minute documentary focussing on the life and work of expert weaver Rangimarie Hetet. The programme is supported by excerpts from two films shot by James McDonald for the Dominion Museum during the 1920s.

The screening begins at 7pm and follows an artist’s talk, at 6pm, by Kohai Grace whose exhibition He Maumaharatanga: a Woven Tribute is currently on in the mediagallery.

DV, 60 minutes, exempt

Waiora - Rangimarie, Waiora Broadcasting, 1987
In Oparure, April 1987, aged 95, Rangimarie Hetet speaks about her work weaving whariki, kete, kakahu, korowai and taniko.
“When you start your first row of taniko the one they call the ‘Aho Tapu’ you set your pattern in there and after that you’re supposed to finish that line without a break so you can memorise your pattern, what you’re going to do. Then after that you get going and you’re anxious to see how your pattern’s going to turn out in your very first main thing.”

“Born at Oparure, Rangimarie Hetet (1892-1995) was of Ngati Maniapoto/Ngati Kinohaku descent. Hetet was taught the traditional skills of weaving by her mother and other local women elders in the late 19th century, when weaving was still a part of daily life, rather than a craft. During the 1950s she intensified her activity as a weaver, regularly producing cloaks and other items with the encouragement of the Maori Women's Welfare League... Hetet was a traditionalist, well-versed in all aspects of weaving, from the preparation of traditional materials and dyes, to the methods and techniques involved in producing the finished article. She was widely acknowledged as the leading authority in the arts of whatu, taaniko and raranga, and as an expert in kakahu, the most prestigious form of Maori weaving. She was also largely responsible for the revival of harakeke. She passed on her skills not only to her family, notably her daughter, Diggeress Te Kanawa, also a well-known weaver, but also to many other women throughout New Zealand.” - http://www.answers.com/topic/rangimarie-hetet-1

He Pito Whakaatu i te Noho a te Maori i te Awa o Whanganui/Scenes of Maori Life on the Whangaui River, James McDonald, 1921 (excerpts)
In March and April 1921 several weeks were spent by Elsdon Best, Johannes Anderson and  James McDonald, of the Dominion Museum, at Koriniti, Hiruharama and Pipiriki in the Whanganui River valley. Te Rangi Hiroa (Dr Peter Buck) joined them for a few days at Koriniti. The scenes in this film record games such as skipping and string games, crafts such as dyeing and weaving of harakeke, cultivation and fishing. The making of hinaki for eels and the setting of traps in the weirs are shown in detail.

He Pito Whakaatu i te Noho a te Maori i te Tairawhiti/Scenes of Maori Life on the East Coast, James McDonald, 1923 (excerpts)
Apirana Ngata, Member of Parliament for Eastern Maori, was keen for the museum group  to visit the East Coast to obtain records of his people of Ngati Porou. In March 1923 the expedition which included Te Rangi Hiroa (Sir Peter Buck), James McDonald, Elsdon Best and Johannes Andersen set out for Ngata’s home at Waiomatatini, which was to be their base. From Waiomatatini visits were made to Whareponga, Kahukura, Rangitukia, Te Araroa, Ruatoria and other parts of the district.  McDonald recorded on film traditional skills retained in the area for making fishnets and traps, methods of netting and catching fish, weaving, hand games and music making. Also shown is the digging and storing of kumara and cooking food in a hangi.