A Whakapapa of Tradition by Ngarino Ellis

Author:Ngarino Ellis [Ellis, Ngarino]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Maori
Publisher: Auckland University Press
Published: 2016-01-19T05:00:00+00:00

Jahnke describes Ngatai’s style as distinctive:

Like Hone Taahu, Hoani Ngatai demonstrates a penchant for asymmetry but in a less formal manner. Limbs are often elongated disproportionately depending on the arrangement of the two-figure poupou composition as evidenced in the Otago Museum poupou. When a hand is raised to the mouth he will often drop the shoulder, sometimes to waist level, to facilitate hand to mouth interaction. In comparison, Hoani Taahu shortens the arm length. A two-figure composition, with legs of the upper figure placed on the shoulder of the lower figure, in piggyback fashion, or an inverted lower figure assuming the copulation position is unique to Hoani Ngatai. This compositional strategy is evident on the Maui pane, Otago Museum poupou and endemic in Ruatepupuke.94

Ngatai began carving in the 1870s. One account places Ngatai as the main carver95 of a house named either Tūwhakairiora or Tumoanakōtore. On this project he worked with Mohi Turei, a fact corroborated by Pine Taiapa,96 and may have trained his nephew, Haare Tokoata.97 However, what happened to the house is unknown. There is a photo of a wedding around 1865 taking place in front of a house named ‘Tumoana-kotore’ located in Wharekahika (Fig. 90) which shows a raparapa and amo. The next sighting of Tumoanakōtore carvings was by Augustus Hamilton, who was photographed twice in front of carvings attributed to this house (Fig. 91). The nexus between the house in the wedding photograph and the carvings in the photograph with Hamilton is tenuous, given the fact that there is no clear chain between the two moments.

Undisputable, however, is the existence of at least sixty carvings to which is attached the name Karaitiana Takamoana of which many were carved by Ngatai. The majority of these are now in Otago Museum. Ngatai’s style of carving stands out, and shows his passion for experimentation. First, the surface decoration is a compilation of different types that were being used by men like Taahu, such as pākati and whakarare. Hardly any open space remains. Ngatai sometimes used two or three different types of surface decoration within a very small design field, changing patterns seemingly at will. He apparently enjoyed varying his style, experimenting with different styles, such as the depiction of tongues (Fig. 92). With such a variety, Ngatai’s interest in other carvers’ work shows through, at times trying out a style used by Ngatoto or Taahu. As such, some of his works can be regarded as working templates, in which he tested out different approaches to a certain form, e.g. mouth, hand, foot.

Several of the works appear incomplete (e.g. Fig. 93). This suggests that perhaps Ngatai either ran out of time, or that the carvings were sold incomplete for whatever reason. Karaitiana’s early death in 1879 may have been a contributory factor. Several carvings in Hau Te Ana Nui o Tangaroa are also incomplete, possibly for similar reasons. There Taahu and Ngakaho sought to disguise this by painting in black a pattern that would usually be carved.

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