About

Waihau Ra / Waihau Po traces the family of winds felt from the north, the west, the east and the south.

The stories of our people are carried by the winds, which can be translated into over 800 individual entities of hau, of winds documented by our tūpuna through their naming of places. The name Māngere, given to the whenua in the south side of Tāmaki, comes from the phrase “ngā hau māngere”, meaning "the lazy winds," after the mountain, Te Ara Pueru located in Māngere provides protection from the prevailing westerly winds. Highlighting the keen observations experienced by our tūpuna when aligned with the taiao, the environment.

Waihau Rā / Waihau Pō consists of hīnaki, illuminating light into the darkest corners of the room, emulating a guiding star in the night sky or the warmth of the sun rising to meet another day. The hīnaki act as wayfinding pou of the whare, and each represents an entity of wind breezing through from the four directional points of the motu.

Inspired by the functions shown in traditional Māori waihau, sail-making patterns. One of which is currently housed in the British Museum far away from the shores of Aotearoa. This distance only heightens the longing for our tāonga. It is with the hope that the winds will draw us closer and aid in bringing home the practice of waihau rā, traditional wayfaring.

The winds carry with them the mātauranga practised by our ancestors navigating across the vast and timeless sea echoed by us arriving now on the shore of Toitū Te Moana from all corners of Āotearoa. And so, what entity of wind across Te Moana-Nui a Kiwa guide you?