Lincoln Entranceway Pare
A
beautiful whakairo (carving) pare frames the entrance to organisation from
the reception area of the Manaaki Whenua corporate head office.
Carvings
These carvings are the work of Ngāi Tahu master carver, George Edwards, assisted by two students, Wiremu Tane-Nui-a-Rangi Gray (Ngāi Tahu) and David Johns (Ngāti Tuwharetoa). They were ceremonially blessed at an unveiling event on 22 September 1995.
They are of a style that have a strong association with Waitaha, those people claimed to have been the original inhabitants of Aotearoa (New Zealand) some 1,000 years ago.
They comprise two poupou (posts) on either side of the entrance way and a pare (door lintel) across the top. Each poupou is made up of four parts, and the pare five.
Left Poupou
At the bottom of the left hand poupou is Papatūānuku (Mother Earth), caretaker of both the living and the dead.
Above her is the figure of Rākaihautu, the founding ancestor of Waitaha.
Rākaihautu holds a kō (digging stick), symbolic of the creation of mountains, hills, fiords, rivers, lakes and rolling country - natural phenomena that are the basis of a lot of the research undertaken by Manaaki Whenua.
Associated with this is a tuatara, clearly shown in green, which according to Waitaha tradition is one animal capable of surviving in the watery world of Tangaroa (God of the Seas) and the firm world of Papatūānuku. It is symbolic of the linkage between the land and the water that is very much the area of work of Manaaki Whenua.
Pare (Lintel)
On the far left of the pare is the figure of Tawhirimātea (God of Winds).
Next is Ninihi, the female element of the universe and protector of the carver whose creative gift gave her the life form.
The central figurehead (tekoteko) is Ranginui (SkyFather), husband and companion of Papatūānuku.
To the right of Ranginui is Nanaha, the male element of the universe whose function is to ensure that the fertility of the world is guided by both the natural and the supernatural.
At the extreme right of the pare is Tū Te Rangihaunoa, a son of Tawhirimātea. He is the wind that blows in a North Westerly direction from the West Coast of Te Waipounamu (South Island) across the Southern Alps to the Eastern Plains.
Right Poupou
The main figure at the top of the right poupou is Tāne Mahuta (God of the Forests and Birds). In his grip is a rākau (staff) representing the magical power that enabled him to collect the three baskets of knowledge from the twelfth heaven and bring them to the world of man. The baskets were:
Te kete tuauri - the basket of peace, love, and goodness
Te kete tuatea - the basket of prayers, rituals, and incantation
Te kete aronui - the basket of war, agriculture, woodwork, stonework, and earthwork.
The figure at the bottom is Rongomaraeroa (God of Peace and Agriculture, and Plenty).
Background
The dark green (pitted) background depicts the forests, grasslands, wetlands, and flora that abound in Aotearoa.