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Te Kanawa, Diggeress (Rangituatahi)
(b Te Kuiti, NZ, 9 March 1920). New Zealand Maori weaver and teacher. Her tribal affiliation is Ngati Maniapoto. She was the daughter of RANGIMARIE HETET, who taught her the skills of traditional weaving. A childhood illness forced her to leave school when she was 12, and thereafter weaving became an important part of her life. She married at the age of 20 and brought up a family of 12 children. In 1951 she began demonstrating and teaching for the Maori Women’s Welfare League, which was established in that year to promote Maori crafts. With her mother she played a central role in the revival of traditional weaving. Te Kanawa travelled extensively to demonstrate and to share her skills. In 1988 she visited many museums in England and the USA to photograph and document ancient Maori cloaks in their collections. In her writings she acknowledged a proverb significant to her life: ‘Puritia nga taonga a o tatou tupuna’ (‘Hold fast to the treasures of our ancestors’).
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- Te Kanawa, Diggeress (Rangituatahi)
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