New exhibition celebrates Kāi Tahu wāhine

Celebrate the lives and legacies of respected Kāi Tahu wāhine (Ngāi Tahu women) in a new exhibition opening at Canterbury Museum on 9 June 2017.

Hākui: Women of Kāi Tahu profiles the achievements of 50 women from the perspective of kā uri whakatipu (today’s generation) and shared through taoka (treasured objects), photographs and memories.

Visitors are invited to share memories of the women in their own lives, to step into ‘Aunty’s kitchen’ and to try their hand at plaiting kāwai kete (flax bag handles).

The term hākui is an acknowledgement of respect and a form of address to a female elder. The exhibition celebrates mothers, aunties, taua (grandmothers and female elders), great aunts, great grandmothers and tūpuna wāhine (female ancestors).

The touring exhibition was developed by Otago Museum with the support, advice and contribution of whānau, rūnaka (rūnanga), hapū and iwi, and opened in November 2015. The exhibition won the Metropolitan Taonga Māori Award at the 2016 ServiceIQ New Zealand Museum Awards.

The exhibition is accompanied by a book Hākui Women of Kāi Tahu which is available from the Museum Store for $10.

Hākui: Women of Kāi Tahu opens at Canterbury Museum on 9 June and runs until 26 November 2017. Developed by Otago Museum alongside Hākui whānau.

Note: The exhibition uses a local Kāi Tahu dialect which uses a ‘k’ where others would use a ‘ng’.

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