Carved Bone Jewelry

bone carvings spiritual New Zealand gifts

Carved bone jewelry is a wonderful New Zealand gift for loved ones and friends. Carvings have different materials, shapes, sizes, artistic expression, and spiritual meaning. They make make a valuable travel gift for many occasions and personalities.

Hei Matau, natural

The tradition of bone carving in New Zealand find their beginning in the immigration of Maori people more than 1000 years ago. Their introduced craftsmanship formed the foundation.

First the art of carving was a matter of survival. All their nutritional habits needed to adjust to a new environment. Sea food in abundance spiked their inventive abilities to create fish hooks, Hei Matau best for the fish they intended to have for dinner. Depending on area and season different fish were accessible. So varied sizes, shapes, and material composition were natural.

In Maori tradition objects are carrier of their very own mana which means spiritual essence. This resulted in a design of hooks serving the need and symbol for rituals to support the fishing act best.

Fishing successfully has a direct influence on family and tribal well being. So a fish hook matau transforms to Hei Matau a fish hook worn around the neck to serve adornment purposes. It is linked to the symbolic meaning of abundance, prosperity and safe travel particularly over sea.

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An ornamental carving passed on as a family heirloom is believed to bear the spiritual energy, mana of its pre-possessor. The more important the owner was and the higher his achievements were the more valuable the carving becomes. With bone carving jewelry also the stories of the wearer were transmitted to ad historical importance.

For traditional carvings, bones of whales, birds, dogs and humans were used alongside wood, paua shells and pounamu. Each material satisfied a different purpose like demand on form, size or strength.

Hei Matau, smoked

Highly treasured were whale bones for their density and size. Only stranded whales were used as they embodied a present of Tangaroa the god of the sea in Maori mythology. Today beef bones are most widely used for carved bone jewelry. Hei Matau receive their colour variations from smoking with honey, manuka honey, and leaves of the manuka tree. A process that enhances the natural texture of bones.

Some carvers reach their colour nuances by use of different bones. Great sources are horse bones, pig tusks, deer antlers and goat horns. Whale bones of occasionally stranded ones are a matter of conservation and the local iwi that is the tribe of the area.