Raranga for Beginners - Weaving with Harakeke
Event description
RARANGA FOR BEGINNERS - WEAVING WITH HARAKEKE
with ANNIE JANE AH MU
Saturday 27 November - 10:00am to 1:00pm (3 hours)
Join celebrated weaving tutor Annie Jane Ah Mu at Kelmarna Gardens to learn the basic techniques of traditional Mahi Raranga, the Māori art of weaving with harakeke flax. This beginner course is an introduction to weaving that will guide you through the history, customs, and best horticulture practices around working with harakeke, and the skills to come away with a host of craft creations to take home and share.
What to expect:
The session will begin with a visit to our pā harakeke, or harakeke grove, to cover the fundamentals of tikanga, or the customs and protocols surrounding the time-honoured process of mahi raranga with harakeke. You will learn to harvest and treat the rau harakeke, or flax leaves, that you will use for your weaving projects.
Once the materials are prepared, Whaea Annie will lead you in the skills to craft your leaves into beautiful designs. You will begin by weaving a putiputi/flower to help get a feel for the leaves and how to bend and intertwine them. Then you will move on to craft an ika/fish that you can hang from a leaf spine like a fresh catch on a fishing rod. This pattern helps lay the foundation that you will use as the basis of the more intricate kapohau/windmill and the whetu/star designs.
Throughout the session, all of the para, or unused off-cuts, will be collected and fashioned into a puapua/wreath to honour the plant and create beauty from every bit!
Tickets include: instruction, rau harakeke, 5 craft designs
- He putiputi - flower
- He ika - fish
- He kapohau - windmill
- He whetu - star
- He puapua - wreath
What to bring:
- Craft knife (fixed, not retractable)
- Scissors
- Old bath towel
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Annie Jane Ah Mu is a weaver in the Māori tradition, working with natural fibres like harakeke (New Zealand flax) and with techniques of raranga and whatu weaving. From Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Annie Jane has a degree from Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and has been working in the community to teach the art, craft, and culture of weaving for more than 10 years.
Whaea Annie works with Auckland Council to provide morning sessions in Raranga Harakeke at community organisations like Nathan Homestead, Onehunga Community House, and Māngere Arts Centre. She also works with the ACE program (Adult Community Education) to provide afternoon and evening classes at Aorere College and Onehunga High School.
Annie Jane’s passion for weaving is grounded in the harakeke plant, the connection with nature, and therapy for people through the craft. She believes that weaving is not only an important path for learning about Māori art, but an important practice in reviving skills and tikanga/customs from the past to help support people and community in the present.
In this workshop, Whaea Annie is looking forward to sharing with you how to start from the plant and return to the plant, to learn new skills, connect with tikanga/customs, and experience for yourself the therapy of the craft.
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At Kelmarna, we strive to make education accessible for everyone. So, where possible, we offer a 40% discount on our workshops to valid Community Services Card holders. If you book one of these tickets, please email us a copy of your valid Community Services Card, and remember to bring it along to the workshop. Please note that this option does NOT include Super Gold Card holders. Ngā mihi.