#Taonga

[extincto]

On the left, huia earrings that I made for mum after she saw the simple huias I made (right). My plan is to sell them singly as I reckon they'd look cool as one dangly with a sleeper or stud in the other side or mismatched, or people could buy a same sex pair instead of mixed without any hassle.

The huia was a wattlebird endemic to Aotearoa, much prized by Māori who would lure the bird by mimicking its alarm call. They would also trap one bird and let it call it's mate to trap them both. Their tail feathers, black with white tips, were highly prized taonga, worn in the hair of a cheif and their close whānau.

Europeans began hunting the bird and wore the gilded beak as jewellery. Between becoming fashionable and predation by rats and cats, the huia was lost by the 1920's.

[midmorningsong]

So this morning a staffmate told me about the recent Miami Zoo Kiwi incident that’s come to light, and I’ve been fucking livid all day.

Just been reading through a bunch of articles (majority NZ news sources) and the Zoo’s official statement, and somehow it’s even worse than what my irate coworker was able to convey to me. Miami Zoo had the absolute fucking privilege of receiving a (North Isl. Brown (?)) kiwi egg to hatch and raise as a species you would never normally see outside our little island at the bottom of the world as part of a some global zoo wildlife initiative.

Brief brief summary: viral videos coming out of this kiwi (Paora) being put on a table and patted by paying customers under bright lights, having selfies taken, made to run around during the day, keeper pursuing him whenever he tried to hide in his box. All around blasé attitude from keeper talking about this bird while he’s being paraded about on display. There’s video footage but I could seriously only stomach watching it once. He’s been there for 4 years and in the wake of this outrage they’re claiming to be building him a ‘proper enclosure’ now. He’s been handled like this at least 4 times a week and his current enclosure has been 3x3m.

They had access to super fucking detailed information on how to take care of this very sensitive and specialized animal, and what the fuck do they do? Disregard ALL of it to sell cutesy, ~rare bird~, self-obsessed animal encounters.

Either you knowingly and intentionally went against SO. MUCH. vital animal husbandry or you are just such a fuckwit you legitimately think it was good animal handling, I don’t know which is worse honestly. If it’s the former, congratulations; American Capitalism continues to be the most nasty, disrespectful piece of shit I see regularly parading about in broad daylight. If it’s the latter, then are your staff for real just exotic pet-obsessed freaks who showed up one day in a uniform and you just went ‘yeah sure you can be a zookeeper good enough’. Shoutout to that ‘keeper’ who had Paora’s head pinned to the fucking table with his fist going ‘hohoh yeah he’s just like a dog he loves being pat on the head’ yeah sure thing idiot I bet your zookeeper degree taught you all animals and birds especially just love being slapped around and treated like dogs.

The thing that’s got me the most though, is how over the top and pitiful they are being in their apology; “we’ve offended a nation...”, “it should have never happened”, “we are so sorry this video has caused stress to people”, ok yeah but fuck what we think why is there exactly ZERO mention of the stress, harm and sheer exploitation you have put this animal through??? Like yes, Paora is a taonga species and that is certainly adding to the severity of this response, but in and of itself the fact that their official statement answers ONLY to humans’ responses and outrage and not the failure to care for this animal is telling as fuck to me.

I really liked reading iwi leader Paora Haitana’s response (who Paora the kiwi is named after), in much nicer words than me expressing deep concern over the harm to Paora, the disrespect it is to him as a taonga species and us as protectors of them, and also heavy, heavy emphasis on words holding no shape under the weight of everything that has happened; they need to follow through and follow through right now with adequate care.

Personally I’d like to see Paora moved to a zoo that actually cares about his needs and conservation education over selling clickbait. I feel the love and intention of bringing him home to Aotearoa, though I don’t know how realistic that is with the risk of introducing diseases from abroad into the NZ populations. I also would expect a thorough investigation of Zoo Miami’s husbandry for all their species and the credentials of their staff.

Thanks for coming along to rant o’ clock, I’ll be back to reblogging regular fandom shit now so please don’t follow me if you’re expecting more of my own content lol. Enjoy some great twitter banter from this mess

[ancientstuff]

And so they should be returned. These taonga ('treasures' extremely loosely) are extremely important and need to reside with their iwis.

[yeltsinsstar]

DOC to raise concerns with Miami Zoo over treatment of kiwi

How this American zoo is treating this poor kiwi is disgusting. The bird is clearly stressed, probably because kiwi are nocturnal and they have it in a brightly lit room that is basically a fucking petting zoo.

[thedepartmentofdiscoveries]

I hope Sotheby's returns them.

12 Jan 2023.

[jasvvy]

[frentique]

[imvgeswrestling]

》》》

[automnehiver]

Jour 3 : néphrite La néphrite est une pierre semi-précieuse, le plus souvent verte, utilisée notamment par les Maori d’Aotearoa pour la fabrication d’ornements et de lames d’apparat (par exemple pour les herminettes toki poutangata ou les massues patu). L’ornement représenté est appelé kākā pōria ; il s’agit d’une bague destinée aux pattes des perroquets domestiqués dont le cri était utilisé pour attirer d’autres oiseaux dans les filets des chasseurs. Lorsqu’il n’était pas porté par l’oiseau, il était également employé comme ornement d’oreille par les Maori. Les ateliers de taille de pierre et d’artisanat d’art à base de néphrite sont toujours très productifs en Aotearoa ; là-bas, le minéral est nommé pounamu et fait partie des taonga, ou trésors, qui appartiennent depuis toujours aux Maori. Cet objet est conservé dans les collections du Te Papa Museum d’Auckland, en Aotearoa. ______ Day 3: nephrite Nephrite is a semi-precious stone, most often green, used especially by the Maori of Aotearoa to make ornaments and ceremonial blades (for example, for toki poutangata adzes or patu clubs). The ornament pictured is called a kākā pōria; it is a ring for the legs of domesticated parrots whose call was used to lure other birds into the hunters' nets. When not worn by the bird, it was also used as an ear ornament by the Maori. Nephrite-based stonecutting and arts and crafts workshops are still very productive in Aotearoa; there, the mineral is called pounamu and is part of the taonga, or treasures, that have always belonged to the Maori. This object is kept in the collections of the Te Papa Museum in Auckland, Aotearoa. #Pacifinktober #Pacifinktober2022 #Maori #Aotearoa #taonga #pounamu #kakaporia #tepapa #tepapamuseum https://www.instagram.com/p/CjPbw1KoOdI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[deborahwaikapohe]

Writing with Taonga Pūoro: Decolonization of Creative Practice

Writing with Taonga Pūoro: Decolonization of Creative Practice

Kōauau by Mastercarver Brian Flintoff This year I am undertaking postgraduate research at ARA in Ōtautahi. My subject is the ‘Tikanga of songwriting with Mātauranga Māori’. I am in my final two months of research. Below is the first draft of the creative work for the research. I am about to embark on the second draft. However, I wanted to share this because I like its simplicity; the next draft…

[slacktivist]

open access, freely available book about archaeology in the Pacific. Pic is Lapita pottery. With some of the earliest samples dating 3,000 years ago 🤯

Uncovering Pacific Pasts: Histories of Archaeology in Oceania

Edited by Tristen Jones, Hilary Howes and Matthew Spriggs Chapter 27: The first Lapita pottery found in Fiji: Links to an early Pacific world by Matthew Spriggs

More here: Exploring Lapita pottery through observation and art — Science Learning Hub

The Fiji Museum

Pic: University of Auckland, Department of Anthropology, Anthropology Photographic Archive 🙏❤️

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Source: The Guardian

Feather from extinct New Zealand huia auctioned for record-breaking figure

21 May 2024

A feather from an extinct bird has sold for NZD$46,521 (US$28,365) in Auckland, becoming the most expensive feather to ever sell at auction.

The feather was from a huia, a native New Zealand wattlebird that has been extinct for more than a century.

The sale price far exceeded initial estimates of between $2,000 to $3,000.

[waitingforgodotyaoi]

when I first started my job we'd just finished a round of union bargaining and one of the demands was a four day work week which the org roundly denied I think about that sometimes how much greater my quality of life would be if we managed to push that through instead we got 'flexible working'

[fiendslothful]

My birthday present from my friends 💚

[sebengineer101]

The classic theme tune from this recording reminds me of Adam West's Batman from the 1960's. 😆🤣😂