In my previous article titled Greenstone in Maori Culture I promised to tell more about different Maori medallions which are made from greenstone.

So I am keeping my promise, and here we go:

Tiki - It has a number of meanings, most common being - a fertility symbol (look - the hands are on the loins). It is also a token of good will, and Maori present it to their friends or person they respect.
Spiral - Koru. The Koru is inspired by the uncurling fern fond, which is found all across New Zealand. Koru symbolizes tranquility, positive change, peace, awakening, and personal growth. Maori use it to represent new life, new beginnings and harmony.
Triple Twist - Crossover. Symbolizes friendship and bonding, two different lives becoming one for eternity. There is also a Double Twist and Single Twist.
Hei Matau - Fish Hook. Symbolizes peace and prosperity, determination and strength, health. It is also provides safe marine journey. Hei Matau and other “marine” amulets probably were worn by Maori as talismans during their fishing expeditions. Hei-matau was carved in a variety of styles.
Manaia. Manaia is an ancient mythical being having a human form but head of a bird. It is a messenger between a world of spirits and mortal people. It represents the strong bonding between the Maori people and the spirit world. Manaia holds great spiritual energy and guards against all evil.

This is a second post about Greenstone (Nephrite, Jade). The first one is titled The Stone Which Guards New Zealand

Nephrite is found in NZ ne relatively large quantities, and it plays an important role in Maori culture. Since 1997 all nephrite deposits were given to Maori management. Pounamu is a Maori word for greenstone and bowenite. In Maori culture there was a classification of pounamu according to color, and it was divided into four types - inanga, kawakawa, tangiwai, and kahurangi.
Inanga (in translation from Maori means whitebait) is a pearl white grey or green colored stone which is usually semitransparent.
Kawakawa is a green-colored stone with different shades, with shape resembling a leaf from the Kawakawa tree.
Tangiwai is almost transparent, bluish-green to olive-green type of serpentine, found mainly at the entrance to Milford Sound. The word tangiwai came from the Maori legend about the petrification of a lamenting woman tears.
Kahurangi is the rarest form of greenstone. It has a light green color with light streaks resembling clouds. This stone is very translucent.
Pounamu was used in making the sacred war staff symbolizing authority, and for hei-tiki - а pendant in the form of the stylized figure of ancestor bearing the soul of another ancestor. When a Maori wanted to make a piece of jewelry for himself, he first had to find the “right” stone. For that he came to tohuriga, the sorcerer, who by getting into trance got directions from souls of the death about the whereabouts of the desired stone.
In my next post about greenstone I will tell about additional widespread forms of Maori greenstone medallions.

Maori Jade Hei Matau

Traveling through New Zealand, one can’t help noticing the abundance of craft items made from green stone (every second person you meet wears a greenstone amulet on his neck, sometimes even without knowing it’s meaning). The raw green stone can often be seen while walking on the river mouths, and it is especially abundant in Greenstone National Park. In this article I will tell about the nature of green stone (also named Jade, Greenstone, Nephrite).

Nephrite is a greenish colored rock. Its shade depends on the concentration different additional minerals in it. Nephrite can sometimes also be yellow, light blue, and black. Nephrite was the first material to be used by ancient people of central Asia, Europe, America, New Zealand, and Australia, in making working tools and weapons. Thanks to their strength (nephrite is two times stronger than steel! ) products that were made from nephrite could withstand the most powerful blows having only a minor dents. In addition greenstone was in abundance: it is relatively common mineral often found in nature in large blocks. The main development of mining established in China, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Zimbabwe and the Urals. The largest nephrite rocks found until today are blocks weighting 143 tons and 264 tons. Archeologists found items made of nephrite dating way back to the Bronze Age. The most skilled creations of ancient artists from greenstone are giant Buddha statue (6 meters in height, made from one solid piece of milk-colored nephrite), Tamerlane tomb (also made from solid piece of black nephrite), and sarcophagus of the Russian king Alexander the third (which made of one solid piece of Siberian nephrite.
Since ancient times nephrite was used to make work tools and weapons such as spearheads and hammers. It was also used in creating amulets, god figures, and jewelry. In antiquity it was considered that greenstone possesses many medical properties: it helps to get rid of atherosclerosis, insults and eye illnesses, problems of a gastroenteritis, brings calm, protects from maleficence, cures kidney illnesses. By the way in Greek “nephros” means kidney.
Nephrite is considered to be the stone of life, power, and longevity. In the eastern beliefs nephrite has the following features: softness, justice, knowledge, moderation, courage and purity. In cultures of the various countries, such as China, Mexico, and Russia, nephrite was very precious and used as a monetary unit; from it cult subjects were made. Nephrite was being placed in graves and symbolized immortality and protection in afterlife.

In my next article I will tell about the nephrite in Maori culture, history, and heritage about the different shapes and amulets that Maori made from it.

Maori Jade Hei Matau

First of all: Happy INDEPENDENCE DAY United States!

It is about four and a half months ago NZTramping blog came online. Since then me and other authors of this blog have posted many great articles, which are now buried in the blog archives. These articles are not news articles and they maintain their value over time. So I decided to write an overview of the best articles in this blog with links to them in order to make it easier for you, my readers, to get to the best stuff NZTramping blog has to offer.
I will start with the earliest articles and gradually proceed to the latest. I intend to do such an overview every four months, thus keeping all the best articles close to you.

Lets start with my Tramping Revealed series of two posts in which I talk about tramping and what you should know and be prepared for before getting on trek. In my post about Kiwi I am telling about the national bird of New Zealand, and why it is so unusual and rare. Next, in my article titled Terms and ConditionsI talk about the terms and conditions that some activities operators in New Zealand make you sign before participating. I give there an example of a shocking “Terms and Conditions” with explanations. Another great series of two articles about Stewart Island talks about the third largest Island of New Zealand. I spent eight days tramping there and fell in love with this magical Island. I also recommend reading my series of posts about Fiordland Marine Reserves in which I tell about the nature marine reserves of one of the most beautiful places on Earth - Fiordland of New Zealand. Kapiti Island is another magnificent place to visit in New Zealand. Only a very limited amount of people are allowed to visit this Island each day, but it is definitely possible and recommended. Next goes a series of two articles by Ira (my co-author) about the history of discovery of New Zealand and its Discoverer. The first article is titled Was the discoverer of New Zealand eaten alive? and the second article is titled Truth about James Cook Destiny. These are very interesting articles. Recommended. And now we get to, in my opinion, my best series of five articles about Volcanoes. The first article in series is titled Volcanoes - Hell or Blessing?, and there are links at the end of each article to the next article in the series, so if you like the first article you just click on link at the end and go straight to the next one. If you like marine life you should read my article about Whales around Wellington telling about which types of whales can be seen near the New Zealand’s capital city. For those who like to learn about ancient languages and cultures my post titled Magical Ancient Language will be of interest, since it is about Maori ancient language. Continuing the theme of ancient cultures, the series of two posts about Maui - The King of New Zealand’s mythology tell about the captivating legends about the most important figure in Maori mythology. Going back to tramping, I’ve posted a useful article for parents who would like to take their children to the great outdoors. This article is titled Tramping With Children: a must for every parent to know before going on a tramp with his young ones. Before you can start walking you have to drive to the beginning of the tramp first. Therefore I give Ten crucial tips on driving in New Zealand. In the next series of three posts about Manuka Honey Ira (my co author) tells not only about Manuka Honey but also about the history and process of honey-making in general. And the last but not least is my post about a great photographer Lindsay McLeod whose photographs left a great impression on me.

Remember that these are not all the articles that exist in NZTramping blog. There are much more, I just couldn’t tell about every one of them in one post. So if you like the ones I talk about in this post, you are more than welcome to go over my archives and read the rest of the articles, and don’t forget to use Site Map!

Here is a quick summary of articles I talked about in this post:
Tramping Revealed;Kiwi; Terms and Conditions; “Terms and Conditions”;Stewart Island;Fiordland Marine Reserves;Kapiti Island;Was the discoverer of New Zealand eaten alive?; Truth about James Cook Destiny; Volcanoes - Hell or Blessing?; Whales around Wellington; Magical Ancient Language; Maui - The King of New Zealand’s mythology; Tramping With Children; Ten crucial tips on driving in New Zealand; Manuka Honey ; Photographer Lindsay McLeod

It was a Sunday afternoon when me and my girlfriend were walking on Stuart street in Dunedin aiming for the famous railway station building. On our way we saw a sign saying “Photo Gallery Open” and pointing into one of the old doors. We became curious and decided to come in. We came inside and saw old stairway leading to a mysterious place above us. Intrigued we climbed upstairs and entered the open door with the sign “Photo Gallery” (maybe it was a little different sign I don’t remember exactly). We came into an apartment and I was stunned by the photographs that were on the walls. There were different photographs - mostly black and white, but some in color, portraits and some landscapes… but they all had one thing in common: each photo captivated my attention for at least a couple of minutes. While we were staring at the photos I heard voices in one of the rooms.
We followed the voices and came into relatively small room, also full of stunning photographs. Two men were sitting there having a conversation. When we came in one of them, pleasantly looking man in his sixties stood and greeted us. It was Lindsay McLeod, photographer whose photos made such a great impression on me. He was very nice and talked to us about his photographs and photography experience. I take a great interest in photography, and therefore I had many questions to ask Lindsay. Then Lindsay gave us a tour of his working space and showed us more of his works. We enjoyed this short visit to Lindsay’s photographic gallery very much.

One of New Zealand’s main sources of income is tourism, hence there are many businesses that rely mostly on tourists, and among such businesses there are many photographers. I saw hundreds of photos from different photographers across New Zealand and I must say that not all of them were professional, not all at all! But the photographs of Lindsay McLeod touched something deep inside of me, and made me realize from within that they were real works of art. I wish him many more years of photography and health.

Thank you Lindsay for sharing your photographs with me!

Greg.

P.S. If you would like to see for yourself the photography of Lindsay McLeod, please visit: Lindsay McLeod Photography