Kōuma Whakapiringa

This kōuma, a breastplate carved from stunning Marsden Flower Jade, holds both beauty and deep personal significance. Measuring around 70mm across, it carries the rich translucent greens that Marsden stone is famed for, and more than half the surface blooms with golden and white inclusions — a flowering that makes this stone truly unique. The kōuma rests close to the heart, a reminder of protection, resilience, and the strength carried within.

A seven-hole ring bolt lashing secures the top, woven with black cord, grounding the piece in tradition and strength. The defining feature of this taonga is the bind rune carefully carved on one side. This ancient form of symbol combines elements into one form, a weaving together of stories and identities. In this taonga, it acts as a mark of personal connection — a sign of unity and belonging.

I have named this piece Kōuma Whakapiringa. “Whakapiringa” speaks to attachment, closeness, and the act of being bound together. It acknowledges the union of two lives, carried in the rune, while also honouring the protective symbolism of the kōuma form itself. This taonga is both a shield and a bond — an anchor to carry strength, love, and the memory of connection against the chest.

Carving this kōuma was an honour. To take a stone so rich with natural beauty and shape it into a form that will live as a personal marker for its wearer is a privilege. Each flowered detail in the Marsden Jade seemed to echo the kaupapa of the bind rune, blossoming into something larger than itself, carrying forward meaning and story in stone.