Whakapiri – To Come Together

This taonga is called Whakapiri — meaning “to come together” — honouring the powerful bond between mother and child, and the role of this taonga in holding that connection across time.

This commissioned ripi has been carved from stunning, translucent pale green Inanga Pounamu — some of the finest I’ve worked with. Soft and creamy in tone, it holds a quiet glow when the light passes through, full of grace and life. The stone was taken from the outer edge of a cobble, and I’ve left one side with its natural skin intact — a way to show where it came from, and to honour the story this taonga begins.

This ripi was made for a specific and sacred purpose: to cut the umbilical cord between mother and child at birth. In te ao Māori, this act carries deep spiritual and ancestral weight. The taonga used becomes imbued with mana, and carries the significance of that first moment of separation — not to divide, but to mark the start of life’s journey.

I shaped the ripi in the form of a roimata, 7cm long, to represent tears — of joy, of life, of connection. The spiral lashing at the top symbolises growth, movement, and the continuity of whakapapa. After the birth, this taonga will be worn by the child as they grow, a constant connection to their beginning — a reminder of who they are, and where they came from.