Kaha o te Ngaru

I carved this toki as a commissioned taonga named Kaha o te Ngaru. The name means “the strength of the wave,” and it speaks to resilience, movement, and the enduring power of the ocean as a source of guidance and protection. This piece brings together Māori and Pasifika symbolism in a single form, designed to reflect courage, guidance, and connection, with motifs chosen carefully to speak to the wearer’s whakapapa and journey.

The stone is Douglas Creek serpentine Pounamu, cut and shaped into a 70mm toki. Douglas Creek stone has strong character, with layered greens and natural movement through it that suit a design about navigation and resilience. The toki is finished with a black lashing at the top, reinforcing the idea of binding, connection, and collective strength.

The toki shape itself represents courage, determination, and guidance. Traditionally a tool, it also symbolises the ability to shape one’s path through skill, resolve, and responsibility. In the centre of this piece, I carved a blended motif combining the koru and Pasifika-inspired wave and tapa patterns. The koru represents growth, life, and new beginnings, while the wave and tapa elements speak to navigation, resilience, and unity across the ocean.

On the upper left of the front face is a series of carved teeth representing shark’s teeth. In Pasifika cultures, shark imagery is strongly associated with strength, protection, and perseverance. Across the base of the toki are additional motifs that ground the piece, reinforcing stability and connection to whenua and moana.

This taonga is about moving forward with purpose, carrying both Māori and Pasifika identities together rather than separately. It acknowledges shared values of strength, guidance, and responsibility, and honours the idea that identity can be layered, connected, and proudly carried.

Carving this piece was about balance. Balancing cultures, symbols, and stories within a single form, and letting the stone guide how those ideas came together. It was a meaningful commission to work on and one that reflects why I value carving taonga so deeply.