Totoweka Toki
Kia ora, friends. Sometimes you need to create something just because your hands itch to do so, you know? That’s how I felt the other day. I found myself with a beautiful piece of kawakawa pounamu, and all of a sudden, I could see its true shape waiting to come out.
This toki (adze) design might look simple, but there’s meaning in its curves. The toki was an essential tool for Māori– used for carving, chopping, you name it. It represented resourcefulness and strength. The curve of the blade echoes the natural curve of the totoweka (bloodstone) – it’s about working in harmony with the stone.
If you’re a Kiwi, you know pounamu is special stuff. It’s more than just a pretty stone. It carries the mana (spiritual power) of the rivers and mountains where it’s found. For Māori, it represents the connection to the land, to Papatūānuku (our Earth Mother), and to our tūpuna (ancestors). Carving a piece of pounamu is a bit like bringing that connection to life.
When I hold this totoweka toki up to the light, a whole new world comes alive within the stone. The bloodstone isn’t completely opaque – it has this beautiful translucency, like peering into the wairua, the very soul of the pounamu. The light catches the subtle variations in red, some parts almost glowing, others swirling with darker veins. It’s like gazing into a deep pool, and the longer you look, the more you feel the presence of something ancient and deep, whispering stories of the mountains where it was born. It makes the carving process even more special, knowing you’re not just shaping the stone, but revealing the beauty that’s always been there, waiting to be seen.
This totoweka toki… it might not be the prettiest, smoothest piece I’ve ever made, but it has its own beauty. There are stories in the stone, in the shape. Maybe it’ll remind someone to be resourceful, to connect with their roots. Maybe it’ll just be a little piece of Aotearoa they carry with them. But whatever it becomes, it was made with aroha (love), and that’s the important thing, right?
