Māori Blocks

Description

These printed wooden blocks feature the Māori alphabet, alongside traditional carving patterns and figures from six Iwi around the country. The figures can be stacked atop one another, like Pou on a Marae. They are interchanged with tukutuku patterns and numbers. These blocks are specially designed to provide Māori connection as well as educate children.

To Māori, language is the lifeforce of the culture. E ki ana te whakatauki…

“Ka ngaro te reo, Ka ngaro taua, pera i te ngaro o te Moa.”
As the proverb says… If the language were to be lost, man will be lost, as dead as the Moa.

There are 24 blocks in a set. Each cube is (4.4cm)
For ages 2+

In creating the Maori alphabet set with Unclegoose, I thought that it would be great if we could use them not just for learning the letters, but as a way to learn about the important carving styles.

JOHNSON WITEHIRA, THE DESIGNER SAYS:

With this in mind, I decided that the carved figures should be the children of Rangi and Papa. For Maori children, knowing who these figures are and the narrative about the creation of Te Ao Marama and Te Ao Turoa is very important.

Considering this, the six different carved figures created are Tanemahuta, Tangaroa, Tawhirimatea, Haumiatiketike, Rongomatane and Tumatauenga. Each figure holds an item relevant to his character.

For example, Tumatauenga , Ātua o te pakanga, holds a wahaika (a Māori weapon), while Rongomatane, Ātua o te kumara me rangimarie, holds a kumara.