Te Puia, where we visited yesterday, is also home to the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute.
The mission of the Institute is to teach students the traditional methods of carving wood and whale bone using the tools their ancestors used.
It is a three-year programme taught by Maori masters. When sufficiently competent, students are encouraged to apply their skills using modern tools and machinery to work on commissioned pieces or produce works for sale in the shop.Any Whale carcass that washes ashore anywhere in New Zealand is automatically owned by the Maori People who will harvest bones for use at the Institute, pictured above.There is also a weaving programme where, again, students learn how to weave using traditional skills and materials available to their forefathers. It is a two-year programme led by a Maori weaving master, pictured above.
While at the Institute, we were treated to a display of Maori dancing:
The Blogging Brit 