Description
Title: Pania of The Reef
Artist: Messini Palace
Iwi: Ngāti Apakura
Description: Resin Sculpture
Pania is a marakīhau, a tīpua of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Ahuriri. The famous pūrākau of Pania of the Reef tells of her love story with Karitoki, a human man. They would meet in the darkness of the nights to be together and every morning before the sun rises she would return to her ocean people. Karitoki deceived her by trying to keep her on land. She vanished back to the ocean, never to be seen again.
The bronze sculpture of Pania sit’s in the Soundshell gardens of the Marine Parade in Ahuriri known as Napier. An iconic monument of Hawke’s Bay history since 1954 however more significant to hapū of Ahuriri and Ngāti Kahungunu because of the young girl whose likening was cast into bronze for this sculpture when she was a student at Hukarere Māori Girls College. Her name is Mei Whaitiri nee Robin, mother of ex-silver fern, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi representative and Labour Party MP for Ikaroa Rāwhiti, Meka Whaitiri of Kohupātiki.
Materials: Resin
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