The Totara tree

Digital Art

The tree features in many tribal legends and underpins some ethical values; it is cornerstone of the waka culture and its, through carving, records tribal history. It inspires proverbs and laments in which loved people are named 'totara'. The tree's name is used in many locations around Aotearoa. Dead totara logs are guardians, while living trees commemorate important events and people, and are markers of birth and death. No other tree has stamped unique qualities on Maore culture. (Simpson, P. A Natural and Cultural History:Auckland University Press, 2017)