Ahi Kā Roa – keep your home fire burning

These fiery pounamu taonga represents ahi kā roa – the long-burning fire that symbolises continuous occupation of an area.  Fire was an essential part of everyday life for Māori, to cook the kai and keep everybody warm. So when a hapu occupied an area they would, of course, keep their fires burning continuously. The fires indicated continuous occupation and therefore title to the land by the group who kept them burning.

Ahi kā roa also means to figuratively keep the marae “warm” with the presence of people.  To keep your marae alive and growing, to support the maintenance of your whenua, to know your whakapapa and pass it on to your tamariki. This is ahi kā roa.

Carved from the very rare Rakautara pounamu found by Tim here in our awa.  The chatoyant fibres in this kohatu make this taonga flicker and move in the light – just as mesmerising as ahi itself.

Ahi Kā Roa taonga represents the ahi, the fire, of your ancestral home and and the ahi of the individual who wears them. The one who strives to keep their home fires burning.

• Rakautara Pounamu from Te Tau Ihu
• Length 42mm x 34mm
• One of a kind taonga by Timoti

💚Now every taonga you purchase helps us to carve a taonga for EVERY tamariki in care in Aotearoa. You can read more about our Tū Māia project here. Ngā mihi mahana for your support of this kaupapa!💚