Niho o te Taniwha Pūaho pebble taonga

I have to confess, I really wanted to keep this taonga.  It is so rare to find a white pounamu pebble in this colour, pūaho(dazzling white).  In reality, the pounamu is whiter than the photos allow.  I just couldn’t seem to capture its whiteness on camera.

Usually the white on pounamu is a softer rind and not strong enough to hold shape.  But this complete pūaho pounamu pebble is one solid piece of stunning and unique pounamu.   It is such an incredible piece and to be fair I get to be with the pounamu every day, it seemed only right to let it go and find someone who is equalising enamoured with its presence.   If you love this taonga please don’t hesitate, we have never found or seen anything like it before and can’t be sure we’ll ever find something like it again.

This taonga has a naturally occurring niho shape. Tim just gently polished one side so the colour could come through,and left the kiri (skin) on the other, so you can feel and see what this pounamu looks like ‘in the wild’.  It feels amazing in the hands and against the skin.

A strong taonga. You can feel its very grounding presence connecting you to Papatūānuku, to the awa, to whakapapa.

The pounamu Taniwha Niho symbolises strength and guardianship, as that of the Taniwha.  It also symbolises iwi and community as the taniwha work to protect both.

Taniwha are supernatural creatures that live in the watery depths of rivers, seas, lakes and caves around Aotearoa. They take various shapes from dragons and serpents to sharks or logs of wood.

Taniwha can be both kaitiaki of a place or person or dangerous beings.  But when treated with the appropriate respect taniwha usually act kindly toward humans.

Most iwi have their own taniwha. Many taniwha came to Aotearoa as guardians of the different ancestral waka and stayed on to be kaitiaki over the descendants of the original crew.  As kaitiaki Taniwha might warn of an enemys approach or save someone from drowning.

Taniwha play a vital role in maintaining the balance of day to day life as they ensure that people respect the restrictions imposed by tapu. They also make certain that any violations are punished.

Poutini was a taniwha who protected both the people and the mauri of pounamu.  And Tim himself was led to his first pounamu (and subsequent others) when a pounamu taniwha appeared to him in a dream.  Read more on that beautiful story here.

• Kokopu pebble from Te Tau Ihu
• 65mm length x 28mm width
• 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!💚