Koru Manawa

I split a whales tooth down the middle to form two pendants. Each one I carved with koru so they are mirror images of each other. Koru are fern fronds, meaning new life. If you put the two together, the opposing koru form hearts, or manawa. I then cut a red beech burr in half, and carved out spaces to insert the pendants into the base. On the lid, I caved a manawa (heart), and you can see how the two koru form the manawa. So we have two halves, new life forming a heart - the ultimate wedding gift.

It is at Otarere Maori Arts and Crafts, which is located at 577 State highway 1, just north of Otaki and is run by Cheryl, Coral and Henry. They're really nice, so call in and see them (look for the marae style building, with some wicked carvings) or phone them on (06) 3679317 or a/h on 027 736 6229. They also have a beautiful red beech burr bowl with a paua inlay of mine there.