TANGATA WHENUA. THE CARVING CRIES

In a Tokomaru Bay meeting house there is a carving which the people say will weep when something in the Māori world is lost. (This was first noticed after the tangi of Tuini Ngāwai, the East Coast composer - August 12, 1965).

At an ANZAC service near Tikitiki members of the Māori Battalion gather in memory of their lost comrades.

At a Kotahitanga meeting near Ruatōria the politics of Māori nationalism are discussed by members of the movement. John Rangihau talks about Māoritanga and the knowledge being shared by kaumātua with younger members of the community.

Witi Ihimaera returns to Waituhi and contrasts Māori and Pākehā ways of life. Features Rongopai, the painted 19th century wharenui.

Present day activities at the Ngāruawāhia carving school are shown, as Māori art and the laws of tapu which relate to whakairo and other traditional crafts are discussed.

The unveiling ceremony for Pine Amine Taiapa, regarded as the last old style master carver of the coast.