okay time for a rundown on the significance of pounamu/greenstone in māori culture, seeing as its less than a month until tourists can come back to aotearoa
pounamu is the name for jade, nephrite, or greenstone in te reo māori. its a stone which is mostly found in the arahura river, but also other places in te wai pounamu/the south island. this stone has an important significance to all māori, but especially ngāi tahu and other south island tribes. pounamu is the name given to all of this stone found in aotearoa, but any greenstone found outside of the country cannot be called pounamu. the stone is a connection to our land, our history, and our ancestors
pounamu is taonga, and is regularly carved into small shapes for necklaces. these necklaces can be bought throughout aotearoa, and make a huge profit annually. luckily, in 1997, all rights to pounamu were returned to ngāi tahu, meaning no one else can legally take the stone from rivers, carve it, or make a profit from it. many māori wear pounamu necklaces, but its not something that only māori can wear! many pākehā and tauiwi wear it as an acknowledgement to tangata whenua, to acknowledge the land
if youre visiting aotearoa, i absolutely encourage you to buy pounamu. there are, however a few key things to consider
1. you should never buy pounamu for yourself. you can buy it to gift to someone else, and you can wear it if you have been gifted it, but never buy taonga to wear yourself. this carries back to the traditional usages of pounamu taonga as a trading/gifting item. we would gift it to other hapū, or it was given to individuals within hapū or whānau.
2. make sure it is ngāi tahu pounamu. this is easy to check when purchasing it! ngāi tahu have put together a system in which every piece of pounamu that is carved or sold by ngāi tahu has a code which can be put into their website to trace the origins of the stone, and who carved it. if you are buying pounamu that doesnt have this code, it is either stolen, or more likely, it isnt pounamu at all and its jade that has been grown outside of aotearoa and imported to profit off our culture. the only time you will have authentic pounamu that does not have the traceable code is in the case of being gifted pounamu by a ngāi tahu iwi member who collected and carved the pounamu themselves
3. not all pounamu is nephrite! mine for example is bowenite, which we call tangiwai pounamu. our tūpuna didnt distinguish between these different types of rock, they are all considered pounamu and none is any less precious than any other
4. check the meaning of the shape your pounamu has been carved into. the last thing you want is to be purchasing something that means something you dont realise...
otherwise, if you have checked everything, please do buy pounamu for people! the profits go directly to tangata whenua, and its a beautiful and meaningful gift
when our borders open, come for a visit if you have the means, and do what you can to immerse yourself (respectfully) into our culture
