Bone Carving

Kelleigh and I planned a non-traditional ceremony, and part of that plan included foregoing the engagement ring tradition, as well as the tradition of exchanging wedding bands.  For a variety of reasons, neither of us felt bound by these traditions.  Nevertheless, we liked the idea of exchanging something very personal at our ceremony, which we could each carry with us for the rest of our lives.  We arrived at the idea of bone carving, an art practiced in New Zealand which has its routes in the Maori, a Polynesian people who have excelled at carving for centuries.  Kelleigh and I created our bone carvings in Whitianga (pronounced FIT-ee-ahn-guh) at a studio just a few miles from the location of our wedding ceremony.  Kelleigh chose a traditional fern design, which I carved for her, and I chose one of the fish hook designs, which she carved for me. We then attached our finished carvings to strings and exchanged them as necklaces at our wedding ceremony.  Here is some information about the designs that we chose: 

Koru: The spiral is a Koru, representing the fern frond as it opens, bringing new life and purity to the world. It also represents peace, tranquility and spirituality, along with a strong sense of re-growth or new beginnings. The Koru is also often associated with nurturing, so when interlocked with others, it is frequently used to represent the strength and purity of a loving relationship within a family.

Hei-Matau: These very stylized fish hooks represent strength, prosperity, abundance, fertility and a great respect for the sea. It also is said that Hei-Matau provide good luck and safety when traveling over water, so they are often worn by travelers. Hei-Matau are also symbols of power and authority which are held in great reverence by the Maori people.  They were used as a practical tool for fishing and were often decorated as a sign of respect for the creatures of the sea.  There are many styles of Hei-Matau, from the true hook designs to the more ornamental styles which became treasured heirlooms for generations following.

Photos of us making our carvings and a description of how the carvings were made can be found here.

Photos of our wedding ceremony can be found here.