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{{Short description|Hard, green minerals in New Zealand culture}}{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}{{use New Zealand English|date=October 2020}}(File:MAP Expo Maori Hameçon 13012012 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Pounamu barb)(File:Pounamu pendant.jpg|thumb|upright|Pounamu pendant, a heavily stylized fishhook)File:The Greenstone Waters, New Zealand.jpg|thumb|The southwest coast of New Zealand is named ("The greenstone waters"), after its deposits of greenstone, and the area resembles greenstone in this view from space.WEB,weblink The Greenstone Waters, New Zealand, 22 May 2010, NASA, 28 November 2017, The term is also the official Māori name for the South IslandSouth IslandPounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in the South Island of New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture.

Name

The Māori word , also used in New Zealand English, refers to two main types of green stone valued for carving: nephrite jade, classified by Māori as , , , and other names depending on colour; and translucent bowenite, a type of serpentine, known as . The collective term pounamu is preferred, as the other names in common use are misleading, such as New Zealand jade (not all pounamu is jade) and greenstone (a generic term used for unrelated stone from many countries). Pounamu is only found in New Zealand, whereas much of the carved "greenstone" sold in souvenir shops is jade sourced overseas.BOOK, Hanna, Neil,weblink Pounamu: New Zealand jade, 1 January 1995, Jadepress, 978-0-473-03012-4, English, The Māori classification of pounamu is by colour and appearance; the shade of green is matched against a colour found in nature, and some hues contain flecks of red or brown.WEB, Pounamu – An iconic stone,weblink 21 November 2010, Kura Pounamu Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,

• pounamu takes its name from the native freshwater fish Galaxias maculatus, one of the common whitebait species in New Zealand, and is pearly-white or grey-green in colour. It varies from translucent to opaque.WEB, Īnanga pounamu,weblink 25 March 2019, Kura Pounamu Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Īnanga was the variety most prized by Māori for ornaments and (short handled clubs).
• pounamu is highly translucent and has a vivid shade of light green with no spots or flaws. Its name is the Māori word for a person of high rank, and is the rarest variety of pounamu. It was the preferred stone for making toki poutangata (ceremonial adzes) owned by rangatira (Māori chiefs).WEB, Kahurangi pounamu,weblink 25 March 2019, Kura Pounamu Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,
• pounamu comes shades of rich dark green, often with small dark flecks or inclusions, and is named after the similarly-coloured leaves of the kawakawa tree (Piper excelsum). It is the most common variety of pounamu, and the most used in the manufacture of jewellery today.WEB, Kawakawa pounamu,weblink 25 March 2019, Kura Pounamu Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, One of its main sources is the Taramakau River on the West Coast.
  • is a rare type of kawakawa with small reddish dots or streaks; its name means "weka blood" after the flightless bird Gallirallus australis.
• pounamu is olive green and speckled with dark spots, reminiscent of the markings of three species of native freshwater fishes in the genus Galaxias that go by that name.
• Flower jade or picture jade is pounamu with cream, yellow, or brown inclusions, from oxidising or weathering in the surface of the stone. Cracks or fissures in the stone can allow iron impurities to enter, and carvers can then make use of the resulting patterns. Flower jade is best known from the Marsden district near Hokitika.
• pounamu is translucent like glass, but in a wide range of shades. When viewed against the light it resembles a clear drop of water. The name means "the tears that come from great sorrow", and refers to a Māori legend of a lamenting woman whose tears turned to stone.WEB, Tangiwai pounamu,weblink 25 March 2019, Kura Pounamu Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,

Chemistry

Jade is formed from two different stones: jadeite and nephrite. Jadeite (sodium aluminium silicate) has interlocking granular crystals, while nephrite (calcium magnesium silicate) has crystals that are interwoven and fibrous. Jadeite is mostly found in Myanmar, while nephrite is found in Europe, British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand. New Zealand nephrite contains varying amounts of iron, which account for its range of shades, richness of green, and translucency.

Geological formation and location

Pounamu is generally found in rivers in specific parts of the South Island as nondescript boulders and stones. Pounamu has been formed in New Zealand in four main locations; the West Coast, Fiordland, western Southland and the Nelson district.BOOK, Best, Elsdon, The Stone Implements of the Maori, 1912, Government Printer, 410, BOOK, Coleman, Robert Griffin, New Zealand serpentinites and associated metasomatic rocks, 1966, Dept. of Scientific and Industrial Research, N.Z. Geological Survey, 101, BOOK, Beck, Russell J,weblink Pounamu : the jade of New Zealand, Mason, Maika, Penguin/Viking, Photographer Andris Apse, 2010, 978-0-670-07488-4, North Shore, New Zealand, 51–87, 679547252, It is typically recovered from rivers and beaches where it has been transported to after being eroded from the mountains. The group of rocks where pounamu comes from are called ophiolites. Ophiolites are slices of the deep ocean crust and part of the mantle. When these deep mantle rocks (serpentinite) and crustal rock (mafic igneous rocks) are heated up (metamorphosed) together, pounamu can be formed at their contact.JOURNAL, Adams, C.J., Beck, R.J., Campbell, H.J., 2007, Characterisation and origin of New Zealand nephrite jade using its strontium isotopic signature, Lithos, 97, 3–4, 307–322, 2007Litho..97..307A, 10.1016/j.lithos.2007.01.001, 0024-4937, The Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt has been metamorphosed in western Southland and pounamu from this belt is found along the eastern and northern edge of Fiordland.JOURNAL, Coombs, D. S., Landis, C. A., Norris, R. J., Sinton, J. M., Borns, D. J., Craw, D., 1976, The Dun Mountain ophiolite belt, New Zealand, its tectonic setting, constitution, and origin, with special reference to the southern portion, American Journal of Science, 276, 5, 561–603, 1976AmJS..276..561C, 10.2475/ajs.276.5.561, 0002-9599, The Anita Bay Dunite near Milford Sound is a small but highly prized source of pounamu.JOURNAL, Coutts, P. J. F., 1971, Greenstone: the prehistoric exploitation of bowenite from Anita Bay, Milford Sound, The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 80, 1, 42–73, In the Southern Alps, the Pounamu Ultramafic Belt in the Haast Schist occurs as isolated pods which are eroded and found on West Coast rivers and beaches.JOURNAL, Cooper, A.F., Reay, A., 1983, Lithology, field relationships, and structure of the Pounamu Ultramafics from the Whitcombe and Hokitika Rivers, Westland, New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 26, 4, 359–379, 10.1080/00288306.1983.10422254, 0028-8306, free, 1983NZJGG..26..359C, One source of īnanga pounamu at the head of Lake Wakatipu is possibly the only jade mining site in the world with Government protection.

Significance to Māori

(File:Pounamu objects, Canterbury Museum, 2016-01-27.jpg|thumb|right|A wide range of pounamu objects)Pounamu plays a very important role in Māori culture and is a taonga (treasure). It is and has been an important part of trade between the South Island iwi (tribe) Ngāi Tahu and other iwi. Adze blades made from pounamu were desired for carving of wood, and even with the arrival of metal tools pounamu tools were used. These were often reworked into (stylised human figures worn as pendants) and other taonga when they were no longer useful for carving wood. After the arrival of Ngāi Tahu in the South Island in the middle of the 18th century, the production of pounamu increased. Pounamu crafting and trade was important to the economy of Ngāi Tahu.BOOK, Austin, Dougal, Te hei tiki : an enduring treasure in a cultural continuum, Te Papa Press, 2019, 978-0-9951031-4-6, Wellington, New Zealand, 1118991633, (File:Amulet (hei tiki), Maori people, Honolulu Museum of Art, 12762.JPG|thumb|upright|Hei tiki; signs of wear indicate longevity of active possession due to the hard nature of the stone.)(File:Pounamu mauri stone Te Papa 01.jpg|thumb|Large pounamu boulder at )Pounamu taonga increase in mana (spiritual power or prestige) as they pass from one generation to another. Pounamu is believed to absorb the mana of its past owners, and some heirloom pieces are named after a former owner in memory of their position and authority. The most prized taonga are those with known histories going back many generations: these are believed to have their own mana and were often given as gifts to seal important agreements.Pounamu taonga include tools such as (adzes), (chisels), (gouges), (knives), scrapers, awls, hammer stones, and drill points. Hunting tools include (fishing hooks) and lures, spear points, and (leg rings for fastening captive birds); weapons such as ; and ornaments such as pendants (, and ), ear pendants ( and ), and cloak pins.WEB, Pounamu taonga, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,weblink 25 March 2019, ENCYCLOPEDIA, Keane, Basil, Pounamu – jade or greenstone – Implements and adornment, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, New Zealand Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 2 March 2009,weblink 21 November 2010, Functional pounamu tools were widely worn for both practical and ornamental reasons, and continued to be worn as purely ornamental pendants () even after they were no longer used as tools.JOURNAL,weblink Porotaka hei matau — a traditional Māori tool?, Chris D. Paulin, Tuhinga, 20, 15–21, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, File:Waewae Pounamu MRD 02.jpg|thumb|Store selling carved pounamu in HokitikaHokitikaPounamu is found only in the South Island of New Zealand, known in Māori as ('The [land of] Greenstone Water') or ('The Place of Greenstone').WEB,weblink Māori names for North and South Islands approved, RNZ National, 10 October 2013, 28 November 2017, In 1997 the Crown handed back the ownership of all naturally occurring pounamu to the South Island iwi Ngāi Tahu (or Kai Tahu),"Pounamu Management Plan", Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu"Ngāi Tahu and pounamu", Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand as part of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement.Pounamu was of such value to Māori that peace was cemented by the exchange of valuable carved heirlooms, creating what was figuratively called a (door of greenstone), as in the saying (Let conclude a peace treaty that may never be broken, for ever and ever).BOOK, Brougham, Aileen E.,weblink The Raupō book of Māori proverbs, Raupo, A. W. Reed, T. S. Kāretu, 2012, 978-0-14-356791-2, 5, Auckland, N.Z., 796934005,

Pounamu trails

There were a dozen major pounamu trails used in the trading of pounamuWEB, Pounamu trails,weblink 3 January 2023, teara.govt.nz, en, and many more minor routes. Parties of 6 to 12 are thought to have used the tracks in summer, particularly via Harper Pass.WEB, Roberta McIntyre, 2007, Historic heritage of high-country pastoralism: South Island up to 1948,weblink Department of Conservation,

Modern use

Jewellery and other decorative items made from gold and pounamu were particularly fashionable in New Zealand in the Victorian and Edwardian years in the late 19th and early 20th century.WEB, Pounamu – a special gift, Kura Pounamu Treasured stone of Aotearoa New Zealand, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,weblink 21 November 2010, WEB, Pounamu items from the history collection, Collections Online, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,weblink 21 November 2010, It continues to be popular among New Zealanders and is often given as gifts. In 2011, the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key presented the President of the United States, Barack Obama with a (a type of Māori weapon) created from pounamu carved by New Zealand artist Aden Hoglund.WEB, Wood, Stacey, 23 July 2011, Hokitika man's carving fit for a president,weblink 14 October 2020, Stuff (website), Stuff, en, An exhibition curated by Te Papa in 2007 called showcased 200 pounamu items from their collections and linked New Zealand and China through both the geographical location of nephrite and also the high level of artistry achieved in ancient China and then thousands of years later amongst Māori. The exhibition marked 40 years of diplomatic relations between countries when it toured to five venues in China in 2013.BOOK, Panoho, Rangihiroa, Māori art: history, architecture, landscape and theory, 2015, 978-1-86953-867-5, Auckland, New Zealand, 911072426, In the 2016 animated movie Moana the central premise is to return the stolen heart of Te Fiti which is manifest in a pounamu stone amulet.WEB, Herman, Doug, How the Story of Moana and Maui Holds Up Against Cultural Truths,weblink 14 October 2020, Smithsonian (magazine), Smithsonian, en, Fossicking for Pounamu is a cultural activity in New Zealand and allowed on designated areas of the West Coast of the South Island () and is limited to what can be carried unaided;WEB, 7 February 2009, Greenstone rules,weblink 15 January 2020, Otago Daily Times Online News, en, WEB, Ngāi Tahu Pounamu Resource Management,weblink 16 January 2020, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, fossicking elsewhere in the tribal area is illegal, while nephrite jade can be sourced legally and freely from Marlborough and Nelson. In 2009 David Anthony Saxton and his son Morgan David Saxton were sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for stealing greenstone, with a helicopter, from the southern West Coast.WEB, Greenstone thieves sent to prison,weblink Stuff (website), Stuff, 31 January 2009,

Gallery

File:Hinepare.jpg|, a woman of the tribe. She is wearing a pounamu around her neck, and one earring and one shark tooth earringFile:Ear pendant (peka peka), Maori people, Honolulu Museum of Art, 3351.JPG|Ear pendant (), Māori people, pounamu and red sealing waxFile:Kataore, Mere pounamu (42cm x 12cm).jpg|, a ({{convert|42|x|12|cm|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) named after a chief killed by in the 1830s. Gifted by to Sir George Grey.File:Wahanui Reihana Te Huatare, by Gottfried Lindauer.jpg|A portrait of carrying a and wearing a made of pounamuFile:Rangi Topeora, by Gottfried Lindauer.jpg|A portrait of , wearing numerous pounamu items.File:Tiki-IMG 4264.jpg|Nephrite File:Earring (kuru), Maori people, Honolulu Museum of Art, 3357.JPG|A (straight earring). are similar, but with curved ends, and are also used as teething aids.WEB,weblink Kapeu and kuru – ear pendants, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2020-10-18, File:Parrot leg ring (poria-kaka), Maori people, Honolulu Museum of Art, 3353.JPG|A , a bird leg ring used to fasten decoy birds used in hunting.WEB,weblink Pounamu and hunting, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2020-10-18,

See also

• Greenstone (disambiguation)
• Hei-tiki
• Lingling-o

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|New Zealand greenstone}}

• Photos of 40 Pounamu varieties with accompanying information
• Pounamu, Te RÅ«nanga o Ngāi Tahu
• "Pounamu – jade or greenstone" in Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
• Examples of pounamu taonga (Māori treasures) from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• First over the Alps: The epic of Raureka and the Greenstone by James Cowan (eText)
• Photo of woman wearing a greenstone neck pendant
• Photo of greenstone tiki
• Photo of greenstone mere
• JOURNAL,weblink New Zealand Greenstone, H. D. Skinner, Otago University Museum, Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 1936, 65, 211–220,
• JOURNAL,weblink Geological Investigation of the Nephrites, Serpentines, and Related "Greenstones" used by the Maoris of Otago and South Canterbury, F. J. Turner, Otago University, Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 1936, 65, 187–210,