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Hand Carved Kotiate - by Alex Sands
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Kotiate by Alex Sands - Ngunguru Iwi
New Zealand Maire Wood
approx 37cm x 11.8cm x 2.5cm
About Kotiate:
The kotiate was a prized weapon and also used by chiefs when speech-making. It is a curiously shaped weapon noted for the carved notches on the blade. The notches were used in a ripping action. The word kotiate literally means to divide, or split in two.
About Maire Wood:
Black maire is hard (probably New Zealand’s hardest wood) heavy and strong, and mature black maire is extremely durable. It was used by early European settlers for bearings and pulley blocks. Maori used it for digging sticks, wedges for splitting wood, canoe paddles and bailers, beaters and mallets. Early Europeans used it for bridges, wharves and structural uses.
