The Toi Mai logo is an image of a taura whiri, a plaited rope. The taura whiri has been used as a metaphor by kaiwhaikōrero (orators) to connect whānau groups through a shared ancestor and to acknowledge a leader’s ability to bring people together. It has been applied to various situations where elements come together in unity. The taura (rope) is made by plaiting aho (strands) made from rolled muka (scraped flax strands), creating a stronger taura than the aho could on their own.
Our logo colour relates to Māori culture and the connection between people and nature. There are many stories of origin relating to ‘Toi’, including an ancestor arriving from the Pacific. In some accounts his children bringing carvings from the Pacific Islands. Similarly, one of the stories of carving origin refers to carving being retrieved from Ruatepupuke, a carved house under the ocean. So, the Toi Mai colour references these links to the ocean as the source of Toi.
