Christina Hurihia Wirihana

Name
Christina Hurihia Wirihana
Iwi/Ethnicity
Ngāti Maniapoto/Māori
Ngāti Raukawa/Māori
Ngāti Whāwhākia/Māori
Tainui/Waikato/Māori
Ngāti Pikiao/Māori
Ngāti Rangiunuora/Māori
Te Arawa/Māori
Date of birth
1949
Place of birth
Rotorua/Bay of Plenty (region)/New Zealand
Gender
Female
Biography
Christina Hurihia Wirihana was born in Rotorua. Although she began to learn raranga (weaving) techniques while at secondary school, she cites her mother, Matekino Lawless, as her most significant influence.

Wirihana was the first lecturer to teach raranga at a tertiary level when she started at Waiariki Institute of Technology, Rotorua in 1986, and until 2002 oversaw the raranga and tukutuku (lattice work) for a number of marae projects, including the whare whakairo (meeting house) *Ihenga*. She then worked in various roles at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Whakatāne, Toihoukura, Eastern Institute of Technology, Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa/Gisborne, and Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Tauranga. She herself graduated with a Master of Māori Visual Arts from Massey University in 2007.

Wirihana has been active in the reclamation and development of raranga practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has created works that utilise materials such as houhi (lacebark), harakeke (flax), kiekie (climber) and pīngao (sedge), while incorporating natural dyes including raurēkau, paru and tānekaha.