Video highlights link between Olympic pendants and Le Quesnoy
The connection between Aotearoa New Zealand and the French people continues with a video highlighting the significance of pounamu as a natural taonga (treasure) and its special connection to Le Quesnoy.
Through the eyes of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae, the video (with French subtitles) documents the making of pounamu pendants presented to NZ’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes for Paris 2024 and how they are dedicated to Le Quesnoy’s fallen soldiers.
“In the shadow of Aoraki [maunga], where earth and sky intertwine, lies a sacred taonga, a treasure steeped in tradition, a stone forged by our mountains, delivered by our rivers, and shaped with the breath of life from our people,” says the narrator.
The video goes on to recount how, more than 800 years ago, the people of Ngāi Tahu made Te Waiponamu – The South Island, their home. In 1997 the New Zealand government returned the rights of pounamu ownership to the people of Ngāi Tahu.
“Our people are kaitiaki, guardians of this land, bearing the legacy of pounamu,” the narrator says.
For the Paris Olympics, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu artists dedicated the design of the pedants to the soldiers who lost their lives during the liberation of Le Quesnoy.
As a part of honouring these actions, the carvers designed the taonga to represent ‘A Roimata’, meaning tears of sadness and grief which are widely regarded as touchstones in healing and meditation.
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XoJn2PxmJ8
Video shared by permission of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae.