Riley and the Koru

Sometimes I know my mum thinks too much. You see when she heard that The Portuguese Water Blog was having a bandana challenge she decided that she would like to have my picture included, but mum wanted me to have a bandana that represented where I live. Now if I was in Scotland, where my Golden Retriever ancestors came from, that would be easy… it would have to be tartan, but I was born in New Zealand.

I’ve never had a bandana before, so mum started thinking about what sort of bandana I could wear. Mum thought about our country, Kiwiana and the Maori culture here, and different symbols of our country. She decided if I was going to wear a red bandana it should have a Koru on it.

So what exactly is a Koru? Well the Koru is a symbol that represents new life, and it can also represent the form of a wave as it approaches land. This symbol has been used for a long time by Maori, and can be found in the curved form of the fern frond.

This Koru symbol appears in jewellery,
 

 
 
in fabric, in logos like for our national airline (on their uniforms and planes),
 

 
it is used by Maori artists, and stylised (like this painting by Gordon Walters),
 

 
 
it appears on the Maori (Tino Rangatiratanga) flag below (which is sometimes flown with our New Zealand flag),
 
 

inside and outside on Maori buildings,
 

on the shirts of some of our sports teams, for tattoos and many other places.


When Korus are used together and they form what is called a "Kowhaiwhai" pattern, and the way the koru (or pit au) are placed also represents things.

So mum looked at various fabrics and the way that the pattern is repeated and used.

Most of your mums and dads would have just picked something red (which was already in your house) and had your photos taken and sent in by now, but mum eventually found a piece of fabric she liked (the background even matches the colour of my nose) and it was time for my photo shoot…

Dog logic = I think this is a bib because...I

drool whenever I see food and mum is waving

food around to get me to look at her...

so I’m starting to drool... so it must be a bib!

I've don't usually get dressed up for

anything, so this is all a bit of a laugh.

I finally have my very own bandana. BOL

If I close my eyes and stick out my

tongue will you stop taking so many photos!

Oh - so this is what you were after!

 
So now, when you see my photo displayed on The Portuguese Water Blog, you will know why I have all those squiggly red lines on my chest and what a Koru is. 
 
If you haven’t already entered your photo there is still time to be part of this fun event. Check out their website The Portuguese Water Blog The instructions are easy, and I'm predicting you'll be much faster at doing this than my mum was!
 
We are both looking forward to seeing your pictures on the 10th of June, and if you have read this far leave me a bark hello, as it would be great to hear from you!
 
Have a great weekend,
Woofs,
Riley