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Rupena
The carver is the man who created the poupou in the Tamihana clan’s wharenui. The only child of his parents and a sickly child at that, the carver spent his early years as an invalid and was then apprenticed to an older wood carver. He learned his trade well and completed many carvings during his long life. He depicted himself in the incomplete poupou which Mary calls the “loving-man.” He left this carving incomplete, prophesying that it would be finished later by another carver when the carver’s successor as shaper of the community’s story (Toko) was born and identified.
Carver Quotes in Potiki
The Potiki quotes below are all either spoken by Carver or refer to Carver. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
27. James Quotes
The young man said to his people, “There’s a story that says that the finishing of this poupou—this last for the old house, first for the new—goes into the future. That the completion will be done once it is known who the lower figure should be. I know now who must go there. I know now who it is that has been fathered by one who, in his own time, had no children of his own. I can do it now. But you might want me to wait until I’m older. You could think that this should be done by an older man.”
“We want you to complete it now,” they said. […]
When the blessings had been done the young man put mattresses down in the meeting-house for himself, his brother and his aunt, and took up his tools.
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Carver Quotes in Potiki
The Potiki quotes below are all either spoken by Carver or refer to Carver. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
27. James Quotes
The young man said to his people, “There’s a story that says that the finishing of this poupou—this last for the old house, first for the new—goes into the future. That the completion will be done once it is known who the lower figure should be. I know now who must go there. I know now who it is that has been fathered by one who, in his own time, had no children of his own. I can do it now. But you might want me to wait until I’m older. You could think that this should be done by an older man.”
“We want you to complete it now,” they said. […]
When the blessings had been done the young man put mattresses down in the meeting-house for himself, his brother and his aunt, and took up his tools.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
