The national Maori flag

The national Maori flag.

Elements of the flag

Te Kawariki's own account of their activities, 20 years of protest action 1979-1999, Te Kawariki, outlines the elements of the Maori flag as follows:

Black – represents Te Korekore, the realm of Potential Being. It represents the long darkness from whence the world emerged. It represents the heavens. The male element is formless, floating and passive.

White – represents Te Ao Marama, the realm of Being and Light. It is the Physical World. White also symbolises purity, harmony, enlightenment, and balance.

Koru – the curling frond shape, the Koru, represents the unfolding of new life. It represents rebirth and continuity, and offers the promise of renewal and hope for the future.

Red – represents Te Whei Ao, the realm of Coming into Being. It symbolises the female element. It also represents active, flashing, southern, falling, emergence, forest, land and gestation. Red is Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother, the sustainer of all living things. Red is the colour of earth from which the first human was made.

The design represents: the balance of natural forces with each other. To live life is to live with nature. To appreciate life is to understand nature.