Porotītī

Ngā Āhua-Mahi toi. While exploring for ways to extend learning with our new pukapuka we have been crafting up a storm! We had a go at making these porotiti, which were really easy and fun. Porotiti are a spinning disc suspended on a loop of string which you can really get spinning. Porotiti traditionally were made from bone, stone or wood and were used as an instrument of healing, sound, music and fun.

We made ours from a cardboard box and string and we painted them with racing colours! You can experiment with shapes other than the classic porowhita as you can see from the pic and our angry manu model!

Trace or draw your shape (we used a big coffee cup), cut it out.  Make two holes evenly spaced about 1-2cms apart. Decorate your discs as you like. This is a good chance to kōrero about ngā tae as you work. Thread the string through one hole then the other and tie the ends together.

It takes a bit of practice to get the hang of spinning the porotiti, a quick google will yield some video's of tamariki doing it well. Once you get it going the porotiti should make a satisfying humming sound and spin with little effort from the operator.

Heoi anō, and so....have fun creating and spinning :)