PHOTO PORTRAIT DESCRIPTION

Maia has neck length brown hair with fleck of gold highlighting her curls. Her dark brown eyes gaze at us from beneath partly closed lids. Her mouth is closed and her chin is adorned with a moko kauae reaching from her bottom lip to the point of her chin.

She wears a bone taonga around her neck, reminiscent of a heru or hair comb, ornately decorated with delicate carving and three interwoven strands that end in gentle curves. It’s on a long cord so it lies just at the place where her korowai is tied across the top of her sternum or breastbone. The korowai has a woven top band with intricate plaited patterns and a hand width of flax strands that cover the top layer of feathers. The feathers shimmer in tones of brown, white and greeny- blue, each with horizontal markings. The feathers cover a wide handspan over her shoulders and down the front of the korowai, the sides in woven flax with horizontal stripes of white and long black strands threaded through that hang down. 

Beneath is a khaki green t-shirt style top. In the background tall fronds of harakeke curve over her head on the right and she is surrounded by the greenery of tall trees.