Maori Ancestor - Guardian of the page bookmark

Maori Ancestor design bookmark with kōwhaiwhai pattern.

What is a kōwhaiwhai pattern?

A kōwhaiwhai pattern is usually found on the ridgepole (tāhu) or the rafters (heke) in a meeting house (wharenui). These patterns are part of how history was recorded in Māori culture. The tāhū represents the genealogy and ancestors of the tribe, and the heke represents the branches of the family. 

The kōwhaiwhai patterns differ from tribe to tribe since they are based on the environment where the tribe exists. Traditionally, these patterns are red, black and white in colour. The colour red represents warmth, blood and life; white represents purity, promise for the future and awakening; and black represents the earth. 

This design has 3 design heights that allow the use of automatic colour change in Prusaslicer. 

For 3 colours print white first (0.6mm), followed by Red (0.2mm) and then Black (0.2mm).

0.10 Layer height gives 5 layers white (default 0.20 first layer) with 2 layers each of the remaining colours.