I had decided to walk along the beach today, its simply beautiful at the beach front along the coast of Kaikoura. I had been wanting to find my very own Paua (pronounced power) shell for a while now and id been having no luck. Paua is the Maori name given to 3 different types of edible sea snail. These shells are known in the UK as ormer shells. Paua are commonly found along coastal waters along rocky waters in depths from 1-10m. These large sea snails survive strong tidal surges by clinging to rocks using their large muscular foot. Theyc feed on sea weed. In New Zealand there are restrictions as to how much paua can be collected, this is 10 paua per person per day. Paua poaching is a major industry in New Zealand and many thousands are taken illegally.
To maori paua are recognised as treasure, a tasty sea food and also used in many traditional arts and crafts. Paua is used alot to represent the eyes in many carvings and are traditionally associated with the stars, the symbolic eyes of their ancestors, this is a lovely thought. These eyes gaze down from the night sky. The meat of the paua is considered a delicacy in New Zealand and the shell is frequently used in jewelry because of the striking blue, green and purple iridescence. Im hoping to be able to make a few pieces as my friend is carving paua and has already made some fabulous tail flukes out of it.
Im so happy i found these, they are simply beautiful and its hard to believe that these colours are produced naturally. This day has strengthened my belief that if you want to find something badly enough you will, eventually, you'll stumble accross it, this can be applied to anything in life i guess, having faith and a bit of hope will eventually pay off.
No comments:
Post a Comment