Te Kano released

On New Zealand’s National Pavilion Day at the World Expo 21 in Shanghai a 1-meter long, three-meter wide canoe made of 35-year-old kauri was gifted to China. At the ceremony, a spiritual leader from a northern Maori tribe walked around the canoe — called ‘Te Kano’ meaning “seed” — chanting Maori prayers, “injecting energy” into the canoe, and “releasing” the canoe from Tane, god of the forest. Engraver James Richard said the three colors of black, red and white on the gunwales of the canoe symbolised the night sky, earth and light in between, originating from the famous Maori genesis myth. Shanghai magazine The Bund has rated New Zealand’s pavilion among the top 16 to see. There are 189 countries represented at the Expo and each gets a day to take centre stage.