The is a spiral shape evoking a newly unfurling frond from a

silver fern ''Alsophila tricolor'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori language, Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into Ne ...

frond. It is an integral symbol in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

art,

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and y ...

and

tattooing A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the Human skin, skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of ...

, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the idea of perpetual movement," while the inner coil "suggests returning to the point of origin".

Use in traditional design

The ''koru'' is the integral motif of the symbolic and seemingly abstract ''kōwhaiwhai'' designs traditionally used to decorate ''

wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''wikt:wh ...

'' (meeting houses). There are numerous semi-formal designs, representing different features of the natural world.

More recent adaptations

The logo of

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 28 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily within the Pacific Rim. The airline h ...

, the national carrier, incorporates a ''koru'' design — based on the Ngaru (

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...

) ''kōwhaiwhai'' pattern — as a symbol of New Zealand flora. The logo was introduced in 1973 to coincide with the arrival of the airline's first

McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the Douglas DC-8, DC-8 for long-Range (aeronautics), range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; i ...

wide-body jet. Several other nationwide organisations also use a koru in their logos, among them the

New Zealand Department of Conservation The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori language, Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand ...

. In 1983,

Friedensreich Hundertwasser Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (), was an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection ...

based his proposed design for a secondary New Zealand flag on the symbol. It also formed the basis for a notable series of artworks by

Gordon Walters Gordon Frederick Walters (24 September 1919 – 5 November 1995) was a Wellington-born artist and graphic designer who is significant to New Zealand culture due to his representation of New Zealand in his Modern Abstract artworks. Education G ...

. Koru swirls are also reminiscent of the

Tomoe , commonly translated as "comma", is a comma-like swirl symbol used in Japanese (roughly equivalent to a heraldic badge or charge in European heraldry). It closely resembles the usual form of a . The appears in many designs with various us ...

symbol in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The New Zealand Police use their own adaptions of the koru, the police koru is used in all version of the police logo. According to police "the koru is a reference to te ao Māori and a celebration of Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique heritage. Its connotations of encapsulation, protection and peace align with our values as an organisation and reiterate New Zealand Police’s commitment to Māori." Many parts of the police koru are used to symbiose police values such as the 8° angle which represents the continuous forward momentum police strive for and the flat or 'sharp' bottom, which represents the solid foundations of Police. The New Zealand national korfball team is nicknamed ''The Korus''.

References

{{Reflist Māori art Māori words and phrases Visual motifs National symbols of New Zealand Spirals