What does Koru mean?

The best known and widely used Maori art motifs are the koru and the spiral. The koru is basically a stalk with a bulb at one end. No one knows how it was first invented or who elaborated this versatile element of pattern. Koru-like motifs are present in the arts of ancient Asia, notably in the areas of Southern China and South-east Asia. They abound in the tribal arts of Melanesia. The Maori koru probably had its origins in such regions and was carried to New Zealand by the Maori ancestors.

The word koru is defined in Williams Dictionary of the Maori Language as an adjective meaning 'folded, coiled, looped'. As a noun, the word means 'a bulbed motif or scroll painting' A popular explanation of the koru is that it represents the unfolding of a tree fern frond, as seen in the uncurling corm with its rolled-up inner leaflets. The koru also resembles a curling wave.

Symbolically the koru means new beginnings, harmony, growth and life.