Red is blood, life unbroken
Kōkōwai ochre, ground with shark oil, names the living line that runs through the house.
Black is the void before light
The soot ground is Te Korekore — the earth and the unformed dark from which all making begins.
White clay carries the light in
Pale clay-grey marks purity and the dawn — it edges every scroll so the rafter breathes.
Balance is read both ways
Each register mirrors itself along the heke, so the eye travels the rafter and returns home.