By Brittney Malvitz

The first Tapeka, NZ Tapeka 1 – Olly, was imported from New Zealand in 2010. The imported sow stood out due to her unique banding that had not been seen before in the United States. In Maori the word tapeka means sash or a wide shoulder belt. If used as a verb, tapeka means to pass a garment around the body.

The great grand-dam of NZ Tapeka 1 – Olly was Parson’s Reddy NZ 2182, an inspected sow with unknown parents. The boar that Parson’s Reddy NZ 2182 was bred to is not recorded in the pedigree. With unknown parents in the pedigree, there could be influence from another breed of pig that caused the belting to show up. Not all Tapeka bloodline sows are belted; there are many that are more of the classic kunekune colors such as ginger and black. There are kunekune sows and boars that have Tapeka traits, but are not from direct Tapeka sow lines. These “Tapeka traited” kunekune typically have Tapeka bloodlines somewhere in their lineage. With AKKPS, the belting and high white are not specifically in the color chart, but are notated in the herd book with a “B” after the color.