Re-imagining our ideas through a Māori lens
Aspects we need to research
- animals (bird, fish, insect)
- plants (fern, other native bush)
- feather (what bird, colour, meaning)
- looking at a season of regrowth which has strong connections to kaitiakitanga, this is super important for us to incorporate as you can't say you're protecting Aotearoa without thinking about this
- colours that we are using (not sure if this needs to be researched but we could draw on ideas/colours we discover in research)
The Tui or Koko, or Parson-Bird (Prosthemadera Novae-Zealandiae): | NZETC. http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BesFore-t1-body-d2-d6-d13.html. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020.
"From another point of view this bird can claim an exalted lineage and a semi-divine origin, inasmuch as it originated with one Parauri, one of the offspring of the Earth Mother and Sky Parent; likewise this Parauri was one of three guardians appointed in times remote to preserve the welfare and fertility of the forest, as also of its occupants, the children of Punaweko, birds." (291)
"In some places at least it was deemed to be an unlucky thing to see an albino tui, pigeon, or kaka parrot; a sage has declared that death soon overtakes the person who sees one, or perchance his relatives will be smitten in his place; also that such birds of evil omen are termed manu tute. But in many places natives explain tute as meaning tui that try to jostle (tute) other birds away from a desirable perch on a fruit or honey-yielding tree. Tui also drive away the large wood-pigeon, who is a sort of pacifist and so 'too proud to fight.' I have seen tui harrying the more-pork owl and driving it afar." (292)
Fish - https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-hi-ika-maori-fishing
Tangaroa is the god of the sea and all the fish. It was important for fishermen to stay in favour with Tangaroa. They had rules about when to fish, and how to make nets. In tradition, the hero Māui fished up the North Island, which is shaped like a stingray. The explorer Kupe is said to have discovered New Zealand while chasing a huge octopus.
When they caught the first fish they would return it to the sea, to thank Tangaroa.
Insects - ‘Te aitanga pepeke’ (the insect world) - https://teara.govt.nz/en/te-aitanga-pepeke-the-insect-world/page-1
In the narratives of the Wairarapa region, Whiro (Whiro-te-tipua inhabits the underworld) competed with Tāne to obtain the three baskets of whatukura (sacred knowledge) from the heavens. He sent a war party of insects – namu poto (small sandflies), naonao (midges), rō (stick insects), peketua (centipedes), pepe-te-nuinui (butterflies), and pekepeke-haratua (hopping things of the May season), as well as birds and bats. His aim was for them to pursue Tāne, strike his head and kill him, but they could not get close enough – Tāne called on the winds, who spun the army in circles.
Tāne defeated this army, and took Whiro’s army of birds and insects down to earth as prisoners. Among them were waeroa (mosquitoes), namu poto (small sandflies), naonao (midges), rō (stick insects), wētā, pepe (moths and butterflies), rango (blowflies) and kāwhitiwhiti (grasshoppers). There they dwelt among the trees under the care of Tāne, whose domain was the forests.
These creatures (mosquito, sandfly, mantis and spiders) are strongly associated with their fern habitat, which sheltered them.
Feather. https://www.pnbst.maori.nz/our-vision/feather/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2020.
"Te Raukura is an important symbol to the tribes who affiliate to the Taranaki rohe. This symbol is captured in the form of a white feather, or a plume of white feathers. Te Raukura represents spiritual, physical, and communal harmony and unity. It is an acknowledgement of a higher spiritual power, which transcends itself upon earth. It is a symbol of faith, hope, and compassion for all of mankind and the environment that we live in.
There are various accounts of how the Raukura feather became such a significant symbol to the people of Taranaki. Its origins tend to look within the tribal boundaries of the iwi, Taranaki, with particular reference to the marae of Parihaka. One such account refers to a gathering of people at Parihaka who witnessed an Albatross landing on one of its courtyards, dropping a single feather before departing. This feather became the Raukura, and was honoured by Tohu Kakahi and Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, two of the prophetic leaders of Parihaka, and its community.
Through the distinct and honourable leadership of these two prophets, the Raukura feathers became a symbol of peaceful co-existence as a Māori nation. This appealed significantly to the iwi of Aotearoa who had become fervently oppressed and marginalised by the Crown. The Raukura feathers were a symbol of the passive resistance movement that Tohu Kakahi and Te Whiti-o-Rongomai orchestrated as a means of re-elevating the mana of the Māori people with a desire of being autonomous once again."
Kauri Tree - https://teara.govt.nz/en/kauri-forest/page-3. Accessed 18 Sept. 2020
For Māori, the tallest trees in the forest traditionally had chiefly status. This is reflected in sayings such as, ‘kua hinga te kauri o te wao nui a Tāne’ (the kauri has fallen in the sacred forest of Tāne) – repeated whenever a great person dies.
Kauri features in a northern version of the creation story of Ranginui, the sky father, and Papatūānuku, the earth mother. At the beginning of time Rangi and Papa clung together, trapping their children in the darkness between them. The strongest child, Tāne Mahuta (the god of the forest), pressed his shoulders against his mother and pushed upwards with his powerful legs, separating his parents and allowing light to enter and bring life to the world. Some northern Māori tribes say that his legs were the trunks of giant kauri trees.
Kauri gum was valued more highly than the wood: it could be used as a fire starter, and for medicinal purposes. The soot from burnt gum was a tattooing pigment. The straight-grained, buoyant timber was, however, ideal for canoes.
Kawakawa - https://pukaha.org.nz/5-native-plants-used-in-maori-medicine/ . Accessed 18 Sept. 2020
Māori would use it as a good luck charm to conceive, and it is also used to remove tapu (bad energy) at meeting houses, among many other reasons.
Kowhai - https://pukaha.org.nz/5-native-plants-used-in-maori-medicine/ . Accessed 18 Sept. 2020
Kowhai is said to symbolise personal growth and helps people to move on from the past with a renewed sense of adventure.
Harakeke - https://teara.govt.nz/en/diagram/13162/harakeke-plant . Accessed 18 Sept. 2020
- https://pukaha.org.nz/5-native-plants-used-in-maori-medicine/ . Accessed 18 Sept. 2020
Symbol of family, whakapapa and unity with all of its layers protecting the inner layers of the plant, nurturing both the earth with its root strength and the centre of the plant.Before a fishing trip, Māori would pull out a harakeke leaf – if it made a noise, the trip would be successful so a karakia would be said before heading off.
Ruawaka - https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/13161/raukawa . Accessed 18 Sept. 2020
The raukawa plant is symbolic of love. The leaves were infused into the oil of the hīnau tree to make a perfume, worn by Māhinaarangi, a famous East Coast ancestor. It was this scent which allowed her beloved Tūrongo of Waikato to identify her. They were married and named their first child Raukawa after this scent. He is the founding ancestor of the Ngāti Raukawa tribe. (South Waikato)
Mahoe - https://pukaha.org.nz/5-native-plants-used-in-maori-medicine/ . Accessed 18 Sept. 2020
Mahoe helps to ignite passion of all kinds, including guiding us towards our destinies. Mahoe has always been very important both spiritually and physically, creating awareness and helping to connect the consciousness with ancestors. Its berries were also mixed with kauri gum to create the pigment for tattoos.
Invasion of Pacifist Settlement at Parihaka | NZHistory, New Zealand History Online. https://nzhistory.govt.nz/occupation-pacifist-settlement-at-parihaka. Accessed 22 Sept. 2020.
5 November 1881.
"Its main leaders were Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi, both of the Taranaki and Te Āti Awa iwi.
When in May 1879 the colonial government moved to occupy fertile land on the Waimate Plains that had been declared confiscated in the 1860s, Te Whiti and Tohu developed tactics of non-violent resistance."
Parihaka is remembered now as a symbol for passive resistance, and standing up for what is right in a non-violent, non-threatening way. I think that this sort of resistance is carried out only by the strongest of people, as it is full of patience and compassion.
The white feather become a symbol for peace and pride, the Parihaka philosophy.
Bosselmann, Klaus. "Can Kaitiakitanga Save the Planet?" Newsroom, 20 Dec. 2019. https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/can-kaitiakitanga-save-the-planet. Accessed 22 Sept. 2020.
At the opening speech for 2018 Climate Week at the United Nations in New York, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern presented the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga as the key for combating climate change.
She explained it in this way: “It means guardianship. But not just guardianship, but the responsibility of care for the environment in which we live, and the idea that we have a duty of care that eventually hands to the next generation, and the one after. We all hold this responsibility in our own nations, but the challenge of climate change requires us to look beyond the domestic. Our duty of care is as global as the challenge of climate change.”
Kaitiakitanga, in my understanding from my learning the past two years, has come to inform me of a Māori world view that differs from the Western world view. Kaitiakitanga is about protecting the land and the earth, so that future generations also can live happily and with good health. Kaitiakitanga can be seen in fishing bans of certain areas where over-fishing has occurred. The ban is put in place so that the ecosystem can recover from the loss. When it is back to it's healthy state, the ban is removed and fishing occurs again. This is a relatively simple, yet effective way of ensuring that we look after the environment so that it will continue to look after us. A Western world view of the earth is saddening, as it revolves around profit and capitalism. It means destroying forests and other habitats to churn out more, more, more.
We can use kaitiakitanga in our project to shine a different light on the issue of nature preservation, and topics such as climate change. Our whole idea stems more from a Māori world view than Western philosophy, so I think it is vital that we bear this in mind.
Story Boards
Talking to Andre about deciding between the story boards we drew in this class. He suggested that the first one we came up with is better as it follows a few different creatures and has more of a narrative. It's also good because it travels through 3 different atmospheres (sky, water, land) and has time to introduce each play along the way. Andre also suggested after the bird and the fish, we could have another animal to correspond with the 3 plays/3 atmospheres. Andre's idea was an amphibian, but we were thinking maybe a tuatara or some sort of lizard, or a bat.
Preliminary Illustrations
Lauren's illustrations
First Sitemap
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