Jodi Te Ao Marama Apiata

October 1st, 2020

Whānau Centred – System Oriented, Who Feeds Who

I have been using this whakataukī in wananga for Leadership Lab and to help explain its meaning I will use the words of Ngahiwi Tomoana, Ngati Kahungunu. I came across a piece that he wrote as the foreword to the Maori Economic Development Strategy document of 2012 he goes on to explain it like this;

“In the generation when times were tough. With whānau Māori who had endured two world wars, a Depression, massive land loss, and in their twilight years the devastation on Māori communities by government policies inimical to Māori development. They would say that despite the adversity, we still had the ability to gather and grow our own kai with our own hands. This was the metaphor for our resilience as a people of the land, Tāngata Whenua. We may have been powerless but never hopeless; on the back foot but never backward. Strong whānau fought back the tides of despair to make vibrant hapū, muscular iwi and Māori cooperatives.” 

Meaty statements – yet it feels right to have this introduce an opportunity we all have to support the idea of “strong whānau” and “vibrant hapū”. In Leadership Lab language: “Thriving leaders in flourishing communities”.

I listened to Tā Mason Durie on YouTube the other day. He was speaking on mental wellbeing but started his korero with his observation during the time of the Lockdown.

He talked about how there is an assumption that whānau Māori will be hit hard by the virus, that going by the last pandemics statistically Māori were worse off and would be worse off now. Interestingly, he said anecdotally during this pandemic this has not come about. He has hypothesized that Iwi Māori understood the implications of our statistics and made decisions based on what will be good for our whānau and implemented them. Tā Mason Durie stated that on March 17th his whānau had made the call to close their Marae and that tikanga needed to shift too. During mihimihi there no longer was the tikanga of hongi. Other Marae quickly followed suit.

This was a whānau decision not a system decision. Whānau were connected and stayed connected and even had better connection through this time – manaakitanga was practiced, tiaki was shown. Tikanga was applied and kawa was maintained. The resiliency of people improves when there is an acknowledgement of their part to play, that the understanding of their part is embedded in their knowledge system, one that is generations old.

What might it look like if a tirohanga Māori / Māori world view (Indigenous worldview) was used to look at the complex problems we are all faced with in 2020? Let’s use a whakataukī as a lens.

Whakarongo ki te tangi i ngā manu e karanga nei – Listen to the cry of the bird which is calling. 

Tuia ki runga, tuia ki raro, tuia ki waho, tuia ki roto – Weave and sew the knowledge from above, below, from without and within. 

Tuia ngā here tangata – Weave the bonds of the people together. 

Tīhei Mauri Ora – The breath of life. 

As a population, what are we listening to or taking notice of? Where have we reached out too, who have we reached out for? Has there been new life or connections? Here sits a relational space, where interactions in relationships mana- enhancing, it could be a koha of manaakitanga, tiaki and all of this would be held by the tikanga of the time. This is the invitation, the invitation to be whānau-centred, to have self-determination Mana Motuhake and not to remain dependent on something and instead knowing that we have the embedded knowledge that is in our whakapapa which is the kai at our own hands “He kai kei āku ringa”.

Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – If your life force stands true, it will flourish. Mauri Noho, Mauri Mate, if your life force is apathetic, you will become unwell. 

Do we want to languish in a space that it seems we don’t have control of, or do we take notice of the cry’s which are being called out?

Jodi Te Ao Marama Apiata

October 1st, 2020

Whānau Centred – System Oriented, Who Feeds Who

I have been using this whakataukī in wananga for Leadership Lab and to help explain its meaning I will use the words of Ngahiwi Tomoana, Ngati Kahungunu. I came across a piece that he wrote as the foreword to the Maori Economic Development Strategy document of 2012 he goes on to explain it like this;

“In the generation when times were tough. With whānau Māori who had endured two world wars, a Depression, massive land loss, and in their twilight years the devastation on Māori communities by government policies inimical to Māori development. They would say that despite the adversity, we still had the ability to gather and grow our own kai with our own hands. This was the metaphor for our resilience as a people of the land, Tāngata Whenua. We may have been powerless but never hopeless; on the back foot but never backward. Strong whānau fought back the tides of despair to make vibrant hapū, muscular iwi and Māori cooperatives.” 

Meaty statements – yet it feels right to have this introduce an opportunity we all have to support the idea of “strong whānau” and “vibrant hapū”. In Leadership Lab language: “Thriving leaders in flourishing communities”.

I listened to Tā Mason Durie on YouTube the other day. He was speaking on mental wellbeing but started his korero with his observation during the time of the Lockdown.

He talked about how there is an assumption that whānau Māori will be hit hard by the virus, that going by the last pandemics statistically Māori were worse off and would be worse off now. Interestingly, he said anecdotally during this pandemic this has not come about. He has hypothesized that Iwi Māori understood the implications of our statistics and made decisions based on what will be good for our whānau and implemented them. Tā Mason Durie stated that on March 17th his whānau had made the call to close their Marae and that tikanga needed to shift too. During mihimihi there no longer was the tikanga of hongi. Other Marae quickly followed suit.

This was a whānau decision not a system decision. Whānau were connected and stayed connected and even had better connection through this time – manaakitanga was practiced, tiaki was shown. Tikanga was applied and kawa was maintained. The resiliency of people improves when there is an acknowledgement of their part to play, that the understanding of their part is embedded in their knowledge system, one that is generations old.

What might it look like if a tirohanga Māori / Māori world view (Indigenous worldview) was used to look at the complex problems we are all faced with in 2020? Let’s use a whakataukī as a lens.

Whakarongo ki te tangi i ngā manu e karanga nei – Listen to the cry of the bird which is calling. 

Tuia ki runga, tuia ki raro, tuia ki waho, tuia ki roto – Weave and sew the knowledge from above, below, from without and within. 

Tuia ngā here tangata – Weave the bonds of the people together. 

Tīhei Mauri Ora – The breath of life. 

As a population, what are we listening to or taking notice of? Where have we reached out too, who have we reached out for? Has there been new life or connections? Here sits a relational space, where interactions in relationships mana- enhancing, it could be a koha of manaakitanga, tiaki and all of this would be held by the tikanga of the time. This is the invitation, the invitation to be whānau-centred, to have self-determination Mana Motuhake and not to remain dependent on something and instead knowing that we have the embedded knowledge that is in our whakapapa which is the kai at our own hands “He kai kei āku ringa”.

Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – If your life force stands true, it will flourish. Mauri Noho, Mauri Mate, if your life force is apathetic, you will become unwell. 

Do we want to languish in a space that it seems we don’t have control of, or do we take notice of the cry’s which are being called out?